FLOORING: How I cut down my 12x12 floor tiles to 9x9 tiles

The 9 x 9s should make the floor area look larger in that combination, I like it.

That's a gorgeous color combination!

well, I got them all cut down, and got them all trimmed and placed, not sure what I am doing really, never messed
with tiles, but I read you should cut and lay them all out first. ready to take them up, clean the floor again and glue them in place.

I put down a layer of 1/4 inch luan subfloor (quality luan with a solid core-not MDF core) over the original tiles. following recommendations from people here on the board.

I cut my tiles down on the table saw.  A good sharp 80-tooth carbide blade and a home-made "zero-clearance" throat plate in the saw table did the trick slick as can be. The zero-clearance plate is a piece of quarter-inch plywood with no slot in it.  You install it with the blade all the way down, then holding it down with a big piece of scrap, slowly raise the blade up through it, so the slot is only as wide as the blade.  This helps prevent chipping the tile when you cut it.

I also made a little jig to cut triangular pieces using the same 9" rip fence setting.  My pictures start here.

BTW, I read on the Internet (so it must be true...) that the reason you can't get 9" tiles any more is that when people started to become aware of the dangers of asbestos, Armstrong said "Henceforth, all our tiles will be 12" and contain no asbestos.  If you see a 12" tile, you'll know it's asbestos free."

Makes sense to me, and it's a fun bit of trivia to share at trailer rallies..

-Gary

mine were 9x9