During the renovation of the bathroom and other areas of the house, it often becomes necessary to make a hole for the equipment of a socket or switch. Some materials are easy to cut with the most common tools, others require a special approach.
It is quite difficult to drill a hard but fragile tile without damage, and making a hole of a large diameter is even more difficult. In this article, we will share popular and easy ways that you can quickly cut tile to install an outlet.
Features of working with tiles
It is rather difficult to make an even and neat round-shaped cutout on a tile for a socket, as it has high hardness and strength. In addition, the slippery glazed surface complicates the cutting process, as there is no adhesion between it and the cutting tool, which causes the drill to constantly slip. The main danger during the manufacture of holes in the tile is splitting and damage to expensive material. To make the cut look neat, you need to perform a number of preparatory measures:
- On the surface of the tile from the outside, where drilling will be performed, markings are applied with a pencil or marker.
- To prevent the drill bit from slipping off the glazed surface of the tile, the cutting area is pasted over with construction tape or adhesive tape. Before cutting, you can scratch the outline of the socket hole with a regular nail.
- Moisten the tile before starting work to speed up the cutting process and reduce dust.
Important! A hole for a socket on the wall surface must be made before installing the tile. You need to be prepared that during the manufacture of the cutout, the tile may crack, and have an insurance stock of material, which is 10-15% of the total.
Cutting with a hole saw
The fastest way to make a hole in a tile is with a special nozzle on a drill called a crown. Crowns for drills and perforators are sold in hardware stores, they have different diameters that need to be matched to the mounted socket. However, experienced craftsmen do not recommend making holes in the tile using a perforator, as cracks and chips form along the edges of the cut due to vibration. To work with tiles, crowns of the following type are used:
Note! The drill and hammer vibrate strongly during operation, which is fraught with the appearance of chips and cracks on the tile. Therefore, you need to drill tiles at low speeds, spending 1-2 minutes per hole. To improve the quality of the cut, the tile is placed on a table on a wooden substrate, and the drill is placed on a tripod.
Cutting with a ballerina
Construction stores sell nibblers for tiles, which are popularly called "ballerina". This tile cutter is a drill attachment that consists of a pilot drill and two or one cutters. "Ballerina" is adjusted to the desired hole diameter, and it costs no more than 1000 rubles, depending on the manufacturer and material. This nozzle is usually enough for 10-20 cuts, but the cutters can bend even earlier. The principle of operation of the "ballerina" is as follows:
- The future hole for the outlet is marked on the tile, be sure to mark the center of the circle.
- A nozzle guide drill is installed at a point in the middle of the marked circle.
- Adjust the cutters to the diameter that corresponds to the hole being made.
- Begin to carefully and slowly drill the tile at low speed for 2-3 minutes.
Professional builders say that in order to make an even, neat hole without chips and cracks, you need to fix the drill for the duration of work in one position without changing the tilt of the drill. It is difficult to hold the tool in this way for 2-3 minutes, the worker's hand may “tremble”, so it is better to fix the drill on a tripod.
To make a neat hole in the tile without the risk of splitting and damaging the material, it is better to use a manual rather than an electric tool. To do this, in a hardware store you need to buy a tungsten string, which is inserted into the saw instead of the cutting blade. The cutting process is carried out in the following order:
- The marking of the future outlet is applied to the outer or inner surface of the tile.
- If the hole is located inside the tile, then inside the marked circle with a drill and a drill, you need to make a hole of small diameter.
- A tungsten cutting string is inserted into a hole made by a drill in a tile.
- With the help of a string, a hole is sawn along the markings with translational-return movements.
Note! When cutting tiles with a tungsten string, cracks, chips or other defects never occur. However, it takes up to 30 minutes to make each hole by hand, so this method is not suitable for industrial scale.
Cutting with a thin drill bit
It happens that in the arsenal of the master there are no special tools for cutting tiles, but the work needs to be done urgently. Then a drill with a conventional drill with a diameter of 6-8 mm comes to the rescue. The process of making holes using this method is as follows:
- The socket box is applied to the outside of the tile, and then circled with a marker or pencil.
- About 20 holes with a diameter of 8-8 mm are made along the marked circle in increments of 1-2 mm.
- The necks between the holes are carefully removed with pliers or wire cutters.
Important! Marking and drilling of tiles should be done only from the outside of the material, otherwise the cut will look messy.
Video instruction
The cheapest, but also the most time-consuming method, but it is only good for wall tiles, it is much harder to cut a hole in floor tiles in this way, and in porcelain stoneware it is better not to try.
To do this, you will need a hacksaw, a diamond blade and a little patience. The diamond sheet looks like this:
Diamond blades are sold in shops and markets. Estimated price 2-4$.
If the pipe falls on one ceramic tile and is already installed, then first draw the contours of the hole on the front side of the tile with a pencil or marker (taking into account the thickness of the seam) and cut the tile with a tile cutter so that the tile cut falls in the middle of the future hole. I understand that this is not easy to do, certain mathematical calculations are needed here, and anyway, as practice shows, mistakes are not rare. Do not be discouraged, with the next tile you will definitely succeed. The newer the canvas, the faster you cut the hole, but you still have to tinker for 10-20 minutes. So that the glaze on the tile does not break off, you need to cut the tile in only one direction, moving the hacksaw along the metal and, accordingly, the canvas down. Of course, the glaze or the front side of the tile is on top of us. You need to lift the canvas carefully, again, so as not to break off a piece of glaze.
If you want to make a hole very accurately, so that there is an equal gap of 2-3 mm everywhere between the pipe and the tile, then it is better to cut a hole of a smaller diameter, and then adjust it in place, treating the surface of the tile with a round file or sandpaper. In this case, it will take you much more time, but you can achieve an almost perfect result.
So that the glaze on the tile does not break off, you need to grind the tile in only one direction - down.
The result will look something like this (first the general view, then the top view, from where no one ever looks):
In the place of the hole, the tile can not be cut in half, but a cutout can be made to insert the tile. If the pipe is located near the wall and is approximately at eye level, then this option gives a good result. It will look something like this:
In the first case, the grout fell out of the seam when the pipes in the bathroom were changed, in the second case, he was going to wipe the seam after painting the pipe, but so far he has not gathered. In general, the use of cement grout, if the pipe is not rigidly fixed, is undesirable, it is better to use acrylic sealant and then paint over it, but this is a separate issue.
2. A circular drill on a tile - a "ballerina".
This method is suitable if you need to drill several holes. The "ballerina" can no longer stand it, and in general it can bend right away - it depends on the model and quality of the metal. But the price of "ballerina" is not big - $2-10. Ballerinas look like this:
3. Crown (hole saw) with carbide soldering.
The most accurate and fastest way. The only drawback is the relatively high price of carbide-tipped hole saws - $ 40-60, which is not much cheaper than diamond hole saws. Crowns look like this:
For better quality, you can use a drill stand.
Before drilling, it is advisable to punch the glaze of the tile so that the drill does not travel, this can even be done with a nail or screw if the core is not at hand. Place the core on the center of the future hole and lightly hit with a hammer.
And don't forget to wet the tile, this will not only speed up the process, but also extend the life of the tool and reduce the amount of dust.
At the beginning of the repair, it seems that the most difficult thing is laying tiles on the walls and floor in the bathroom. Therefore, when the installation of the decorative coating is completed, you think that the problematic moments are already behind. However, the bathroom will have to be equipped with plumbing fixtures, cabinets, shelves, and sockets. To put in place each of the listed items in the wall, you need to make a hole, or even more than one.
The craftsman is faced with the question of how to drill tiles on the wall without damaging or spoiling the appearance. In this situation, there are only two options: trust the professionals or learn how to drill tiles yourself.
Difficulties when drilling tiles
Ceramic tile is considered an ideal wall cladding option because it can withstand decades of ruthless use in the humid microclimate of the bathroom. These same qualities complicate the manufacture of holes in the tile. First of all, the difficulty is presented by the following features of this type of finish:
- Hardness. Ceramic tiles have a dense, solid structure, as they are obtained by extrusion or pressing. Therefore, drilling a hole in it is not at all easy, you need a special tool, drills, the hardness of which is greater than the tile itself.
- Smooth surface. The outer surface of the tile is covered with glaze so that it is less porous, does not absorb moisture and shines beautifully. Therefore, when you try to make a hole in a tiled wall, the drill bit will slip, which can damage the tile.
- Fragility. Despite the high hardness, it is quite easy to damage the tile during drilling. Especially if the glue was distributed unevenly during the laying process and there are air cavities under the tile. When hit in such an air pocket, the drill will almost certainly crack the tile.
Not knowing how to drill a tile correctly, you can make a lot of annoying oversights that will lead to the need to replace one or more tiles, increase repair costs, and simply shake the master's nerves.
Tool selection
To make a hole in a tiled wall, you need a quality tool. You can rent what you need, borrow it from friends or buy it, because it will come in handy many times during the repair process. One way or another, you need to get a good drill and hammer. They must meet the following requirements:
- The drill must support various drilling modes, be able to work at low speeds, and have sufficient power. Pay attention to battery models that are easy to use due to their low weight, they are not “tied” to a power outlet.
- It is undesirable to process a tile with a perforator, as this impact tool creates vibration, which can lead to cracks on the surface of the tile. It is useful for drilling the wall under the tiles.
- The master must be able to control the pressing force and the speed of rotation of the drill. It is advisable to start work with low speed, gradually bringing the rotation to 200 rpm.
Worth paying attention! A little trick: if an old hand drill is lying around, do not rush to get rid of it, because a hand tool is ideal for drilling tiles, as it is driven by muscles, and therefore does not vibrate.
Choice of drill and drill
You need to take care of buying a special drill and drill suitable for working with tiles. They need to be very hard and sharp, usually professional finishers use:
Very important! The diameter of the drill is selected according to the size of the dowel, and the diameter of the drill for the perforator should be a few mm smaller so as not to touch the edge of the tile during operation, otherwise the vibration will damage it.
The purchase of a low-quality, unsuitable drill is a dubious savings that can come back to haunt you with chips, cracks and much higher costs.
Tile drilling technique
In addition to a power tool, to drill a hole, you will need a building level, masking tape, marker, tape measure or ruler. Having prepared everything you need, follow the steps in the following order:
Be careful! The drill should not overheat during operation, the smoke that appears is a sure sign that it is necessary to stop and cool it.
Large diameter holes
Sometimes it becomes necessary to drill a large hole in the tile. For example, to mount a socket or connect plumbing. To accomplish this task, use other nozzles:
If you have planned in advance the places for mounting sockets and connecting communications, it is easier to drill the tiles before laying them on the wall, as they say, on the shore. Since it is more difficult to work with holes of a large diameter.
Knowing how to drill tile into a wall won't be intimidated by a request to hang a mirror or a shelf in the bathroom. After all, the main secret of success is a quality tool, accuracy and consistency!
Video instruction
When tiling any surface, the master is always faced with the need to make holes in the ceramic tile for a pipe, an electrical outlet. Holes can be divided into internal, located inside the perimeter of the tile, and external, which extend beyond the tile. Also, in shape, they are divided into radius and rectangular. The way to cut a hole in a tile for a toilet, pipe or electrical outlet depends on its shape and location on the surface of the tile.
Using a grinder
The grinder is a versatile multi-purpose tool that is in the arsenal of every home master. It can be used to cut tiles instead of a tile cutter, which is considered a special tool and not every master has it. To work on the grinder, a metal diamond wheel is installed for dry cutting.
Bulgarian with a circle and discs on stone
The peculiarity of the grinder is that it only performs a straight cut. Therefore, an angle grinder can easily make rectangular holes or make a large cut with a radius shape if the contour arc has a slight bend. A smooth arc or a perfectly round hole will not work right away. First, mark the contour of the radius cut and draw a lot of chords. An inscribed polygon should appear inside the outline. After marking, several cuts are made along the line of chords, after which the contour is finalized with sandpaper.
Important! The tool must be equipped with a protective cover. It is necessary to work with gloves and goggles.
In this case, the grinder does not perform a translational cut, but the tile is cut pointwise from the front side along the markings. Thus, if you plan to cut a round hole, you need to take a diamond wheel as small as possible. The larger the hole diameter, the more accurate the cut will be. The chords along the radius contour will be short, and the cut will be as close as possible to the radius and it will take less work with a round bar with sandpaper to refine the edge.
Work as a grinder This method works well with tiles. To make radius holes in porcelain stoneware, it is better to use the special tools described below.
Video of the wizard:
Using a jigsaw
A jigsaw is also available to most craftsmen, but it provides more options for curly cutting ceramics. To do this, insert a diamond file into the tool and you can cut a hole in a tile of any shape. To cut the internal holes, you will need a drill with a thin diamond drill bit. They drill a hole on the inside of the contour. A jigsaw file is inserted into it.
Jigsaw cutting Work with glass cutter and pliers
Manually, without using a power tool, you can make a straight or radius cut for a pipe or outlet from the edge of the tile.
Breaking off with pliers In addition to the glass cutter and pliers, you will need a straight or round bar with fine sandpaper. The work is done like this:
- Using a marker on the front side, the outline of the future cutout is marked.
- Before cutting a hole, it is recommended to pre-soak the tile in water. This will reduce the risk of splitting.
- After that, a cut is made with a glass cutter along the applied line. To make the furrow deep, it is necessary to apply sufficient force. In this case, you must not overdo it and not split the tile.
- In order for the glaze to completely split along the cut line, the tile is tapped from the back.
- Then, with the help of pliers or special tongs, they bite off a piece of tile, as if biting into it. Gradually, reaching the intended line, the tile will break off along the cut contour.
With this method, it is possible to obtain lines of any configuration, but there will always be small notches on the edge. They need to be removed with sandpaper.
drilling
You can drill small holes (up to 15-20 mm) with a drill by inserting a conical or spiral drill of the appropriate diameter into it.
Drill with cone drill Drilling is convenient if the tile is already glued. But usually a hole must be drilled before the tile is glued in order to bring the wire into it or put it on the pipe. Therefore, the tile must be well fixed on a flat surface. Drywall or chipboard sheet is used as a substrate. To reduce the risk of breaking the ceramic during drilling, it must be wetted. It is recommended to fill the slats on chipboard to make a box. The rails are glued with silicone. A tile is placed in a box and filled with water. They drill ceramics right in this box. Water will soften the tile, there will be no internal stress in it, and the drill will be constantly cooled.
The technology for performing drilling in tiles is as follows:
- The first problem is that at the first revolutions of the drill, the drill slides along the smooth surface of the tile. An adhesive tape will come to the rescue, which is glued at the place of drilling.
- Mark the drilling point. It should be on duct tape.
- Drilling begins with a slow speed of the drill, so that the drill does not float on the glaze from a jerk and does not make a scratch.
- After the drill has caught on the tile, the drilling site is moistened with water. During the work of the drill, it is necessary to ensure that the workplace always remains wet.
Using a drill, you can make a hole of large diameter under the sewer pipe. But this method can be used when one or two holes need to be made, since the process is laborious and the quality leaves much to be desired.
Contour drilling To do this, a lot of holes are drilled along the contour of the cutout with a thin drill. Thus, a perforated contour is obtained. After completion, the inside of the hole is knocked out, the remnants of the teeth are cleaned with pliers and leveled with sandpaper.
Drilling with crown and ballerina
If you need to cut a circle of any diameter with high quality and accuracy, professional tile drilling tools will come to the rescue. These include diamond-coated crowns and ballerinas with victorious incisors.
It is easier to work with a diamond crown, since it is a cylinder of a certain diameter with a cutting diamond edge. To center the crown in the center of the cylinder, a conventional pobedit drill is located.
The ballerina is a conventional drill, which has one or two L-shaped pins with a cutter at the end. The pins are attached with a clamp. By pulling out the pin, the desired diameter is set. This is the advantage of the nozzle over diamond crowns, which have a fixed diameter.
ballerina Despite the fact that this tool is the simplest and most accessible, some skill is needed when working with it:
- Models with one incisor are more durable, but during operation such a ballerina becomes an eccentric, which leads to vibration.
- Models with two cutters are less durable, it is difficult to set both cutters to the same radius. Because of this, the tool cuts two circles, making a double cut.
- When working, it is necessary to maintain a right angle between the axis of the drill and the surface of the tile, otherwise the ballerina will begin to burrow from one side of the circle. In order to maintain this angle constantly, they produce ballerinas with a plastic basket. It performs the function of a control stop and will be able to help the master maintain the angle.
When working as a ballerina, double-sided drilling is performed. First, a protruding drill makes a hole in the ceramic tile. As the drill deepens, the cutter begins to cut through the glaze. Having cut through the glaze, continue drilling from the back side.
Crown Crowns are sold in sets for standard sizes. Before working with a crown, it is first necessary to drill a central hole into which the crown drill is inserted with a conventional drill.
Video of using the crown:
Modern plumbing is equipped with decorative facing washers on the pipe, and sockets have linings that can block the hole cut by hand or grinder. Therefore, it is not always necessary to cut an even circle, sometimes you can do without special tools.
The tile is distinguished by high strength, water resistance, relative cheapness and practicality in care. It can be easily laid on the wall or floor in your own home without any problems. However, when performing tile work, novice craftsmen have to seriously break their heads - how to drill a tile correctly and so that it does not burst in the process. After all, standard drills for concrete cannot be used here.
What drill and what tools to use?
Holes in ceramic tiles are made for pipes, sockets and fasteners for mounting furniture or plumbing. Even in a small bathroom, you have to drill it a lot. However, at the slightest oversight of the master, the tile cracks and splits, because the ceramics themselves and especially its upper layer of glaze are fragile. And then the resulting fragments can only be sent to the trash, since it is often impossible to use them elsewhere.
What tools should be used
To drill a hole in a tile, you will need:
- electric drill or a powerful screwdriver;
- spear-shaped drills and with one-sided acute-angled sharpening;
- diamond tips-crowns;
- ballerina with a sliding cutter.
You can even use a hand drill for drilling. But if there are a lot of holes in the tile, then it would be best to replace it with an electrical counterpart. Also, for drilling work on tiles, you will need a marking pencil and water to cool the working tool. If drills and crowns are not constantly moistened, they will quickly become dull or crack from overheating.
Types of drills
What to do to prevent ceramic tiles from cracking?
Not every pencil is able to leave a clearly visible mark on the tile. Therefore, it is recommended to first stick paper tape in place under the hole, and then draw a cross on it to indicate the point of drilling the hole. Glued paper will also make it easier to work, since the drill will slide less over smooth glaze.
Use masking tape to make the job easier
To minimize the risk of ceramic splitting when drilling tiles, you should:
- Turn on the drill only at low speeds - the norm is 100–400 rpm.
- Drill ceramic tiles a couple of days after gluing, when the adhesive has firmly set, or on a flat and stable surface with boards or gypsum boards.
- Work without excessive pressure and with constant wetting of the cutting tool for cooling.
- Forget about the presence of the hammer drilling function in the drill (it is possible to drill a hole in the tile only in shockless mode).
- Hold the drill strictly perpendicular to the ceramic surface.
- Take the drilling point at least 15-20 mm from the edge of the tile - the closer to the center the hole is drilled, the less likely it is to split.
If skills in handling a drill are minimal, then you should first practice on an unnecessary piece of tile. Splitting a tile due to inexperience is easy. Drilling holes in it is a responsible and unhurried business. If the erroneous installation of beacons for floor screed will require only a small addition of concrete, then if it is not properly handled with fragile ceramics, it will instantly crack.
If there are no skills in working with tiles, it is better to entrust the matter to the master
How to drill holes for dowels in tiles?
Depending on the required hole size, it is recommended to drill with different tools. In some cases, you will have to use a crown, while in others, an 8-16 mm drill is enough. But a situation is also possible when it will be difficult to do without a grinder.
To drill a tile for dowels, you need a tile drill 1-2 mm larger than the plastic insert for the self-tapping screw. They first need to carefully drill a layer of glaze without too much pressure. And then all the remaining ceramics are slowly passed up to the wall.
The wall surface itself, especially if it is concrete, should be drilled with another slightly smaller drill. Wasting a specialized and expensive tool designed for tiles is not worth it and is simply pointless.
Which drills to use for different surfaces
How to drill a hole for faucets or sockets?
To drill holes larger than 20 mm for pipes or sockets, a thin drill will not be enough. Here you will have to use crowns or a ballerina. The first option is more expensive, but also easier to work with. And the second option allows you to get by with one tool, with which it is possible to drill holes of different sections in diameter.
If there is no ballerina or crown of a suitable diameter, then you will have to drill several small holes around the perimeter of the large one. After drilling them, you will need to carefully cut out the center outlined in this way with wire cutters and trim its edges with a rasp.
You can also resort to the use of a grinder. But it will be difficult to drill an even round hole with it. It's more of a tool for cutting tiles to the required dimensions or cutting out rectangular pieces from it.
