Cutting opening in tiles

Jul 05, 2024 Last reply: 2 years ago 24 Replies

I posted this earlier but it seems to have got lost in the wires ...

I would drill a series of holes on the perimeter and then break-out (or cut-out, using a multi-tool) the centre piece. Doing the whole job with a multitool would take a while and make lots of fine dust (wear a mask!), and the vibration may loosen other tiles. A thought: is it possible to cut through the grout (multitool) and remove a tile to cut on the bench and then replace?

I did not say they were not drillable - just difficult!

Your typical shed "tile bit" (spade tip) will not touch them. An Armeg solid carbide bit used at low speed, with very high pressure and pressure, and water cooling will do it slowly (and at fewer than 20 holes per bit, quite expensively).

IME the best option is the very small (i.e. drill bit sized) diamond grit edged hole saws with water cooling.

The small 7mm hole saws you can usually start by (gloved) hand. Some sets do come with a plastic guide for starting them though.

You can remove the grout with a multitool, although getting the tile unstuck in one bit is normally not usually possible if it was well stuck in the first place.

Still handy if you need to replace a broken or drilled tile though, you can rake out the grout, smash the tile and pry off the bits, then grind the old adhesive flat with a carbide rasp on the multitool, and finally fit a new tile.

The "is it possible" was aimed at the OP, because the answer would depend on the size of tile and where he/she wants the hole. The tile is on plasterboard so it'll be possible to get it off, even if it involves cutting out (and patching) the plasterboard, but I agree there's a risk of the tile breaking.

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