How and how to drill a tile so that it does not crack?

In the process of renovation in the kitchen, bathroom,bathroom and other utility rooms, there is often a question of how you can drill a hole in the tile. Of course, you need to do this in such a way that it does not burst and does not lose its external appeal.

At first glance it may seem that allsimple, but it's not at all. The tile is quite slippery and brittle material, so if you are not a professional builder, drilling a tile can be a real test. So how to drill a tile without losses?

How to "hole" tile: 6 practical tips

In fact, everything is not as difficult as it might seem at first. You just need to listen to some tips:

• First of all, choose the right tool. It should fit comfortably in the hand. Keep it you need firmly and confidently.
• The working speed of the selected tool should not exceed 1000, and even better 800 rpm.
• Keep the drill or screwdriver in one position, do not push or change the angle. This can lead to the appearance of "spider".
• If it is necessary to drill a hole at the junction of two tiles, use an exceptionally thin drill, even if it is not "tiled", but for concrete.
• As far as possible, retreat at least 1.5 cm from the edge of the tile, the corners and edges of the tile are very fragile.
• It is best to drill holes before laying the tile on the wall. Soak the material in water for at least 40 minutes. So the tile becomes more viscous, and there will be no cracks.
• If you do not know how to drill a tile,she did not crack, and never did, it is best to pre-practice on unnecessary pieces. So you can feel the instrument and understand with what effort you need to pressure the drill.

Choose an instrument

So, than to drill a ceramic tile? First you need to choose the drill itself. The model should not be either high-speed or shock, because you need to work with a very fragile material.

For work with tiles suitable:

• A conventional electric drill, included at the lowest speed;
• low-speed screwdriver, plugged into the outlet;
• screwdriver of the battery type with a rotation speed of no more than 800 rpm;
• hand drill-colourot.

Some nuances of work

To understand how to drill a tile, you need to consider some subtleties:

• In any case, do not allow the drill or the tile to overheat, otherwise the entire top layer will be covered with "spider web" and the material will crack.
• To cool the working surface, regularly wet the drilling site with cold water.
• Try to correctly determine the force of pressure. If the pressure is too weak, the hole will not work. If to squeeze - the tile will crack.
• When drilling holes in a tile, never use the reverse mode. Only slow rotation of the drill is possible in a clockwise direction.
• Be especially careful at the joints. There, the tile does not have a protective coating and is easily crumbled.

Choose Drills

The science of how to drill a hole in a tile is not too complicated, but it has its own peculiarities. For example, the correct drill bit.

If you are at least a little familiar with the constructionworks, you know that drills are different: for wood, concrete, metal and so on. Here and "tile" drills have their own characteristics. The process here is based on the friction of abrasives. So for drilling a tile or ceramic tiles you will need a winning or diamond drill. Most often they have the form of a crown or arrowhead.

If you are not too constrained in the means, it is betterprefer diamond consumables to consumables. They, of course, are more expensive, but they do better with ceramics. Spear-drill bits with a win are also designed to work with tiles. Due to the shape of the tip and the special angle of the cutting edge, the contact surface is significantly reduced. You will have to make less effort, which means that the tile will not crack.

Drilling by all means

• Before you drill a tile, sealthe proposed place of work with several layers of paint tape. This will prevent the tool from slipping and will slightly strengthen the edges of the potential hole. You can also use insulating tape or a conventional medical plaster.
• Use a bright marker to mark up.
• Insert a special "tile" drill bit and set the drill bit to the lowest speed.
• If the device has a shock mode, be sure to turn it off. Failure to do so will necessarily result in tile breaking.

In those cases when it is necessary together with tilesdrill a deep hole in the wall, the work is carried out in two stages. First, drill the tile itself. Then they change the bit to a thinner one and continue to "gnaw" the wall itself to the required depth. This is done so that in the process of drilling concrete do not damage the fragile edges of the tile.

How to make a large hole

And what to drill porcelain tiles or tiles, if it is necessary to get a pipe or insert a socket? For such works there are also special devices:

• circular drill - "ballerinka";
• crown with an abrasive edge.

The ideal option in this case is a specialcrown with a diamond coating on the cutting edge. It is quite expensive, and if you are not a professional builder, buying one does not make much sense. In order to do just a few holes, a more budgetary option - a crown with winning teeth - is also suitable. This printer has several drawbacks:

• one piece is enough to drill about 20 holes, after which the device can be safely thrown away;
• no matter how carefully you try to act, the edges of the hole will never be perfectly even, they will always have scrapes.

Pros for the crown is also:

• low cost;
• there are many options for diameters, up to 15 cm.

There is another option, how to drill a tile,if it is necessary to cut a hole of considerable diameter. This so-called drill-ballerinka. It is a construction in the form of a spear, in the tail part of which there is a special bracket. The last one is inserted one more - a "tile" drill bit. If you've ever seen a compass, it's easy to understand what's what. It is worth such a device is inexpensive and quite suitable for domestic work. However, here there is a slight nuance. To work with tiles, try to choose a "ballerinka" whose central drill has the shape of a hexagon, not a spear. This design is more stable.

We drill the tile with a crown

• Determine the location of the future hole and seal the surface with a paint tape.
• If you are not too confident in your abilities, you can make a stencil out of plywood and press it firmly against the wall in the right place.
• Set the crown to the desired diameter and start drilling at the lowest possible speed.
• Try to keep the tool perpendicular to the wall. So the crown can evenly "bite" into the tile around the entire circumference of the cut.
• If you are using a diamond-plated crown, the speed can be slightly increased. And to avoid excessive heating of the surface, during drilling, water it with water.

"Wet" way of drilling is generally muchpreferably. Especially if the tile has a glossy glass coating. In this case, any drill will serve much longer, and the risk to overheat and split the tile is minimized.

We work as a "ballerinka"

In order to usedrill- "ballerinka", you need to correctly size. Note that between the lateral and central drills, you need to set not the diameter, but the radius of the future hole.

Install the main hexagonal drill in the center andstart at low speed. Try to keep the drill firmly and smoothly, otherwise it will come off and you will not be able to achieve the desired result. One of the advantages of the "balerinka" is that with its help you can drill a hole much larger than 15 cm in diameter. But larger crowns simply do not exist.

Conclusion

At the end of our conversation, let's once again remember how to drill a tile, so as not to crack and not spoil the impression of a brand new repair:

• Be sure to wet the place of work with water, for example, from a spray gun. So you can avoid overheating.
• Try not to place holes on the edge of the tile, this creates an additional load.
• If it is necessary to obtain deep holes, change the bit to a thinner one after passing the thickness of the tile. This will protect the edges of the hole from damage.
• When drilling, be sure to use only small turns and do not force the drill too much.
• Try to use only special drills for work. Believe me, they are much cheaper than replacing a cracked tile.