We get many requests for installation of a wide range of fittings and fixtures onto tiled walls, particularly bathrooms but also in kitchens and laundries in the eastern suburbs. The fittings that people ask to to install onto ceramic and porcelain tiles include:
- towel rails
- hooks
- toilet roll holders
- picture hooks
- spice racks
- kitchen roll holders
- shaving cabinets
- shower curtain rail brackets
Drilling into both ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles requires a lot of caution and care as it is certainly possible to crack tiles when drilling into them and we try to advise clients about this possibility before commencing the work. By their very nature, tiles are relatively brittle and represent a challenge when drilling into compared with brick walls, gyprock, timber or other surfaces we encounter in our handyman work in the eastern suburbs. Some tips around drilling into tiles include:
- Never use the electric drill on ‘hammer’ setting. This sounds obvious but we have seen instances where people have cracked tiles by utilising the drills hammer function
- On porcelain tiles use a diamond tipped drill bit. Porcelain tiles, due to their manufacturing process are extremely hard to drill into. We have found through sheer experience that an investment into high quality diamond tipped drill bits makes the job a lot easier than using standard masonry or other drill bits. these diamond tipped bits are expensive but do a good job.
- Take the job slowly! Drill slowly, on low speed, stopping to cool the drill bit with cold water from time ti time.
- At the beginning of the drilling the drill bit needs to cut through the glaze with ceramic tiles. This can take a while but once through the glaze the drilling generally becomes easier as the drill hits the ceramic substrate below.
- To stop the drill bit from moving around the ‘slippery’ tile surface when commencing drilling, one ‘trick’ is to put a small piece f tape (masking or electrical tape work well) over the drill position. This stops the drill bit from moving around.
