OK, first, let’s talk about the scoring blade type of tile saw. They work great on some tiles. Just along as the tile has a smoother finish you will be fine. For something like a bathroom wall tile where you have a smooth surface. But, when you have a rougher finish as most tiles used today have, this kind of saw may not be the best choice.

This is when a wet saw would be the better choice. With a wet saw, you can make smaller cuts and more accurately. Not to mention fancy cuts, like an L-shaped cut. Or say you cut a tile and you made it just a little too big. Well, with a wet saw you can just trim a little more off.

Now a wet saw is called a wet saw because it uses water to cool the blade, not to mention it keeps the dust down. But the water can make a big mess. I like to mark as many tiles as I can to be cut, then go outside where I have the saw set up. Yes, it can be very time-consuming to keep going outside, but it’s messy! I also keep the dry saw right next to me, it helps make the job go a lot faster. Most of the time I have both on the job. For the straight cuts, I go with the dry saw, and the more involved cuts and fancier cuts, I go outside and use the wet saw.