Drilling Tiles

paul2468

Just had that bathroom re-tiled and i would now like to fix a towel rail to the wall but i am scared that when i drill the wall that i will crack the tiles.......can anyone tell me the best way to do it without cracking the tiles....?

N9eav

Never had any crack yet if they are stuck on right.
Use a nice sharp masonary drill bit and a hammer drill. You might want to put some masking tape on the tile first and mark where you are planning to drill, then it wont skid all over the tile and scratch it.

saintscouple

Flashfly

N9eav wrote: »

and a hammer drill.

I'd make sure your hammer drill is NOT set to hammer action. The vibrations may cause the tile crack.

The masonary drill bit will work great. You can also buy special tile drill bits that look like a flat spade.

unrich

Use a marker pen directly on the tile where you want to drill.
Put masking tape over the spot to help stop the drill wandering.
Mark the spot again with the marker.

Use a small drill first like a #4 to make a small hole.
Go slowly and lean your guide arm against the wall for solid positioning..
Then use your larger drill #6.

Ceramics make a hole quite tight for a rawl plug so you may need a smaller plug or to move up 1/2 a drill size. (or shove hard).

Just use a good masonary drill. Bosch have some brilliant multi use bits. I find the tile drills fly off in all directions apart from the one I want.

Cazzdevil

I've never managed to get it to work with a normal drill bit, I bought a tile-specific drill bit (about £5 for two) and never looked back - no broken tiles and the bit just went clean through the tile like it was made of butter.

Nile

Hello paul2468

I'll move your thread to the 'In my home' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

ormus

use a battery drill (not a hammer drill) and use any sharp bit. drill slowly and put minimum pressure on it.

weekendwarrior

If the tiles are soft then use a masonry bit or tile drill-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/tiling/drill_tiles.htm

If they are tough porcelain or natural stone then these are better-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/tiling/diamond_coated_drill_bits.htm

LesD

paul2468 wrote: »

Just had that bathroom re-tiled and i would now like to fix a towel rail to the wall but i am scared that when i drill the wall that i will crack the tiles.......can anyone tell me the best way to do it without cracking the tiles....?

Thanks for posting this! I've always thought it was just me scared of drilling tiles!!!

fas3robinj

Paul, Before you drill make sure (as best you can) that there are no pipes or wired where you plan to drill.

If you think there could be, you could use a stud or cable detector (you can get them in DIY stores). I always drill very cautiously in modern houses.

I've drilled hundreds of tiles using the tape method. I don't use hammer action on the drill., and I've never known one to break yet.