When working with ceramic tile, you may encounter a moment when you have to drill a hole through it to run a pipe, wiring, or water supply line. Ceramic tiles on the market today are made out of a bunch of different materials and finishes, but the method that works the best every time is to use a lubricated tile drill bit. Here is how you do it for most applications!
Things You'll Need
- Ceramic, Clay, or Porcelain tile
- Plumbing Putty
- Air Tool Oil
- Carbide Tile Drill bit
- scrap 3/4 Plywood or MDF board
Instructions
- When working with tiles, you should check to see what type of material you are working with to get an idea for how hard or easy it will be to drill through it. If you are using a clay tile, it will be soft and easy to drill through, if you are using ceramic, class, or porcelain tiles they will be harder to drill through. No matter what type of tile material you are working with, the following steps are very effective for drilling a hole through it.
- The first thing to do is to go out and get a sharp carbide drill or a diamond-encrusted carbide tile bit. I only recommend the diamond encrusted bit for cutting through glass tiles. They look like a really small shovel or spade in shape, and you can find them at most home centers where they sell tile.
- Once you have this carbide tile bit, get some plumbers putty and some light air tool oil. If you are working with loose tiles that you are installing, get a piece of MDF board large enough to place behind the tile. If you need to drill through tile that is already installed, then you do not have to worry about the MDF board.
- What we are going to is build a small oil reservoir on top of the tile that you want to cut using the plumbers putty. We will then drill through the tile in the same area as the oil reservoir. This will keep the bit cool as it rotates through the tile and give us very a clean cut without cracks, chips, or breaks.
- Take a normal variable speed drill - DO NOT USE A HAMMERDRILL - and install the carbide tile cutting bit into the chuck.
- Take out enough plumbers putty to knead into a ball. Roll the putty up in your hand and get it warm and pliable. Roll the putty into a ball, and then roll the putty out into a long log shape.
- Take the putty log that you created, and form a ring or a circle on your tile around the area that you would like to drill the hole through.
- Smooth out the inside of the putty ring and the outside of the putty ring so that it sticks to the tile. You do not want any leaks.
- Excellent. Now take your air tool oil and add enough oil to fill up half of the putty crater you created on the surface of the tile. You want to put in enough oil to keep the carbide bit lubricated the entire time that it is in contact with the tile. Dip your bit into the oil to test the level and see if you need to add a little more oil, or if it covers the bit fully.
- Now, center your carbide dip onto the hole mark that you created on the tile, and begin drilling through the tile at slow speed. Some people recommend making a pilot hole, but I have found that by simply starting the bit on slow speed in the oil solution, it bites into the tile very well and guides itself. Do not be afraid to apply some pressure to the drill, but press down firmly and gently.
- As the drill bit begins to bite into the tile, you will notice that the oil solution will actually begin to change color as the surface layer of the tile is drilled through and the interior clay is penetrated. Sometimes you will get a red color or a white or grey color. It just depends on the color of the interior clay used to make the tile. You will also notice that it takes a little longer to drill through the top glazed layer, but as you get into the softer clay of the tile, the bit will go right through without any problem.
- Keep the drill bit speed consistent as you drill through the entire piece of tile. Press the bit all the way through the tile to ensure a clean, crisp hole.
- Congratulations, you just drilled a clean hole through tile! It was easy, and this can be done for all types of tile with a very high success rate every time!
Tips & Warnings
- Do not apply too much pressure when you first drill as the drill and bit can slip away from the marked point and scratch the tile. The carbide bit makes its own pilot hole, but you need to hold the bit steady.
- This only works on a flat surface, so drill any holes that will have to go up on the wall before the tile is hung! If you need to drill on a vertical wall, you will need to make a cup with the plumbers putty.
Source: www.eHow.com
