Drilling into porcelain and ceramic tile
Perfect for the pad. Merciless to a wandering bit.
The substrate
Fully vitrified porcelain is extremely hard, dense and effectively non-porous. Its glaze is smooth and flat — an ideal sealing surface.
It is also brittle and unforgiving: a bit that skates across the glaze leaves a permanent scratch, and a percussive strike can crack the tile.
Drilling
Diamond tooling, no hammer action, water or gel cooling. Never use percussion on tile.
Start slow to establish the hole; a fixed axis matters enormously here because the classic failure is the bit skating at the moment of contact.
Attachment
Excellent — provided the tile is well bonded. Attaching to a drummy or hollow-sounding tile risks pulling it off the wall.
Tap and listen before attaching.
Dust
Porcelain dust carries crystalline silica. Extraction applies here too.
At a glance
| Vacuum sealing | Excellent on glaze — if the tile is well bonded |
|---|---|
| Recommended mode & tooling | Diamond tooling, hammer OFF, cooled |
| Limits on this tool | 40 mm max bit diameter, 200 mm max length, 145 mm max depth |
Common mistakes on this material
- Percussion on tile — it cracks.
- Attaching to a drummy tile and pulling it off the wall.
- Starting fast and letting the bit skate across the glaze.