Drilling Ceramic tile


  #1  
Old 01-18-03, 12:55 PM
bmoore4
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Smile Drilling Ceramic tile

I needt o drill a 1 inch hole in a ceramic floor tile
to fit my tiolet water supply pipe. Any advice as to what kind of
drill bit should be used. (I suspect a 1inch carbide bit may do,
but considering these tiles can only be cut with a wet saw,
I'm not sure which bit to use for drilling.)
 
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Old 01-18-03, 01:03 PM
A
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Hi
Is this tile already installed? If so, just drill a bunch of little holes with a carbide bit . If the tile is not installed yet, you can;t do this...the tile will break. You can cut a hole from the back of the tile using a wet saw..yes the hole will be square....but the flange will cover it.
 
  #3  
Old 01-18-03, 03:20 PM
TileguyTodd
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Go to home depot and get a carbide hole saw or , use a masonry bit drill a bunch of small hole s and use a parrot beak nipper to enlarge to the size needed.
Or if you have big bucks, Get a diamond core bit and use it in combination with some water and you'll zing through it like a champion.
 
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Old 01-19-03, 09:19 AM
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Diamond coring bits are sometimes a rental item in some areas...something to think about.

If the tile is not installed and there is a wet saw available and you want to avoid the "square" hole (boy that's a lot of if's ain't it?), you can turn the tile upside down and raise the tile into the saw blade, then with a sideways action dish-out the back of the tile almost to the topside surface. Then turn the tile over and break out the surface to the size hole required.

Keep in mind normally an escutcheon is used around the pipe to cover the hole anyway.
 
  #5  
Old 01-19-03, 11:16 AM
BoatCop
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Rotozip

If the tile is standard wall tile, a RotoZip or similar saw has a tile/masonry bit that works well on the relatively "soft" wall tile.

I tried mine testing on both wall and (for the heck of it) ceramic floor tile. It made short work of the wall tile, cutting through it like wood. A lot slower on the ceramic floor tile. (Not recommended, since it'll probably ruin the bit, and would take too long) The hole saw attachment makes circle cuts precise.

I won't mention where I got mine for $59.95, so I won't violate any advertising policies here on DIY, but they also replaced a 20 year old broken wrench, no questions asked.
 
  #6  
Old 01-19-03, 12:20 PM
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Oh-oh!!! "Advertising Policies"???

So you can't mention Sears here?

Just a guess of course.

He says it's floor tile, hard stuff, eats tools daily, not easy for a DIY'er sometimes.
 
 

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