While tiling a bathroom I ran into problems when I had to cut holes in new tiles for the tub and shower valves. I couldn’t use my nippers to nibble away the tiles because each hole landed near the center of a tile. Instead, I used a 1-3/8-in. dia. hole saw — the kind normally used to cut holes in wood.
After laying out the centers of the holes on the backs of the tiles, I used my 1/4-in. carbide-tipped masonry bit to drill pilot holes in each tile. Then 1 put the tiles face down on a block of wood, and used the hole saw to finish the job. The wood block reduced chipping on the glazed face of the tile and gave the pilot bit something to bite into. I must admit, this operation dulled the hole saw beyond resharpening. But at less than $5, it was worth it.
Paul M. Dandini, Boston, MA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #63
View Comments
Or, in 2018... you could get a carbide grit hole saw set from Harbor Freight, Item#69068, $27, and cut lots of holes.
ROD SAW, couldn't agree more, can mount in standard hacksaw, tight or large radius after coring with a small masonry bit. Much more force control as you can brace saw knees to chest and move the piece back and forth - no wild chipping :) May not work for all tiles but I think you'll be amazed after getting the hang of it with ceramic.
uh yeah BobboMax...maybe just get a hole saw for tile....duhh...
I wish anybody in the know read these things from 18 years ago before they published them again. The times have sooooo changed. Ugh.
Either get a hole saw for tile or make sure your tiles line up not in the center. I prefer the tile hole saw tho