Can I get away with a regular masonry bit, like say from a tapcon set, or do I need carbide?
I need to mount some hooks to hang shampoo racks in the shower because suction cups and adhesive strips have been failing pretty regularly.
I know, tape it, mark it, and go slow when drilling.
Would you be better off with one of those bits that's made for glass? I've got one that I use for putting electric cord holes in liquor bottles and I thought it said it was for glass and tile.
They make spade bits for tile. Or, do what I did. Get a cheap shower curtain rod, some baskets and some curtain rings. Stretch the rod opposite the curtain side, use curtain rings to hold baskets. No drilling required.
In reply to RevRico :
A Tapcon drill bit IS a "regular" carbide masonry bit.
No. It won't drill ceramic. If you use a hammer drill, it will skate all over the place.
It WILL work if you can drill in the grout joints.
If you have to drill the tile, get a tile bit and wet drill. They are available at Lowes/ HD. They are diamond edge, and look like a straw (hollow tube). They come with a little water box to drill through (note- the damned thing won't stick like it should. Use duct tape). They are not in the tool section. They are in the ceramic tile section.
In reply to RevRico :
Had to do something similar recently, used this:
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/power-tool-accessories/hole-saws/2001344
Regular drill, apply tape, wet the surface, 45 degree angle to start then slowly tipped it to 90 deg for the rest. Use good silicone to seal.
Practice on scrap tile first if possible.
CrustyRedXpress said:In reply to RevRico :
Practice on scrap tile first if possible.
This, most definitely. I'm not sure what bit I used, but I recall the challenging part was getting started. Once you're past the glazed surface, it gets much easier. It helps if you're not in a hurry.
SV reX said:In reply to RevRico :
A Tapcon drill bit IS a "regular" carbide masonry bit.
No. It won't drill ceramic. If you use a hammer drill, it will skate all over the place.
It WILL work if you can drill in the grout joints.
If you have to drill the tile, get a tile bit and wet drill. They are available at Lowes/ HD. They are diamond edge, and look like a straw (hollow tube). They come with a little water box to drill through (note- the damned thing won't stick like it should. Use duct tape). They are not in the tool section. They are in the ceramic tile section.
This
In reply to SV reX :
Adding Lowes to my stops today if Ace doesn't have one then.
I was gonna do the curtain rod in the corner idea, but my curtain rod has trouble staying up with a curtain, I can't imagine it would handle the Sams club sized containers of shampoo very well.
Of course if someone wouldn't have reused old bent pipe to stick the shower head out of the wall, I could just use a hanging basket, but no that would have been an extra 50 cents in materials when PO redid the bathroom.
This is going to sound silly, but Play Dough helps when drilling ceramic or porcelain tile. In order to not immediately destroy your expensive bits, you need to keep the tile & bit cool. Take some Play Dough and roll a piece into a rope 1/4-3/8" thick. Make enough to encircle the area where you are drilling and push it down to make a circular dam. Fill the little circular dam with water and start drilling. As mentioned above, start the bit at a 45* angle and this little trick works incredibly well. So much better than sitting there with a squirt bottle in one hand and the drill in the other.
A carbide masonry bit will drill it as long as you aren't in a hurry. Turning off the hammer function, high drill speed, and low pressure are key to avoid cracking the tile.
A glass or ceramic bit will cut much faster with a lot less of a chance of cracking the tiles.
Use a very sharp awl and gently tap it with a hammer on the spot you want to drill in order to create a divot in the glaze.
Then a regular masonry bit will eat through the tile. Don't use the hammer drill function until through the tile.
this dude doesn't even use an awl, just the masonry bit. Easy job.
Hammer drill is obviously off the table, but unfortunately so is a scrap piece. At least I'll be drilling sideways into it instead of vertically into it this time.
Although I'm now thinking there are already holes drilled with plastic screw holder things in them on the side of the shower, they're just in the wrong spot, outside where the shower curtain hangs. Triangles are strong, 1/8" bar stock is strong. If I weld together a piece that could go from the existing holes to the wall, could it be strong enough, or would it be too heavy and break the tile?
I tried drilling the ceiling of the shower which is also tiled when we moved in with a diamond tipped dremel bit, and after breaking 3 bits went with construction adhesive to mount the ceiling light. I guess that would be an option too.
If $20k would just fall in my lap so I could redo the bathroom entirely and properly that would be great.
Slow and steady wins the day here. If you press down hard you will crack what you are trying to drill through. I used one that looks like this:
Noddaz said:Slow and steady wins the day here. If you press down hard you will crack what you are trying to drill through. I used one that looks like this:
I prefer these over the tube ones.
In reply to Noddaz :
Yeah, I forgot those. They work too.
Noddaz said:Slow and steady wins the day here. If you press down hard you will crack what you are trying to drill through. I used one that looks like this:
Yup, that's what I grabbed at Ace this morning. In Bosch Blue.
Keep a cup of water nearby to cool the bit if it gets too hot.
I just bought a Bosch bit, appears to have a smaller diameter center drill type lead at the bottom. Drilled a hole in a bottle using blue tape on the glass and a 3/8" pilot hole through a 1 X 2" board. Now for the nice wine bottle, soon to be a night light.
914Driver said:I just bought a Bosch bit, appears to have a smaller diameter center drill type lead at the bottom. Drilled a hole in a bottle using blue tape on the glass and a 3/8" pilot hole through a 1 X 2" board. Now for the nice wine bottle, soon to be a night light
With a cordless drill you can drill the hole in the bottle right in the sink with a bit of water running. Glass bits go down the drain.
Spade bit worked. Little scratching over the blue tape, but once it broke glaze it got there. Eventually.
Battery died in the second hole so I went and did other jobs while it charged, 3 seconds and I punched through. Had to cut eye bolts into hooks but it works.
The hardest part was using the quarter inch bit for the quarter inch screw holder thing, and the hole still needing rounded out. Rubber mallet helped a lot.
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