Flooring Tile - Cutting Holes In Ceramic Tile

Will a ROTOZIP tool work easily for cutting holes in ceramic floor tile. eg. toilet drain needs a approx. 6" hole. Will this work fairly easy or is it better to drill out many small holes then knock it out? One other question. Is it easy to drill small holes into tiles to insert wall anchors for hanging pictures etc.?

There is no rotary tool bit that will cut through ceramic floor tile. It's just too hard.

The best bets are to:

1) Use a grinder with a diamond blade on it (take all precautions)
2) Plunge cut with a wet saw (ditto)
3) Take it to a tile store (one that has the tools) and they'll cut it

It's easy to make small holes with a masonry bit and put your anchors into the wall. Don't press too hard -- let the bit do the work.

karl dahm has some sort of gizmo that i saw demoed at a show that was pretty slick-- karldahm@aol.com[/email] It was a clamping device that you tapped a hole through.. Karl Dahm is a mfg. of tools and stuff.

If you saw it at a show, you'd notice it only does holes up to 1.5" and rarely works on floor tiles. It releases the stress on the biscuit and glaze, much like the double rubber ring method.

It's called the Hole Aid.

Thanks David..no I didnt notice He just kept demoing it while I was doing the same.But now that you say it, they were all about 1.5" but then I didnt notice ricciuto was looking to do a 6".I need to stop tring to do 4 things at once.

The ROTOZIP tool has a bit they say works on ceramic tile with the exception of floor tiles. Bit RZ125. I was just curious how you drill the hole as the the tip of the bit looks like it is squared off. My work is mainly around outlets and a hole for the water pipe for the toilet. I didn't want to split a tile to do that. Could a carbide bit 1/4" be used to drill a starter hole then you the ROTOZIP tool to enlarge the hole to 5/8" dia.

As I said before, there is no rotary tool bit that can be used on floor tiles. The bits on the market are meant for most wall tiles because of their softer biscuit. You'll burn out that bit before it gets an 1/8" into the biscuit. :)

I'd still use the angle grinder method. If not, your best option is to progressively work with a bigger masonry bit until you reach 5/8".

Sorry I misled you. I do not intend on using any bits on floor tiles. My question was really based on the wall tiles I will be puttin up. Thanks

If it's for wall tile, you can plunge the RotoZip tool right into the tile. Keep a steady hand or it'll run across the surface of the tile.

You could also put it in on a slight angle.

D Taylor:

How is that possible? For that matter, how is it possible to use a 3 to 4 inch diamond blade to cut even a 6" hole?
I hope there is an answer as my rotozip came with an attachment and 3" dry diamond blade... (which I am hoping will make straight cuts in porcelain tile)!

Great forum! Please keep up the fine work!

Mark the hole on the front and the back and cut into the tile on th front as far as you can go without over cutting then flip the tile tile over and finish the cut from the back so you don't have the overcuts on the front :cool:

I think the guy is getting confused with the 3" Cutting Wheels Baldes with the Rotozip bits. You can't make a circular 6" whole cut with cutting wheel blades. You use the Zip Bits to cut your circles out with and can only do them on Wall Tile not floor tile. For Wall tile use RTZTC1 bit. Mark your circle on the tile. Tip the RotoZip slowly into the tile...then move the bit and follow the line you made for the circle. YOU DON't USE CUTTING WHEEL BLADES!