drilling an acrylic bath for taps

Hello,

I am looking at buying a new bath. I see most of them are acrylic these days. Some of them do not come with tap holes, which surprises me. I would be nervous of drilling them wrong and ruining an expensive bath. How easy are they to drill and what type of drill bit do you use? Presumably you measure twice, drill once, and use pilot holes?

Thanks, Stephen.

Reply to
Stephen
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In message , Stephen writes

Last one I did was about 15 years ago.

They are easy to drill, IIRC I used a spade bit and took it slow and steady measured and checked and measured about 100 times first :-)

Reply to
Chris French

I used a hole saw, but I made a template out of plywood first to ensure the drill could not slip, and to help keep it vertical. Of course, you then ha ve to get the template in the correct place. And make sure you allow for ti le overlap so there is space for your chosen taps to turn without fouling t he wall.

Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

he drill could not slip, and to help keep it vertical. Of course, you then have to get the template in the correct place. And make sure you allow for tile overlap so there is space for your chosen taps to turn without fouling the wall.

Oh, and also do not put the holes too close to the bath - make sure there i s space underneath for the tap washer / bolt on the flat section. This is t rickier if it is a reinforced acrylic (Carronite or whatever) which is thic ker. In short, the tap positioning was fairly well constrained.

Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

Acrylic is one of the easiest things to drill. Start with a small drill and work up gradually - or use a hole saw. But do make sure not to let things get hot as it can melt. If using a hole saw, keep the speed slow and use water to lubricate/cool things. The water will boil before the acrylic melts.

Draw out an accurate template on your computer in real size and print out. Then glue to the bath with Pritt stick or other water soluble glue.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

+1 but without the plywood, I just drilled a pilot hole.
Reply to
David Lang

Don't worry - I felt the same way...

OK - first. Good hole saw. I used the Bosch Progressor:

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(You can but singly, don't forget the arbor)

Next - tape spacings. Read the dimensions of half a dozen mixer tap aseemblies. I forget the spacings between hole centres but IIRC it was pretty standard. Use these dimensions EVEN IF USING pillar taps. You may want to change them one day.

Last - cover the area with masking tape - then mark and drill through that from the top. Go gentle and it should not chip at all. The tape will help stop pilot drill wander and should help reduce any splintering.

With PPP (proper planning and prep) it actually all went quite well when I did it - clean holes in the right place.

Oh - and when placing the taps - THINK and THINK again.

Can you get the nut on the bottom? Will the taps/pipes clear any batten you will have around the edge to support the bath? Usually , along a lone halfway between back edge and bath edge is about right.

Reply to
Tim Watts

They're very easy to drill. I drilled pilot holes, then made the "real" ones using a wood bit running very slowly.

And I measured about 12 times, never mind twice.

Reply to
Huge

I guess I should have read to the end of the thread before replying!

Reply to
Huge

Many thanks for all the replies. It does make me wonder, if tap spacings are pretty standard, why doesn't the manufacturer drill them?

Stephen.

Reply to
Stephen

In message , Stephen writes

Some people might want to use a mixer with just one hole, some might not want bath mounted taps at all. This way they only need to provide one version of the bath.

Enamelled steel baths come with holes already in of course

Reply to
Chris French

Try the plumbers apprentice the other day at a new build.

He marked off the center point of the taps with a nice pencil cross, and then he used that cross to mark out the positions of the two holes needed for the taps.

The daft sod then drilled three holes in the bath. Two for the tap and one on the center cross he made to mark out the tap position.

Nice clean holes and all done with a bog standard hole cutter.

Reply to
ARW

Apart from the wasted time drilling the 3rd hole, is it a problem? Most taps would cover the hole in the middle.

Reply to
GB

You have to put the tap holes at the end. Don't put them in the bottom.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

Not all taps mount on the bath - some may project from a wall, some bath fillers fill from the overflow position, others may hang over an end on long floor mounted stalks. Hence the trend for non drilled baths.

They are easy to drill. The ideal drill is a hole saw. Mark the centres of the taps, use a pilot bit in the hole saw, and cut a hole slightly oversize (but smaller than the flange on the taps).

(although I would not recommend it, I have even drilled an acrylic bath with a spade bit once!)

Reply to
John Rumm

They might have done in the 1970s.

Reply to
ARW

If they are deck mounted mixer maybe, not if they are stand alone taps. Or soem other designs of twin hole mixer taps

Reply to
Chris French

Maybe two taps and a spout?

Reply to
F Murtz

The baths I have seen for wall taps or floor mounted taps, do not have a flat area on the rim of the bath. Some baths have a flat area intended for taps. I can't see you would buy one of these to use with wall or floor taps, unless you use the flat area as a shelf. I just thought that the ones with this flat area would be pre-drilled. Oh well, the advice here is encouraging me that it won't be as bad as I thought.

Thanks, Stephen.

Reply to
Stephen

That's me! I'm stuck in a time eddy of the 1970's. I really like 1970s designs. I think they look modern. :)

Reply to
GB

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