The answer to the question of how to drill tiles so as not to crack, is of interest to many home craftsmen who independently repair their homes. The main difficulty of such a procedure as drilling tiles is that this product is very fragile and can easily burst even from minor mechanical stress.
How to drill a hole in a tile without breaking it? To do this, it is recommended to use the appropriate tool and strictly adhere to all technological recommendations. Almost any specialist in tile work, when asked how to drill tiles correctly, will advise performing this process at low speeds of the drill: after all, the drilling efficiency largely depends on the rotation speed of the latter.
For those who do not like to read long articles and go into subtleties and nuances, we suggest watching an informative video that answers most of the basic questions on the topic of proper drilling of tiles.
When wondering how to drill tiles to get a high-quality result, you should carefully choose the equipment suitable for this. Special attention should be paid to the speed range in which it can operate. Drilling tiles to prevent them from cracking should be done at drill speeds in the range of 200–1000 rpm. Setting the rotation speed of the chuck on a regular household drill to 200 rpm is problematic, although such equipment can easily reach the upper limit (1000 rpm). In this regard, to drill high-quality holes in ceramic and tiles, it is better to use a cordless or corded screwdriver, the upper limit of the chuck rotation speed is 800–1000 rpm.
You can also drill tiles to prevent them from cracking using a hand drill if it is not possible to use an electric one. Of course, you won’t be able to quickly drill tiles in a bathroom or toilet using a hand drill, however, the result will be accurate and accurate. It should be kept in mind that a hand drill will not allow you to drill a large hole in the tile, since such a device cannot work at high speeds.
How to drill tiles? To work with such a hard and brittle material that can easily crack, you need to choose the right drill. The recommendations given in the next section of the article can help resolve this issue.
When choosing equipment, you should pay attention Special attention which drill to drill into ceramic tiles. At wrong choice You can use the tool only a few times, after which you can throw it away, as it will become completely unusable. To drill into tiles without such negative consequences, you need to choose the right drill.
Spear-shapedDrill a hole well in ceramic tiles possible by using a spear-type drill, which has a long service life. If you are thinking about how to drill a tile for a dowel, choose a tool of this type. It is also important that spear drills are affordable.
How to drill tiles to get a quality result? For this purpose, a drill with a carbide plate sharpened on one side is often used. Sharpening the cutting part under acute angle not only reduces the risk of overheating the drill, but also allows it to more easily drill through tiles, which are highly durable and brittle.
Crown type with diamond coatingQuite often it is necessary to drill the tile to get a hole in it large diameter, intended for installation of pipes and electrical outlets. Such a hole in the tile can have a diameter from 10 to 70 mm. In this case, it is best to use core drills, the working part of which is coated with diamond sputtering. A tool with a centering drill can be used in conjunction with a hand-held electric drill, and without it - only using stationary drilling equipment.
When drilling ceramic tiles with a diamond core bit, keep in mind that this tool is quite sensitive to overheating, so it must be cooled with water during the processing process.
Diamond-coated core drills are used at 200–500 rpm, and they must be properly cooled with water. The resource of such a tool, if you follow all the rules for its use, is enough for 20–50 drilled holes, which is a fairly good indicator.
How to drill through ceramic tiles without defects? This type of core drill allows you to easily solve this problem. They can also be used to process porcelain stoneware, marble and brick. Most significant drawback such a tool is his high price, but given its versatility and high efficiency, this price is quite justified.
When deciding how to drill tiles in the bathroom in order to obtain a large-diameter hole, many home craftsmen choose the so-called ballerina drill. This drill can be used to drill holes with a diameter in the range of 30–90 mm.
The ballerina includes a central drill and a bracket along which clamps with cutters move. With the help of the latter, a groove is cut on the surface of the workpiece. A ballerina drill is most often used when it is necessary to drill a hole of non-standard diameter on the surface of a tile in a bathroom or toilet. If you decide to use a ballerina, keep in mind that the hole created with its help has uneven edges, which will later need to be covered with something.
Although “ballerina” does not provide ideal quality holes, it always helps out in the absence of crowns required diameter
Before attaching any object to a surface finished with ceramic or tile, you need to learn how to properly drill a small diameter hole in such material in which the dowel element will be fixed. This procedure is performed in the following sequence:
There are several ways to solve the question of how to drill ceramics or tiles to form a large-diameter hole in them.
For high-quality drilling, the tiles can be soaked in water, which will make the material made of it softer and more pliable. In order for drilling tiles to end with a satisfactory result, it is enough to follow the following rules when performing this process.
At the beginning of the renovation, it seems that the most difficult thing is laying tiles on the walls and floor in the bathroom. Therefore, when installation decorative covering completed, you think that the problematic moments are behind you. However, the bathroom will have to be equipped with plumbing fixtures, cabinets, shelves, and sockets made. To put each of the listed items in place, you need to make a hole, or even more than one, in the wall.
The craftsman is faced with the question of how to drill tiles on the wall without damaging or spoiling appearance. In this situation, there are only two options: trust the professionals or learn how to drill tiles yourself.
Ceramic tiles are considered ideal option wall decoration, because it can withstand decades of merciless use in the humid microclimate of the bathroom. These same qualities make it difficult to make holes in tiles. First of all, the difficulty is following features this type of finish:
Without knowing how to drill through tiles correctly, you can make many annoying mistakes that will lead to the need to replace one or more tiles, increase repair costs, and simply fray the master’s nerves.
To make a hole in a tiled wall you will need a quality tool. You can rent what you need, borrow it from friends, or purchase it, because it will come in handy many times during the renovation process. One way or another, you need to get a good drill and hammer drill. They must meet the following requirements:
Worth paying attention! A little trick: if you have an old hand drill lying around, don’t rush to get rid of it, because hand tool Ideal for drilling tiles as it is muscle driven and therefore does not vibrate.
You need to take care of purchasing a special drill and a drill suitable for working with tiles. They must be very hard and sharp, usually professional finishers, to make a hole in ceramic tiles, use:
Very important! The diameter of the drill is selected to match the size of the dowel, and the diameter of the drill for the hammer drill should be several mm smaller so as not to touch the edge of the tile during operation, otherwise vibration will damage it.
Purchasing a low-quality, unsuitable drill is a dubious saving that can come back to haunt you with chips, cracks and much higher costs.
In addition to a power tool, to drill a hole you will need 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; smoke that appears is a sure sign that you need to stop and cool it.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to drill a large hole in the tile. For example, to install an outlet or connect plumbing. Other attachments are used to perform this task:
If you have planned in advance the locations for installing 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 large diameter holes.
Knowing how to drill through tiles on a wall will help you avoid being intimidated when asked to hang a mirror or shelf in the bathroom. After all main secret success - a quality tool, accuracy and consistency!
How to drill tiles? This question interests many men, because installing wall-mounted soap dishes, mirrors, curtains and lighting are all necessary steps to achieve the comfort and beauty of the bathroom. However, it often happens that you have to drill into tiles to install hangers and the like. But how to do this without damaging the tile?
Tile is a very fragile and non-plastic material, which is caused by a special firing method during high temperature. Along with obvious advantages, it also has some disadvantages, namely, if handled carelessly or with inept repairs, there is a high risk that the tile may crack or even break into several pieces.
In addition, the material itself has a negative impact on the tools when cutting, and conventional drills can become dull in a matter of seconds. This is why the question of how to drill tiles is so relevant.
So, what do you need for high-quality drilling of tiles:
There are also single-tipped carbide drill bits (3) that go through tough tiles very easily. Such products from famous manufacturer very durable.
But standard carbide drills (4) are best suited for deepening into the thickness of the wall.
There is enough rare view- these are drills with tungsten carbide coating (5), which in appearance are somewhat reminiscent of diamond-coated crowns. Sold in sets different sizes. They can be used, in addition to ordinary tiles, and for natural materials(marble, granite and so on). But they are most often bought by professionals for highly complex work.
Types of drills for tiles Well, we have finally decided what tools we will need during this operation. Let’s move directly to the instructions “how to drill tiles with your own hands so as not to split them,” but first, a few tips:
Advice! If the seams between the tiles are wide and the hole needs a small diameter, then it is worth drilling here. It's much easier this way.
If the tile has not yet been installed on the wall, it is moistened in a basin of water and then placed on wooden surface front side up.
After sticking the tape with the mark, start drilling, but at low speeds, and when the drill has already entered the thickness of the wall, the speed of revolutions can be increased, but it is better to replace the expensive drill with a regular one. This will not affect the quality in any way, since we completed the main mission - we carefully drilled an even hole in the tile.
After all the manipulations, all that remains is to insert the dowel into the hole and carefully hammer it in so as not to damage the tile.
To drill a hole in a large-diameter tile, for example, for a socket, standard drills will not work here, don’t even try - you’ll only ruin the drill and the tile itself.
There is an interesting drill called a “ballerina”. Is very popular on construction market, because of its price-quality ratio. Allows without special effort cut a hole in the tile without damaging it, with a diameter of 30 to 90 mm. It has simple design which is ideal for one-time works. Consists of a central drill bit and a carbide-tipped leg - allows you to cut holes without much resistance big size. Main feature This drill is capable of manual adjustment of the hole diameter.
You can use some models of tile cutters with a built-in compass, which allows you to easily cut a large hole without resorting to other tools.
For beginners who decide to drill tiles themselves, we suggest paying attention to a circular drill. It is a cylindrical metal rod, at one end of which there is a cutting border. The diameter of the hole must be chosen so that it is slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe.
There are such drills:
The newly purchased drill must be inserted into the drill chuck. After which, adhering to the rules indicated above, they begin to work with the tiles.
Anyone can drill a high-quality hole in a tile using the tips and adhering to the rules that we told you about in this article.
Ceramic tiles - gorgeous finishing material, which is widely used in private construction and during renovations in apartments. Durability, water resistance, high hygiene, practicality, ease of maintenance, relatively low price and, on top of all this, excellent decorative properties make tiles an almost indispensable material for kitchens, baths, bathrooms, and for decoration entrance groups– porch, verandas, hallways, etc.
Learning is quite accessible for the average owner of a house or apartment: a little diligence, diligence - and experience will come very quickly. But it is equally important to know how to drill tiles. Holes, one way or another, will be needed, for example, for hanging furniture, interior accessories, for wiring pipes or other communications, for installing sockets and switches, and for other needs. It's okay - we'll learn how to drill ceramics.
What, exactly, is the essence of the whole problem of drilling ceramics? Peculiarities technological process In the production of tiles - high-temperature firing, the high density of the material and its surface strength (especially if there is a glazing layer) have, in addition to the obvious advantages, a logical drawback. Ceramic products They are distinguished by fragility, the absence of any kind of plasticity, and tiles, if handled carelessly, cutting or drilling, can easily crack, chip, or even completely fall apart into several fragments.
In addition, the material itself, when processed, affects cutting tools a very strong abrasive effect, and ordinary drills will become dull in a matter of seconds.
Conclusions - for drilling, you cannot apply excessive load, vibration, or a high number of tool rotations. And, accordingly, the drills themselves must be made of high-strength materials capable of passing through a dense structure, and have an appropriate configuration or sharpening.
So, what may be needed for drilling tiles:
| Drawing | Short description |
|---|---|
 | Electric drill. The main condition for it is the mandatory presence of smooth speed control. |
 | A high-quality screwdriver with powerful source autonomous power supply. |
 | There is no need to write off the already half-forgotten hand drills. For drilling small holes, such a tool will be quite sufficient, and adjusting the rotation speed is not a problem at all. By the way, sometimes even an ordinary brace can be useful. |
 | Standard drills with carbide tips. Frankly speaking, not the best the best choice– this sharpening option will create difficulties when passing the most durable top layer of tiles. Rather, they will be needed to go deep into the thickness of the wall after the holes in the tiles have been made with other drills. More designed for shock-rotational action. |
 | Special spear-shaped drills for working with tiles. Very convenient for making small diameter holes (for example, for dowel fastenings). They can have a regular cylindrical shank for clamping in a drill chuck. There are also drills with a hexagon, the size of standard bits - they are convenient to work with when using a screwdriver. Usually such drills are enough for a couple of dozen holes in ordinary tiles. With porcelain stoneware it is more difficult - they cannot handle more than two or three holes. |
 | Special carbide drills with single-sided sharpening. They “bite” into the tile well and easily pass through the outer, densest layer. Similar drills from good manufacturer they will work a lot. |
 | Special core drills with diamond or corundum coating. Already belongs to the category professional tool, are able to cope with both tiles and porcelain stoneware. They are a hollow tube, which facilitates the drilling process - there is a free outlet for waste. Most often produced for large diameter holes. |
 | Similar to those already mentioned - core drills with tungsten carbide coating. Can be used not only for ceramic tiles, but also for natural materials - marble, granite, etc. They are usually sold in sets for a range of diameters, that is, they are most often purchased by professionals who are constantly faced with such a technological operation. |
 | For one-time work, if it is necessary to make holes of large diameter, it will be more profitable to purchase a special drill - a “ballerina”. It is inexpensive, but allows it to cope with the task in the range of diameters from approximately 30 to 90 mm. The design is simple - a central drill (usually spear-shaped) and a carbide-tipped leg located parallel to it. the reach of the leg can vary - this is how the desired radius of the hole is set. |
 | Some models of tile cutting machines are equipped with a built-in manual “compass” - a device that allows you to cut a hole in the tile without resorting to other tools. The pattern is similar to a “ballerina”, and the rotation is transmitted manually using a handle. |
 | For ease of work, special devices - jigs - can be used to accurately drill even holes. They are usually attached to the surface using suction cups and do not allow the drill to move to the side, which is especially important when starting drilling. |
 | When drilling some types of tiles, the tool quickly becomes hot and the quality of the work decreases. We have to resort to artificial cooling with water. To do this, special blowers are used that supply water under low pressure to the cutting site. |
Once you have decided on the tool, you can move on to practical work.
First, a few general tips:
The positive “impact” of adhesive tape doesn’t stop there. Practice shows that it is much easier to start drilling this way - the sharply sharpened edge of the drill will not slip from the intended point. This is much better than trying to core the center. When working with a core (let it be a hardened dowel-nail or a sharp needle file), there is always the possibility of damaging the surface of the tile or even causing a chip (crack).
It is imperative to check that there are no solid fragments left on the work table that would prevent the tile from fitting tightly to the surface.
If the hole is drilled on, then you need to be extremely careful with the oil drill - drops of oil can get into the grout, and you will have to suffer a lot to get rid of such stains.
Sometimes you have to resort to forced supply of coolant. Many professionals have a special tool for this purpose - usually a blower vessel in which it is created with a hand pump. overpressure, and a special jig that centers the drill and ensures the flow of fluid into the drilling area.
Now that the basic concepts have been outlined, we can move on to consider the most typical drilling of ceramic tiles - small holes for dowels, and large diameter holes - for laying communications and installing plumbing fixtures, sockets or switches
A typical situation is when you need to hang some piece of furniture, a mirror, a towel rack, a cabinet or shelf, or another bathroom or kitchen accessory on the wall. In this case, driven-in plastic dowels with a diameter of up to 12 mm are usually used. The situation is considered when work is carried out on a wall that has already been tiled, the glue under which has completely hardened.
First of all, you need to decide on the location of the hole. The fact is that it is desirable that it be located no closer than 15 mm from the edge of the tile. Otherwise, there is a very high probability that either the drill will slip into the seam between the tiles, or the edge will simply crack or break off due to overheating or vibration during drilling.
Large diameter holes (from 20 mm and above) are most often drilled into the tiles before laying them on the walls or. Careful marking is carried out to determine the centers, and the tiles are laid on the workbench.
Here, drilling technology may vary slightly - it largely depends on the type of drill used.
1. If you are using a “ballerina”, then first it is advisable to go through the tile in the center with a drill of small diameter (about 3 ÷ 4 mm) - this will greatly simplify the further process.
When installing the movable leg of the “ballerina”, do not forget that in this way we set the radius, that is, half the diameter - do not make a mistake here. After setting the desired radius, the locking screw is firmly tightened, with force, so that the movable leg does not move under the influence of vibration and centrifugal force.
The process of drilling tiles with a ballerina
When drilling, maintain low speeds, perpendicular arrangement drill to the surface and not too much, but constant, even downward pressure. If you use too much force, the drill may jam, and it will be extremely difficult to hold the tile on the surface of the workbench. The sharp cutting edge of the tool should do the job itself.
It is important to ensure that the same depth is maintained. cutting along the entire length of the resulting circle.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to slightly “work out” the edges of the resulting hole
Sometimes the edges of the hole will require a little work - this can be done with pliers and then sanded with sandpaper.
When drilling with a ballerina, extreme caution should be exercised - it itself is an eccentric, so the process may be accompanied by increased vibration. For greater safety, it is recommended to use a “ballerina” with a safety plastic casing.
Ballerina drill with safety guard
2. If the master has diamond, corundum or tungsten carbide core drills, the process is simplified.
Such drills can have their own shank for fastening in a drill chuck, or they can be a collapsible design with a replaceable crown for several diameters.
Please note that the photo shows crowns with a central guide drill. Working with them should not be particularly difficult - the center is set at the intended point, and then drilling is done with light pressure at low speeds. The holes usually turn out to be very regular, with smooth edges that do not require modification.
However, you can find crowns that do not have a central drill - this is especially typical for small-diameter tools.
How to center them, how to correctly set the center of the hole being drilled? For this, the already mentioned devices are used - conductors. Often they are even sold in the same set with drills.
Convenient kit - crowns with a conductor that can be connected to forced cooling
The conductor is attached to the wall (usually with a suction cup) so that a hole of the required diameter on it is located exactly above the intended center. After this, it will be simply impossible to make a mistake - drilling will take place exactly where necessary.
There are also “light versions” of such a device - templates that are applied or taped to the wall in in the right place, and then a hole is drilled. Of course, there are fewer conveniences in this case, but accuracy will be maintained. By and large, such a template is only necessary until the crown penetrates slightly into the surface of the tile. By the way, some craftsmen, saving money, cut out such templates for themselves from an ordinary sheet of 10 mm plywood.
3. Finally, we can mention the most “folk” way of making large-diameter holes in ceramic tiles. They resort to it when there is no way to find a suitable drill.
The idea is that a series of small diameter holes are drilled along the intended circle. Then it will be necessary to carefully break out the central fragment, and then modify the resulting opening to the required size. round shape– files, needle files or sandpaper.
This method cannot be called quick and easy, but nevertheless, it has a right to exist.
And at the end of the article - an object lesson on how to drill tiles from a professional:
For all its advantages, tiles has a rather significant disadvantage– this material is very hard and at the same time fragile, so processing, which cannot be avoided during the repair process, is quite difficult and requires skills.
Sometimes it is necessary to make a hole in the tile for fastening wall decor or plumbing turns into a real challenge, and if drilling rules are not followed You can only achieve cracking and damage to the material.
Easiest to drill floor tiles, since it is thick, and the applied forces are directed exclusively in one direction, which increases drilling accuracy and minimizes risks. A successful result depends on:
Used for drilling tiles special drills with diamond coating, but if, in addition to installation floor-standing toilet, nothing else is expected, then for the sake of two holes it is not worth spending money on an expensive part.
This can be done and with a regular drill for stone with pobedite brazing.
The main difficulty is in securing the drill on the slippery surface of the glaze, for which you can cover the intended drilling site with adhesive tape. Drilling must begin at low spindle speeds and, after passing the glaze, smoothly reach high speeds.
In no case Cannot use hammer drill mode while drilling the body of the tile, otherwise it will crack. They switch to it after going to concrete surface to drill a hole for the dowel.
All this time the drill must be strictly at right angles, so as not to touch the edge of the hole with your cutting surface.
Definitely for drilling Do not use a mechanical drill, although you can find such advice, even one hole will require a lot of force, and it is quite difficult to maintain the straightness of the drill.
You can use both a household electric drill and a professional one, however Soviet-made drills should not be used, on such models there is no possibility of smooth engine starting.
The greatest difficulty is drilling through the glaze layer, the drill cannot be fixed in the right place. To do this, you need to mark the passage with a hardened self-tapping screw, lightly hitting it with a hammer several times, this is quite enough to destroy the glaze.
Also Can you apply a medical plaster?, which will easily hold the drill in place. Drilling begins at low speeds, but only in drill mode; after passing the glaze layer, you can reach maximum speed.
After the drill exits the tile onto the concrete, if drilling needs to be continued, switch the tool to hammer drill mode. If you need to make a large number of holes, then drill after each pass needs to be cooled in water.
When is it necessary to drill a hole for the outlet? electrical wires or securing equipment, drills may be used. Well, what should you do if you need to remove it through a tile? water pipe or make a hole under electrical outlet?
Used as a more expensive option diamond crowns– they have a fixed size, so it is advisable to purchase such a tool as a set, which includes crowns with different diameters.
It will mainly be needed by those who professionally engaged repair work . In order for the crown to serve for a long time, drilling is performed at the lowest speeds, and it must be cooled frequently. The crown is used both for laid and not yet fixed tiles.
Ballerina - has a lower cost, so it is advisable to purchase it even for a home tool kit. Unlike crowns, it can be used to drill different hole diameters, but only on tiles that have not yet been laid.
But since hole location in most cases is known, and their number is small, then it is used.
Also watch the video lesson with expert tips on how to drill tiles
