drilling holes in porcalain tiles

by **stevey** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:37 am

hi ive just laid some porcalain tiles in my bathroom but i am strugling to drill holes in them so i can fix my toilet ive tried masonary bits and tile bits but they just spin round and hardly make a mark has anyone got any ideas please thanks for any advise stevey

by **christatedavies** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:33 pm

I imagine you are drilling on the coated, shiny side of the tile. Try drilling from the other side. You'll have to be firm and steady though, so as not to crack the coating around the newly drilled hole.

HTH, Chris

by **Mister H** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:03 am

I had the same problem recently with some 10mm thick porcelain tiles. Took me about 20mins to go about 2mm!
In the end, I found that B&Q do some small diamond tipped tile drill bits. This did the job, albeit still slowly, and they're a bit pricey (it was about £17 for a 6mm dia bit, which only managed 7 holes before going blunt).

by **christatedavies** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:39 am

And I just read the original post and realised the tiles were already laid. So my advice is pretty damned useless! So, sorry for that.

by **plumbbob** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:44 pm

Yes, doing that today 1cm thick!! I HATE PORCELAIN TILES!!!!

Get a nice sharp quality masonry drill ( I paid £4.00 for a 6mm Irwin). Tip is to keep dipping the bit in water after about 15 seconds of drilling to keep the tip from going soft and melting. Don't expect the bit's life to be more than about 4 -6 holes.

by **TheDoctor5** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:42 am

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