Drilling through Porcelain Tiles

there are always more than one way to skin a cat,
you can buy expensive diamond tipped drills at £20 a pop, or you can get these
http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-tile-glass-drill-bit-set-3pcs/53634 but go very slowly and keep them cool by dipping them in water every couple of seconds, BUT GO SLOW thats the key,
and dont forget GO SLOW and keep them cool, oh did i mention go slow?

 

I Recently fitted grade 5 porcelain wall and floor tiles and to drill I bought this type http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diamond-H...Garden_PowerTools_SM&var=&hash=item56645493fc

I bought them from the plumbers merchants not as cheap, but I guess their better quality, I think I got about 4-5 holes per bit.

B J

 

The ones (holesaws) that have been suggested above is what I have commonly used. You can buy cheap ones from e-bay that will see you through 4-5 holes per bit.

If you are drilling floor tiles, you can make a small 'reservoir' to hold water to act as a cooling aid. Or a water spray when drilling vertically, if water is not used the bits will overheat and the diamond coating can come off, rendering the bit useless.

 

The proper ones for porcelain from a tile shop are best to use in the long run dear but they do the job!

 

If you can crack/score the surface at point of drilling with a glass/tile cutter/scribe first, it'll give you a good start.

Mr. HandyAndy - Really

 

Use a small piece of board or similar, approx 5mm in thickness and drill the desired hole through this using a standard drill bit. This can then be used as an aid to stop the porcelain drill bit from wandering; until it eventually nicks the surface of the tile.

 

When you get fed up trying to drill the holes with tile bits go and get your SDS out and let that lose on it,seen that a few times.lol

 

seen some drills on that T.V channel bid up, they go through owt, concrete,wood,glass,a file. even another drill, he goes throu at speed and forces the drill, it never gets hot or goes blunt, they cost about £40 for a set but if they are as good as they are demonstrated they're worth it,
but then i'm thinking, why don't main dealers like srewfix or B+Q sell um ????

 

Because there s***, got some here, ok on thick metal plate, with a bit 8mm and up, but the small bits on thin stuff, just snap the ends off.

At the end of the day they are masonry bits that are sharper up, but not as strong.

 

Broken tip.

 

I though there must be a fault, anything that needs high profile selling means it can't sell itsself, they never need to push dewalt or makita

 

My old boss always used to say,problems will come to you with out buying them.He was always right,so I stick with brand names.

 

ha ha , thats a good saying that PB, I must remember that one,

 

He was full of wise words and they were all true,I realised this the older I got.

 

If you can drill on the grout it will also minimize the chance of cracking the tiles. That is what my plumber did when installing a simple rack in the shower. Not always possible. hope this helps

 

Whenever I use a pub urinal...More frequently as I get older , I tend to look at the plumbing. If I see they have innstalled pipe clips on the grout lines, I think "Bloody Cowboys !" That is not the way to do it !