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Drilling Holes in Porcelain
Drilling holes in porcelain may be one of the most common tasks you will come across in your tiling career. It is a great skill to know how to drill holes through a tile perfectly, even if you have succeeded before. The inability to correctly cut holes into your tiles can be a costly error, as one accidental slip and you’ll end up with cracked tiles, ruining your job.
Before you work into your tiles cutting the holes into your smooth porcelain surfaces, it is important to make sure you know the exact steps to drilling through tiles. The process of drilling holes into your tiles may seem like a pretty straight forward task, but even the smallest mistake can ruin a tile.
Luckily for you, we have plenty of top tips and instructions that teach you how to drill through your tiles. These tips and tricks will not guarantee your tile will not crack; however, they will drastically minimise the possibility of this happening.
Know your Materials
One of the first and most important things you need to pay attention to if you want to master the art of how to drill through tiles is the material you are working with. If you know the ins-and-outs of the material you are trying to cut, you will have a deeper understanding of your task.
Certain materials, such as porcelain, are harder to drill through than others. As a result of this, drilling and cutting porcelain requires more work and preparation compared to other tiles. You will need a drill bit designed for cutting porcelain, such as the diamond drill bit. Click here to view our range of drill bits.
Drill Bits
One of the first and most important things you need to pay attention to if you want to master the art of how to drill through tiles is the material you are working with. If you know the ins-and-outs of the material you are trying to cut, you will have a deeper understanding of your task.
Certain materials, such as porcelain, are harder to drill through than others. As a result of this, drilling and cutting porcelain requires more work and preparation compared to other tiles. You will need a drill bit designed for cutting porcelain, such as the diamond drill bit. Click here to view our range of drill bits.
Drilling the Tile
So, you know your material, you have marked your cutting area and have the correct drill bit prepared. It is time to cut your tile!
As tiles are built to withstand stress and abuse, it can make them resistant to drilling causing the risk to slips and damaging during the cut. A top tip to prevent this is to start cutting your tile on a 45°angle, and to slowly rotate the drill keeping this position. This creates a slight cut solid base for the cut to be completed easily. Click here to see a video demonstration of correctly drilling a tile.
It is important to keep slow and steady when cutting your tile. Keep your drill on a slower speed and take your time, this will help keep your cut clean and your drill bit cool. Apply consistent pressure throughout the cut, but not too much as you risk your tile cracking.
During your cuts it is imperative that you keep your drill bit cool. You can use a wet sponge, running water or a spray bottle to keep consistent water on the area you are cutting to help keep your bit cool. By keeping the area of the cut wet, you also suppress the amount of dust produced by the tile.
Well done! Now you know how to drill holes into your tiles to perfection. Make sure you check out our tile cutting range for all of the tools and consumables that will help you on your tiling journey.
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