How to cut a U-shape out of a quartz tile

Rataan

I am doing a home DIY project and I need to get a U-shape cut out of a single 60x30 cm stone tile.  The tile is 13 mm thick and is made from quartz.  The U-shape can be approximate and does not need to be neat.  Any tilers that I have asked are quoting me around 120 euro to do this because of the time it would take to call out to me. 
Does anybody know if there is somewhere that I can take the tile to and have it cut, for a reasonable price?  I had thought about bringing it to somebody who cuts headstones, but they told me that they can only cut granite or marble, not quartz.  I also thought of bringing it to a machine shop that has a water-jet cutter, but they charge a minimum setup of 90 euro.  Any suggestions?

cletus

Mark the U, angle grinder with a thin blade, cut out the majority, then nibble away till you get close to the line

Rataan

cletus wrote: »

Mark the U, angle grinder with a thin blade, cut out the majority, then nibble away till you get close to the line

Thanks, but I don't have an angle grinder, nor have I ever used one.  I was hoping somebody might be able to tell me of somewhere I can bring the tile so somebody else could cut it for me (I'm located in north County Dublin).  I would imagine it is only a 10 minute job for somebody who has the equipment set up and knows what they're doing, rather than calling a tiler out to my house where I'll get a minimum one hour call-out charge.
As an absolute last resort I'll try and do it myself using the method you described, but I've only got 1 of these tiles, it cost me 30 euro and if I break it there's no replacements!

quietsailor

The price they are quoting is actually a polite way of saying "I don't want your business, please go away and stop annoying me" Do you have friends who are into DIY? They might have a tiling contact who would drill this as a favour.

Unless you are lucky and stop a tiler on the street who isn't busy you're going to have to cut it yourself.

What radius is the curve at the end of the U? - if you know that if you have a drill look to buy a tile hole saw like these and also buy a tile drill like these

You'll need to mark out the lines and then figure out the centre point of the semi circle and then drill it out. The straight lines can be drilled by using the tile drills on the INSIDE of the straight lines.
Sorry, I know it's not what you want but the job is too small for the tradesmen to do.

Rataan

quietsailor wrote: »

The price they are quoting is actually a polite way of saying "I don't want your business, please go away and stop annoying me" Do you have friends who are into DIY? They might have a tiling contact who would drill this as a favour.

Unless you are lucky and stop a tiler on the street who isn't busy you're going to have to cut it yourself.

What radius is the curve at the end of the U? - if you know that if you have a drill look to buy a tile hole saw like these and also buy a tile drill like these

You'll need to mark out the lines and then figure out the centre point of the semi circle and then drill it out. The straight lines can be drilled by using the tile drills on the INSIDE of the straight lines.
Sorry, I know it's not what you want but the job is too small for the tradesmen to do.

Yeah, I knew I was getting p.f.o. quotes, and I get that it's too small a job for a tiler to take on.  I was just hoping that maybe someone on here might know of a premises somewhere that you can just walk in off the street and they'd have the equipment to do this for you.  Not a tiling place necessarily, but somewhere that has the proper equipment for cutting stone or quartz.

Sleeper12

Rataan wrote:

Thanks, but I don't have an angle grinder, nor have I ever used one. I was hoping somebody might be able to tell me of somewhere I can bring the tile so somebody else could cut it for me (I'm located in north County Dublin). I would imagine it is only a 10 minute job for somebody who has the equipment set up and knows what they're doing, rather than calling a tiler out to my house where I'll get a minimum one hour call-out charge. As an absolute last resort I'll try and do it myself using the method you described, but I've only got 1 of these tiles, it cost me 30 euro and if I break it there's no replacements!

Any legitimate business is going to charge you handsomely for this service. The tile can break even if a pro does it. I'd imagine you'd be able to get a tiler to come out cut it and fit it for around 100 euro

Rataan

Just thought I'd give an update in case anybody else ever encounters the same issue.  In the end I managed to find a stone cutting company who make fireplaces and worktops, and they had the equipment to cut the tile for me.  It cost me 60 euro and it was a very nicely finished U-shape.  60 euro was the best price that I could find.  Tilers were charging 100 - 120 euro, and a company with a waterjet was going to charge 90 euro.  Maybe it would have cost me less had I cut it myself using the methods described by the previous posters, but I didn't have any of the tools needed to do it, nor any experience using them.