Tile drilling with masonry bits?

[Nanako]

Hello all, i see this is a common question, i had a look through various threads and got a few answers, but i'm not satisfied so im making my own

I want to hang up shelves in my shower area, screws and plugs through the tiles.
All i have are tri point flat shank masonry drill bits, and i really don't have the budget for much else right now. I saw plenty of posts saying i should buy some kind of fancy diamond/tile/carbide bit, i do not understand why, and i really don't want to buy anything.

Some videos suggested using lots of water, i don't understand how, my hammer drill is not waterproof and i dont want to get it wet

I have a stack of spare tiles, so i tried clamping one to a bit of wood and drilling it, i got through just fine and made a perfect hole in it with no trouble

Then i tried drilling another hole on the same tile, and it cracked in half, with a line running through the previous hole ;-;

I dont know what kind of tiles i have, apparently ceramic and porcelain are different? All i know is that they are shiny and white

I did read that its wisest to bore the mouth of the hole a little wider to allow your plug to expand in the tile and avoid cracking

 

[foxhole]

A loose tile is easily weakened by drilling a hole which is why the second hole snapped it . Fixed to wall and drilled without hammer action it should be fine .
Push plug below tile so any expansion is not at tile .
Water only helpful with diamond hole saw not for small holes .

 

[endecotp]

I've only ever used a proper tile drill to drill tiles. You can get one for about £6 - £8. It gets more expensive if you need a set of different sizes.

I guess ideally you want the plug to expand and grip in whatever is behind the tiles, not expand in the hole in the tile and make it crack. Maybe push the plug through into the brick?

 

[Nanako]

I've only ever used a proper tile drill to drill tiles. You can get one for about £6 - £8. It gets more expensive if you need a set of different sizes.

I guess ideally you want the plug to expand and grip in whatever is behind the tiles, not expand in the hole in the tile and make it crack. Maybe push the plug through into the brick?

well why did you use that drill? Presumably you read or heard some reason to, or about what happens if you dont?

 

[accelerator]

Watch how to do it here:

 

[endecotp]

Presumably you read or heard some reason to, or about what happens if you dont?

I guess so.

 

[sparkymarka]

Use a standard carbide drill ( for drilling brick ) BUT don’t use hammer setting , use normal drill setting , it will drill the tile fine when you have got passed the tile , switch to hammer

 

[Tricky-Dicky]

I've used these for drilling thr' ceramic tiles - did a good job, just take it steady.
However I doubt that they could be used on porcelain tiles!

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-tile-glass-drill-bits-4-piece-set/258pr

 

[Old Salt]

Normal masonary drill in an old fashioned hand drill until you break through the glazed surface. Then you can use a normal drill on slow speed. If you have to make a larger hole just gradually increase the size of the drill bit using the hand drill each time to break through the glaze.

 

[Nanako]

Normal masonary drill in an old fashioned hand drill until you break through the glazed surface. Then you can use a normal drill on slow speed. If you have to make a larger hole just gradually increase the size of the drill bit using the hand drill each time to break through the glaze.

this worked well, thank you! The drilltip skittering around was a little bit of a pain, but i used light contact and a steady hand to abrade the surface until it could get a firm grip, and drilled two holes no problem

Well, there is a problem but its not related to the tiles

Plug spinning in hole!

Hi all, i'm drilling holes for shelves today in my bathroom, i'm using 8x65mm plugs, so i drilled a hole that deep, and actually a bit deeper. 830mm is the depth of this hole, i know because that's the entire length of the 8mm wide drill bit i used, i kept going hoping to hit some brickwork and...

www.diynot.com

 

[JohnD]

an old fashioned hand drill

You mean like this?

 

[Nanako]

I'm happy to report that the operation was a success and my new bathroom shelves are mounted and sturdy, thank you for the advice everyone