Drilling in Ceramic Tile Without Making A Big Mess

Drilling in ceramic tile is a quick way to scratch or break a tile. That may force you to remove a tile and could wreck an expensive tile. It's a bad deal any way you look at it.

Do it this way and you'll get a clean hole with no damage to the surrounding area.

Mark the exact spot for the center of the hole. Use a pencil or a pen marker. Score the outer surface glaze on the tile with a sharp point. Use a small philips screw driver or an awl or sharp punch. Breaking through the glaze will help prevent the drill from walking around.

Cover the area where you're working with masking tape to protect those surfaces.

Get a masonry bit, preferably diamond tipped. If the hole you need is larger than 1/8 inch, first drill a 1/8 inch pilot hole. If you can keep water flowing in the cut to lubricate the drill do that to make a nicer cut. Now use the pilot hole to drill your required hole size using another masonry bit. Again, lubricate with water.

Remove the masking tape and there you are...a clean hole in ceramic tile!

Get more answers to your ceramic tile questions at our ceramic tile installation article. See that article at this link...