When laying tiles, situations often arise when you need to make a hole in it: to bring in faucet pipes, bring out an outlet or switch, hammer in dowels for a shelf, install a toilet, and so on. In this material we will talk about how to drill tiles to any required diameter.

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Ways to drill into tiles

  • Special drills for tiles. Helps make holes of small diameter. The tile drill bit is unthreaded and has a pointed tip. There are tetrahedral tips (feathers), but they are worse, since they will be difficult to sharpen if necessary. It can also be used when drilling mosaics or glass.
  • Drills with a pobedit tip for concrete. Found in almost every home, you don’t have to buy a special drill. If the drill is without carbide tipping, you can also use it, but its end will need to be sharpened, like a regular drill.
  • Self-tapping screws with an LM tip (so-called fleas). Since wall tiles are very soft, they can be drilled without a drill by screwing in self-tapping screws with a LM tip. On average, one hole takes 2-3 screws.
  • Crowns for tiles with diamond coating. Allows you to make large and small diameter holes for sockets or pipes, and install a toilet. They have a fixed diameter and cost 300-1500 rubles, but they last a long time. The minimum diameter that can be found is 5 mm. Excellent even for drilling porcelain stoneware.
  • Circular drills (ballerinas for tiles). In addition to the sharp tip on the guide drill in the center, they have an additional movable cutter on the rod. This is convenient because you can adjust the diameter of the hole and do not have to buy several crowns for each size. Another plus is the price of 300-500 rubles. Ballerina shoes are well suited for drilling a hole in the center of the tile, but if it extends beyond the edge, this will be extremely difficult to do.

When using any method, you must turn off the impact mode of the drill/hammer and set the speed to minimum to avoid chipping.

Using a Diamond Core

Marking

Let's start with a typical case when you need to drill a hole in a ceramic tile for the pipe outlet to the faucet in the bathroom.

Such things also need to be taken into account, and try to make cutouts for pipes in the center of the tile. This is done by shifting the layout or changing the starting point of laying to the desired location. If it is impossible to install the faucet exactly in the center, then you need to try to hide this fact as much as possible, and not highlight it by installing a number of decors or borders.

It is logical that both holes should be at the same height. Therefore, the first thing you need to do before drilling into the tiles is to measure the same distance from the floor. In order not to collapse the vertical, we use a plumb line with a weight or a bubble/laser level.

Measuring and marking the wall


Next, you need to measure the required horizontal distance between the centers of the points and make two more marks. From the center of each point, measure the radius of the hole so you know where the cutting line will go.

Drilling

Switch the drill to drilling mode and set the minimum speed. We insert a diamond-coated crown into the chuck. They are different, for example, for concrete, wood or metal - do not confuse them when purchasing. Also make sure that there is as much diamond chips on the working part as possible. It is better to take crowns with a centering drill to reduce the risk of displacement.

We begin to drill carefully, with slight pressure on the drill, but so that it does not move from its place. Once the icing is cut through, you can increase the speed and pressure.


During drilling, it is necessary to provide water supply to the working part of the bit for cooling. Bosch has bits that have a coolant inside (olive oil), so you can work with them dry.

If you are using a small-diameter crown without a centering drill, use it together with a jig to avoid displacement. You can make it yourself in 1 minute from scrap boards or plywood. Make a hole of the same diameter in it and use it as a conductor, pressing it with your hand.

Fastening tiles


We apply the tiles and check the coincidence with the pipes. If everything fits, apply glue to the wall, run a comb over it to evenly distribute it in a thin layer, and press the tile into place.

Using a ballerina

You can make a hole using a ballerina in 5 stages.


Let's imagine that you are faced with the task of hanging a toilet paper holder. The toilet is tiled, which makes the task much more difficult. What should I do to carefully drill a hole without breaking the tile? I will show you a way to do this simply, and even with an ordinary concrete drill.
Of course, the toilet paper holder is just an example. Using this method you can hang anything: a shelf, a mirror, a towel holder, etc.

How to drill a hole in ceramic tiles with a regular drill bit

Without a doubt, if you have a special drill for glass and tiles, then of course it is better to drill with it. I don’t have such a tool, due to the fact that I don’t practice often. repair work. A story from the household category.
Therefore, all I have is a set of concrete drills.
So let's get started. We try it on to the place where the holder will be for further installation. We glue pieces of electrical tape or masking tape to the drilling sites.


Now we mark the exact places for drilling. All I need to do is make four holes.


We do everything exactly.


Applying electrical tape is not only for marking. It prevents microcracks from spreading during drilling and protects the tile from breaking.


Now the most important operation. We take a concrete drill and place it on the mark. With gentle blows of the hammer, we begin to hit the drill, periodically turning the drill by hand. Time per hole is approximately one minute. As a result, a small groove should appear in the tile.


Everything needs to be done carefully, without haste. As a result, we perform the actions for all four holes.


The electrical tape can now be removed. We take a screwdriver and clamp the drill in the chuck.


At low speeds, drill a hole in both the tile and the wall to the desired depth.


We install plastic dowels.


For all four holes.


Now we screw the fastenings of the holder.

When renovating a bathroom or other areas of the home, it is often necessary to make a hole for an outlet or switch. Some materials can be easily cut with the most common tools, while others require a special approach.

It is quite difficult to drill a hard but fragile tile without damage, and making a hole large diameter even more difficult. In this article we will talk about popular and simple ways, with which you can quickly cut tiles to install an outlet.

Features of working with tiles

Make a smooth and neat round cutout on tiles It is quite difficult to fit under a socket, as it has high hardness and strength. In addition, the slippery glazed surface complicates the cutting process, since there is no adhesion between it and the cutting tool, which is why the drill constantly slips. The main danger when making holes in tiles is splitting and damage to the expensive material.

  1. To make the cut look neat, you need to perform a number of preparatory measures:
  2. Markings are applied to the surface of the tile on the outside where the drilling will be done using a pencil or marker.
  3. To prevent the drill from slipping off the glazed surface of the tile, the cutting area is covered with construction tape or adhesive tape. Before cutting, you can scratch the outline of the hole for the socket with a regular nail.

Before starting work, you should wet the tiles to speed up the cutting process and reduce the formation of dust.

Important! The hole for the socket on the wall surface must be made before installing the tiled covering. You need to be prepared that the tiles may break during the making of the cutout, and have a safety supply of material, which is 10-15% of the total quantity.

Cutting with a crown The quickest way to make a hole in a tile is to use special nozzle on a drill called a crown. Bits for drills and hammer drills are sold in hardware stores; they have different diameters, which must be selected for the socket being mounted. However, experienced craftsmen

It is not recommended to make holes in the tiles using a hammer drill, since vibration causes cracks and chips to form along the edges of the cut. To work with tiles, use the following type of crowns:

Note! Drills and hammer drills vibrate strongly during operation, which can cause chips and cracks to appear on the tiles. Therefore, you need to drill the tiles at low speeds, spending 1-2 minutes on one hole. To improve the quality of the cut, the tiles are placed on a table on a wooden base, and the drill is placed on a tripod.

Construction stores sell nibblers for tiles, which are popularly called “ballerina scissors.” This tile cutting device is an attachment to a drill, which consists of a guide drill and two or one cutters. The “ballerina” is adjusted to the desired hole diameter, and it costs no more than 1000 rubles, depending on the manufacturer and material. This attachment is usually enough for 10-20 cuts, but the cutters may bend even earlier. The principle of operation of the “ballerina” is as follows:

  1. The future hole for the socket is marked on the tile, making sure to mark the center of the circle.
  2. The guide drill of the attachment is installed at the point in the middle of the marked circle.
  3. The cutters are adjusted to the diameter corresponding to the hole being made.
  4. Begin to carefully and slowly drill the tiles at low speeds for 2-3 minutes.

Professional builders claim that in order to make a smooth, neat hole without chips or cracks, you need to fix the drill in one position while working, without changing the angle of the drill. It is difficult to hold the tool in this way for 2-3 minutes; the worker’s hand may “shake,” so it is better to secure the drill to a tripod.

To make a neat hole in the tile without the risk of splitting and damaging the material, it is better to use a hand tool rather than a power tool.

  • To do this, you need to buy a tungsten string from a hardware store, which is inserted into the saw instead of the cutting blade. The cutting process is performed in the following order:
  • Markings of the future outlet are applied to the outer or inner surface of the tile.
  • If the hole is located inside the tile, then inside the marked circle you need to make a hole of small diameter using a Pobedit drill and a drill.
  • A tungsten cutting wire is inserted into the hole made by a drill in the tile.

With the help of a string, a hole is cut along the markings using forward-returning movements.

Note! When cutting tiles with a tungsten wire, cracks, chips or other defects never occur. However, it takes up to 30 minutes to make each hole manually, so this method is not suitable for industrial scale.

Cutting with a thin pobedit drill

  1. The socket box is placed on the outside of the tile and then outlined using a marker or pencil.
  2. About 20 holes with a diameter of 8-8 mm are made along the marked circle in increments of 1-2 mm.
  3. The isthmuses between the holes are carefully removed using pliers or wire cutters.

Important! Marking and drilling of tiles should be done only from the outside of the material, otherwise the cut location will look sloppy.

Video instruction

When arranging a bathroom, very often there is a need to drill holes in the tiles with which the walls are lined. This could be the need to attach a bathroom shelf or other household accessory, or simply make holes in the ceramic tiles to place on the wall or floor. Let's look at the question of how to drill holes in tiles in detail.

Depending on what diameter is needed, different cutting tools are used. But no matter what holes we make, we need to rotate the cutting tool with an electric drill.

Let's consider the issue of drilling holes in several ways. Methods No. 1 and 2 are suitable for drilling holes of small diameter (up to 10-12 mm), methods No. 3 and 4 for drilling holes of medium diameter (from 10 to 80 mm.) and method No. 5 - holes with a diameter of more than 80 mm.

Method 1 – drilling using a ceramic tile drill

The main difficulty when drilling glazed tiles is the very durable top coating - the glaze. And in addition, this layer is very slippery, so an ordinary drill made of high speed steel If it doesn't work, it will quickly become dull.

To drill small-diameter tiles, it is best to use special tile drills.

The main feature of this drill is the shape of its cutting part, equipped with carbide insert with a pointed end, making it possible to start the drilling process at a set point more accurately. Similar drills are used for drilling glass, an even more slippery material.

To more accurately hit the desired marked place when drilling, it is recommended to mark the drilling location and stick a piece of tape to this place. Or stick a piece of masking tape and mark the drilling location on it.

Both one and the other method make it possible to start the process of drilling a hole in the tile at a designated location without deviation. The drill will not slip or move away from the marking site when rotating. As the work is completed, the tape or masking tape is removed.

Method 2 - drilling holes using a carbide drill for concrete


This method is very common in everyday life due to the high availability of cutting tools - carbide-tipped drills - and its wide application. Almost every craftsman has it at home in reserve, and, for sure, different diameters and various lengths.

Drilling with this tool also does not present any particular difficulty when using the method of holding the drilling point at the entrance, described above. main feature application of this drilling method ceramic tiles is that you need to start drilling ceramics at very low speeds of the power tool.

The first and second methods are most often used for drilling holes for dowels and further fastening various interior items.

Method 3 – drilling holes using diamond-coated crowns


This method is used when it is necessary to obtain cavities for sockets, outlets, etc.

Drilling is done by rotating the crown placed on a guide drill. And on what quality diamond sputtering and the grain size will depend on the quality and accuracy of the hole. The main disadvantage of this method is the high cost of the crown itself, which ranges from $30 to $80.

Method 4 – drilling with a circular drill on tiles or with a “ballerina”


The essence of this method is as follows: a movable cutter mounted on a rod is rotated using a power tool together with a guide drill. Due to the mobility of the cutter and the ability to move it along the rod, the tool can be adjusted to any required hole diameter within the length of the rod. This is very convenient and allows you not to buy, for example, a large assortment of crowns of different diameters.

Another significant advantage of using this tool is its price, which is low and ranges from $10 to $15.

I carry out the drilling process in several stages:

  1. I mark the center of the circle;
  2. I adjust the circular drill to the required diameter;
  3. I cut through the glazed layer;

4. I make a groove on the back side of the tile;

5. I cut the hole from the front side.

Along with many advantages, this method also has disadvantages:

Firstly, this tool is not intended for the production of very large quantity res. The service life of such a drill is 30-40 holes, although for home use this is quite enough.

Secondly, the tool must be used very carefully and use low speed when cutting. If these conditions are not met, there is a high probability of small chips of the tile at the cut site.

Method 5 – drilling large diameter holes

To obtain large diameter holes, you can use the following technique.

Mark the center and draw a circle line of the required diameter;

We insert a small diameter ceramic drill (or an ordinary concrete drill) into an electric drill, and use it to drill along the entire length of the circle from the inside of the hole. They should be as close to each other as possible.


Remove the drilled inner part. Using wire cutters or pliers, we remove the remaining burrs from our hole.

We finally grind the inner diameter with sandpaper or an abrasive stone.

When using any of these methods, you should never use a percussion instrument. Its use may lead to the tiles splitting, because... Along with high rigidity and hardness, it has great fragility.

Now you know how to drill holes in tiles with your own hands using various cutting tools.

Video: how to make a hole in a tile using a circular drill

Many who renovate their home have to deal with the problem of how to make a hole in the tiles. Since tile is only a type of ceramic, let’s pose a broader question: how to make a hole in ceramic tile. It's about not about ordinary drilling, but about a hole of a fairly large diameter, which may be needed to install, for example, a switch, pipe, etc.

When working with tiles and trying to drill through them, remember that if you use a drill with a regular drill installed, the tile will chip extremely easily.



How to make a round hole in ceramic tiles

So, in order to make the much-needed hole in accordance with one of the options outlined below, you need to stock up on:

  • with a diamond drill and ballerina;
  • tiled or hacksaw into which a tungsten blade is inserted

  • ring drill for ceramics;

  • an abrasive stone;
  • pencil and compass.

The methods below suggest using a drill. Therefore, let us clarify how drilling should be done. To avoid the drill sliding on the smooth surface of the tile, one of the following operations can be performed in the center of the future hole:

  • make a small indentation with a strong spear-shaped drill;
  • stick on a piece of masking tape.

At the first moment of drilling, the drill bit should be pressed into the center of the future hole, indicated by a recess or tape. You can’t put in much effort: the tiles can easily crack. Drilling should be done only from the face and strictly perpendicular to the tile.

When preparing to make a hole, you should first draw it on the surface of the workpiece with a pencil.

Method one: use an annular drill or a ballerina drill

For drilling, you can use a ring drill of the required diameter or a ballerina. If this is a ballerina, then using its adjustments you need to select the desired drilling diameter.

Remember that when drilling, the tile becomes very hot, which can cause it to crack. Heating can be reduced if the tiles are constantly moistened. Humidification will also help extend the life of cutting tools. However, be careful with water when you have a power tool in your hands.

Method two: duet of drill and jigsaw

Drill a hole with an electric drill. If you only have a hacksaw, then the hole diameter should be 12 mm or more. If you have a jigsaw, the hole may be smaller. Insert the cutting blade into the hole and the grips of the tool and carefully make the cut strictly according to the pre-applied markings.

Remove the tape from the tile and wipe its surface. If this is really necessary, use an abrasive stone along the edge of the cutout.

And now a few useful tips under a funny title.

Drilling Utilities for Drillers

Do not use a high-speed drill. It will probably cause the tiles to crack.

If you need to drill a hole on a separate tile, you can use the simple design shown in this photo to hold it:

Moreover, when drilling, a piece of board with a tile attached to it can even be lowered into a basin of water. The span of the board will not allow the device to rotate in the basin (if the basin is not round), and the tile and tool will be constantly cooled by the liquid.

That's all we wanted to tell you about how to make a hole in tiles. There are many ways to do this. One of them, in particular, is shown in the attached video. We hope that with our recommendations we have made it easier for you to complete the task ahead of you.

Do you want us to continue giving you little tips? Please write to us about this in the comments.