hi there, could anyone give me advice on drilling into ceramic tiles. need to put up towel holder etc, do i just use a normal drill. thanks.

Yeah that would do, better with a spear head drill but not nescessary. Slow speed and NO hammer action.

try here

Originally Posted by Sir Ramic

Yeah that would do, better with a spear head drill but not nescessary. Slow speed and NO hammer action.

thanks alot, wil go and try it.

Exactly right.

Ceramic is a very soft material. Break the glaze on the tile surface and the job is done. A bit of masking tape on the tile to stop it slipping.

You will need a basic tile drill which cost a few pound and are carbide steel.

Where our kit has a part to play is on more exotic stone like granite, porcelain, travertine, granite, slate, marble.

We produce commercial diamond drills to cut the very hardest materials out there. But of course the equipment upgrades come at a price.

Heres a couple of little projects on ceramics.

Project One

Project Two

These show other post readers what can be achieved with diamond drills in ceramics.



Our equipment is possibly too expensive for those who only have a few holes in ceramic tiles.

But for any other post readers who require the need to drill multiple holes into ceramic tiles with diamond crowns or holesaws then we can oblige. People like full time tilers, plumbers, builders and professionals.

My tip for drilling grade 5 porcies is:

1. Mark the tile
2. Rotozip to make a depression
3. use a small (eg 2mm) tile bit as these gets through in no time
4. then use 6mm bit or whatever you need

Cuts drilling time down by loads.

If you dont have access to the Rotozip (a basic 240v unit is £144.89 source TT)

Then for £29.99 we have 6mm drills which can be used with any hand drill.


£29.99 gets you a pack of FOUR core drills but also the anti-slip yellow guide plate critical for accurate drilling on those expensive porcelains !


Use the cores with a standard battery hand drill.



Also a wet sponge held under the diamond holesaw will cool it, maintain optimum lifespan of the core and eliminate dust exposure for the installer.



Perfect results !

I use a spear bit on ceramics and the advise given above is correct ie a square of tape to stop skidding

but take care with the plug, the head of the plug is wider than the hole so when srewing in you can crack the tile

so for a no5 plug[red] I use a 7mm bit and for a no 8 plug [brown] I use a 10mm bit and so on, this is just through the tile , once the tiles drilled I switch to the correct bit for the plug to drill the wall

use the 365drills good stuff that

If you are a pro tiler then the BFKMX contains sizes for 6mm and 8mm so you can use them on ceramics. But the best thing is the kit contains the service pipe sizes.


Yes of course the kit drills perfect holes for rawl plugs.



You could use the spear points shown above left. But diamonds are more efficient



Here you can see the hole formed perfectly.



Just slip your plug in.



Job done !


The 6mm and 8mm form part of the kit.



And the plus is that they cut the holes for service pipes like the shower head above.

"All in one"

for ceramic i always use a normal masonry bit for towel rails ect, and i have never cracked a single tile yet. my method is to mark the tile where hole is to be drilled. select hammer drill and simply mark the tile on hammer by drilling for a second. take hammer drill off and continue to drill hole. the bit will simply follow the mark you have made.
a steady hand is needed

Originally Posted by jwatson

for ceramic i always use a normal masonry bit for towel rails ect, and i have never cracked a single tile yet. my method is to mark the tile where hole is to be drilled. select hammer drill and simply mark the tile on hammer by drilling for a second. take hammer drill off and continue to drill hole. the bit will simply follow the mark you have made.
a steady hand is needed

noy very good advice there j, hammer drill is not recommended at all.

i know, i know very naughty, riskey without practice
but has never failed for me on ceramic.

i am ashamed for posting that do it the propper way guys

I used to turn the chuck a few times with my hand which scores ceramics enough to drill slowly. Never on hammer though.

Dewalt extreme masonry bits have a really small point on them that marks the tiles perfectly. Alas no good on anything harder though

have used hole cutting kits from plasplugs but they are quite difficult to get hold of.
drills through ceramic, porcelain no problem.

I'll admit to using hammer action. Maybe I need to upgrade my old Makita as no hammer action = zero progress.

I have done it once by mistake with and sds and smashed it to bits. I was drilling it before i fixed it though so all was not lost

have used hole cutting kits from plasplugs but they are quite difficult to get hold of.

Plasplugs went bankrupt and then restarted. So you might find some inconsistency with supply.

Their diamond cores also have a flaw with the water tank. You cant use the same water tank on the wall as you use on a floor tile. So you have to buy 2 x the same size.

Our cores provide good value for money and form a perfect hole.

News Alert to professional tilers: Our bundle price of 8 cores for £49.99 works out at a credit crunch busting £6.25 per core if you buy a pack of 6mm and a pack of 8mm of these tool box essentials.

365Drills PORSADRILL Brand Will last for AGES.

In contrast the Plasplugs cores work out at about £15.53 each (source - Choicefull.com 9/7/2010) so 8 cores would set you back £124.24

That is £74.25 more expensive than 365drills Porsadrill £49.99 for 8 cores.
And thats if you can find them.

365Drills are a healthy financial company trading well and exporting all over the world from Worksop with UK jobs. We enjoy providing professional installers and tilers with fantastic value for money and robust equipment able to stand up to porcelain tiles - so perfect on ceramics.

these products sound great, will check out your website

This is the latest 8 minute informational video showing the full kit
which contains larger cores for service pipes as well as the smaller
6mm and 8mm cores for drilling holes to fit rawl plug sizes.



Works out at about 7.15 a core