Drilling tiles

[robsartain]

I need to drill a 15mm hole for my mixer wall shower above the bath.

Currently the wall hasn`t been tiled but I obviousily need to drill two 15mm holes to get the pipe work through the tiles.

Can anyone recommend a good tool/drill bit that will do the job ?

Is there another way round the problem without the job looking shoddy ??

[Landlord]

This?

[B17NNS]

You want a diamond core bit. B&Q do them. Use plenty of water.

[mgtony]

Mark the hole on the tile,drill a small hole, gently clamp the tile in a vice/workmate and cut the hole with a tile saw. Can cut in any direction.

http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod360/section47/Til...

[Wings]

I did the same with an ordinary 15mm masonry drill, and before I explain to the OP how I did the same, if the OP needs to buy the drill, buy the longest length, since the same will have many more uses in the future, than a small length drill.

To drill my hole in a wall tile, I placed in the drill in the electric drill’s chuck, then without power, I placed the point of the drill at the spot on the tile I wanted drilled, then with body pressure I turned the chuck of the drill by hand, until I had made an indentation in the tile, the same removing the glazed surface at that point of the tile, once that was achieved I then used the electric drill at low speed to drill through the tile, job done.

The drill can then be used for your next job of fixing an outside tap etc. etc.

[Gingerbread Man]

I'm assuming that the pipes will have shrouds where they come out of the wall? If so you have quiet a bit of play with getting the hole in the right place. If you have a normal tile drill, use it to drill many holes in a circular patten to form a 'ring'. You then have a big hole and no need to buy more drill bits that you won't use again.

[headcase]

I just used a hand held tile saw, looks just like a regular coping saw but has a blade in it that looks a bit like a used welding rod
If the hole is not near an edge then use a new nasonary bit to drill a small hole first then assemble the saw through the hole, easy job really no need for expensive tools Q&B have them in the tileing section believe it or not

[Big Al.]

Masking tape to mark position and a 15mm GLASS drill, easy.

[Spudler]

BTW...you want to add a few mill on top of the 15 for tolerance.
I'm with B17NNS, by far the best/neatest way with no stress to the tile.

[mackg]

if the tiles are porcelain you will need diamond core cutters as suggested by b17nns and probably drill 18mms

[robsartain]

Cheers guys. Yep the pipes will have external covers so the hole doesn`t have to be 100% accurate.

Went to screw fix this morning, if Im not successful I will put a Post on here Monday morning "How to replace a cracked Tile" :-)

Thanks again

[TVR1]

If you have more than 1 or 2 worthwhile investing in...

http://www.365drills.com/homepage3.htm

[monthefish]

robsartain said:

I need to drill a 15mm hole for my mixer wall shower above the bath.

Currently the wall hasn`t been tiled but I obviousily need to drill two 15mm holes to get the pipe work through the tiles.

Can anyone recommend a good tool/drill bit that will do the job ?

Is there another way round the problem without the job looking shoddy ??

Have you considered positioning the shower so that it lies at the join between two rows of tiles? (or setting the tiles so that a row finishes at the height of the shower (if the shower is fitted already))

[Spragnut]

Done this recently my self on my shower room, after lots of broken tiles trying it different ways I got this from screwfix

Drill Bit

Done the job perfect, nice clean hole, and normally the mixer taps come with "finishing" plates that hide the pipe coming out the wall so 20mm was ok, also gives you some flexibility for the pipes.

Used it for other holes as well, must've drilled about 20 in total and its still as good as new.

Jim