As a keen and competent DIYer I bought the Plasplugs Compact Plus tile cutter a few years ago after deciding to revamp the bathroom in my previous house.

Having previously only hired professional electric tile saws I wasn't expecting amazing performance from a relatively inexpensive tool but it was a very pleasant surprise when the first cut was completed resulting in a good straight clean finish. Obviously there are some differences between this and the more expensive models; being plastic it is light so can move around when cutting big, hard or heavy tiles but a couple of bricks wedged behind the back does go a long way to overcoming this small issue. It is also a comparitively slow cutter as the diamond discs supplied are only 80mm diameter so the outer edge is not turning as fast as on a larger disc. You can however fit a 105mm disc (about £9 from Screwfix) which does help and doesn't cost much more than you can find the Plasplugs spares available for.

As other reviews have mentioned, it is noisy, but any powered tile cutter will be noisy so don't expect to be cutting tiles early on a Saturday morning without getting a few disapproving looks from the neighbours.

The blade/splash guard does need lining up correctly if you're going to get the best from this machine and being held in place by just one screw does mean it will move over time with all the vibration from the surprisingly powerful motor.

If you do go for this handy little unit there are a couple of things to note. Make sure you wear protective glasses/goggles. The blade guard is quite narrow so small fragments of tile will fly off and the last thing you want is a trip to casualty to have a tiny shard of porcelain removed from your eyeball. Secondly keep a watering can nearby as the spray from the blade will mean regular top ups of water are needed to keep the reservoir at a suitable level. Let it get to low and your disc will overheat and the diamond coating will wear off leaving you with a disc that doesn't cut.

Three bathrooms and two kitchens later, this is still going strong with no sign of problems and it has more than paid for itself in time and effort saved.

Reading this back I seem to have listed quite a few negatives considering my overall feeling is that it is a good tool for the amateur tiler. A standard score and snap tile cutter is fine for ceramic tiles but will not even mark a porcelain one so the Plasplugs Compact Plus is an essential purchase for either hard tiles or more intricate cuts.