How to drill a hole in a tile?

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The need to make a hole in the tile canbe caused by the laying of water pipes, installation of the outlet, installation of a heated towel rail or shelf. In essence, this procedure is not complicated. However, in the process of drilling, tiles can crack and even crack. Therefore, in this article, we will look at how to drill a hole in a tile in such a way that it does not damage it.

Tools for drilling tiles

Before you start drilling in the tile hole, you need to figure out what tools are needed for this.

First of all, you need an electric drill that can work at minimum speed.
Next, we need a cordless screwdriver. The number of revolutions for this tool should be at least eight hundred, but not more than a thousand revolutions per minute.
You will also need a network screwdriver. If you need to drill a small hole (up to 12 mm), you will need a hand drill.

How to drill a hole in a tile

Consider what kind of drills you can use to make holes in the tile.

Drill with diamond coating. On the one hand, such a drill is very expensive, on the other - if you use expensive tiles, the diamond tip will be the most optimal, since it is with this drill that the chance of damaging the tile becomes minimal.
Drills with a winning tip. This type of tip is relatively cheap, but it is not recommended to drill a thin enough tile, less than one centimeter in thickness.
Also there are specialized drills for drilling holes in glass and tiles. However, they need to be selected individually for each case.

Drilling recommendations

To cut a hole in the tile so thatthe tile did not split, you need to calculate the point from which the drilling will begin. To do this, you need to retreat from the edge of the tile just over 15 millimeters. This will significantly reduce the risk of cracking.

Before you start drilling, you should soak the tile in warm water for 30 minutes. Please note that water should not be cold, otherwise it only increases the risk of cracks.

During drilling, it is also recommended to wet the point where the drilling was started.

If you have the opportunity, make a small hole in the seams between the tiles. This will help when drilling to protect the ceramics from the appearance of cracks.

Drilling procedure

Consider a couple of ways of drilling tiles. First, we'll discuss drilling under the dowel.

First of all, you need to paste a piece of paint tape into the place where drilling will be performed.
Use a simple pencil to mark the point for drilling.
Drill a hole with the selected tip.
After this, you need to change the drill to the standard drill and drill the hole, making it wider. Then you can insert the plug. Do not forget to clean the tiles beforehand of dust particles.

Now consider how to drill a hole in the socket.

First you need to put the tile on a perfectly flat surface. You can use a wooden beam.
Now we need to draw a point (circle) for drilling the hole (the diameter should be noted exactly).
Use a puncher and make a hole at low speed.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the articles that are devoted to the issues of repair and, in particular, drilling of tiles: