How to cut a semicircle in a tile

Using special drill bits

How to make a neat hole in a tile? To do this, you can use special drill bits, which include the so-called ballerina. In the design of such a tool, in addition to the central drill, there is one cutter (sometimes two or three), the position of which can be adjusted relative to the center of the hole being created.

The sequence of actions when processing tiles by a ballerina is as follows:

• In the center of the future hole, you need to make a small depression, using any drill for this.
• Having installed the central drill of the ballerina in the resulting recess, they begin to drill. In this case, the drill is set to low speed.
• When the tile is drilled along the contour of the future hole by half the thickness, its processing continues to be performed from the reverse side.

Using a diamond core bit is the most efficient way to drill a hole in a tile

A hole in a tile for a rosette or pipe can also be made using a core drill, on the cutting part of which diamond dust is applied. Consider the sequence of actions when using such a tool.

• A plaster is glued to the surface of the tile in the area of ​​the future hole.
• The contours of the future hole are marked with a marker.
• Start drilling at low speeds.
• During operation, the crown-type drill is constantly moistened with water so as not to bring it to overheating, to which it is quite critical.

When choosing a crown-type tool, it is better not to save on its cost and choose products from well-known manufacturers, which will allow you not only to use such drills for a long time, but also to get accurate and accurate holes with their help.

Drilling with a ceramic drill

Typically, the walls in the kitchen or bathroom are laid out with glazed ceramics, which have a soft base and a top layer of durable and smooth glaze (tiles). For its drilling, special pen drills with a flat spade-shaped tip with sharpened edges have been developed, which are practically useless when using any of them in work with harder tile materials (porcelain stoneware).

The main problem when using drills is the removal of the top layer of glaze on which the tip slides. To do this, masking tape is glued onto the glazed surface (several layers can be glued) and a point for the future hole is marked. With the help of a plate drill, you can make a cut of a large radius by making a number of holes around its perimeter, although the point will quickly fail.

Manual tile cutter

A standard tile cutter is a frame with a rubberized surface, above which there are two guides. a cutting element attached to the handle moves along them. The slab is placed inside the device to the base, the cut is made by smooth movement of the cutting wheel along the surface with slight pressure. At the end of the pass, the handle is lowered and a special lever presses on the plate, breaking it along the mowing line of the cut.

For convenience, each tile cutter is equipped with an angle ruler that allows you to cut pieces of the same size, high-quality expensive tile cutters have a floating base and one strong guide, which allows you to cut with high quality edges.

How to make a quality hole in a tile?

During the daily use of the room, it is also necessary to fix additional items and accessories on the wall. Different technologies and tools are used depending on the shape and size of the holes, the location and material of the tile. Let’s consider the most common situations.

Drilling a hole with a special drill for ceramics and glass

Holes in tiles for mixers, sockets and pipes

Diamond-coated core drills are used to drill holes for rosettes in a wall tiled with ceramic tiles. Crowns are also available for drilling in metal and wood, so it is important to use a crown specifically for tiles. Core drills can be either with or without a center drill, which makes drilling easier. In the first case, the center of the circle to be cut is punched, the centering drill is set in place, and drilling is performed.

Through the “ballerina” you can easily adjust the size of the hole

As the center drill deepens, the drill is drilled with a crown. If the crown is not centered, then a circle contour is applied to the ceramic tile, a drill with a crown is applied to the contour, low revolutions are turned on and, pressing alternately on opposite edges of the crown, the groove is grooved along the contour, and then drilling. You can make a jig from plywood, which is a cut out stencil of a circle of the same diameter with a crown. The stencil is applied to the wall, a crown is placed in a circle, and drilling is performed, in which the stencil will not allow the crown to move.

When drilling, the crown must be periodically cooled in water to prevent overheating and deterioration. Core drills are also suitable for drilling porcelain stoneware.

The cost of high-quality crowns is significant, so cutting holes in the tiles on the wall for sockets, pipes or a mixer can also be done with a concrete tool. Along the outlined contour, without going beyond it, along the punched points to the required depth with a drill on concrete, you need to drill holes with a small step with a diameter of 4-5 mm. Then, with side cutters or nippers, you need to crumble the partitions between these holes, after which you can knock the tile circle off the wall with a chisel, drill additional holes in the concrete and also crumble the concrete from the socket for the outlet.

There should be a place for the cement-sand mortar around the mounting box for the outlet in such a hole. This is necessary to firmly fix the box and socket.

Glass cutter

The glass cutter is suitable for cutting wall tiles, it is quite difficult for them to cut hard floor porcelain stoneware, work with a roller glass cutter is performed in the following sequence:

• The product is laid on a flat hard surface and the line is drawn along the ruler with slight pressure towards you.
• Break the tile against a sharp hard angle along the mowing line.

Application of angle grinder

The question of how to make a large hole in a tile arises in cases when it is necessary to install pipes or other plumbing communications in a bathroom or toilet, and, if necessary, install an electrical outlet in these rooms. If the tile is not yet fixed on the wall, then you can make a hole in this product for a pipe or socket using a conventional angle grinder.

The angle grinder begins to cut a round hole by stepping back a little inward from the marked circle

Using an angle grinder, a figured or round hole in a ceramic tile is made in the following sequence:

• The contours of the future hole must first be marked, for which you need a marker.
• The angle grinder should be equipped with a diamond blade designed for dry cutting.
• It is necessary to start cutting from a convenient edge of the tile, leading the tool away from you.
• Cutting a hole in the tile for a socket or pipe, you can interrupt at any time and start processing from a more convenient side, but then there is a possibility that the cut lines formed by the mowing line will not converge.

It should be borne in mind that an angle grinder should only be used from the front of the product to create a figured or round hole in a ceramic tile. In this case, it is necessary to control so that the cut turns out to be even, neat and without chips. When performing such a procedure, strict safety measures should be observed to minimize the risk of injury.

Using an angle grinder

Along with the tile cutter, the angle grinder is the main tool of the tiler, which can replace not only a ballerina or a diamond-coated crown, but also the tile cutter itself. This is due to the fact that an angle grinder makes cuts in hard and fragile porcelain stoneware, which is very difficult to process by cutting with other tools.

The angle grinder can cut circles of any diameter in ceramics not laid on walls, the main advantage of the method is high speed. To make a small hole in the material, proceed as follows:

• From the inside of the tile, cut its surface in layers at the desired point to the minimum thickness.
• At the end of the cut, punch the surface of the tile from the inside with pliers or a light hammer. this way they get a small hole.

The angle grinder easily makes circles in large-diameter tiles; for such work it is more convenient to use small-sized concrete discs in a circle. There are many techniques for cutting large holes with an angle grinder, cutting tile for pipe in the following way is one of the fastest:

• Cut with an angle grinder from the inside through the mowing line in the form of a cross.
• Cut off their four edges to obtain a square inscribed in the resulting circle.
• Cut the edges of the square from the inside to a strong thinning, and then bite them out with pliers, giving the desired rounded shape.