Progressive hole in porcelain tiles - Tile Advice

[1animal1]

Hi all

I am about to start laying some 600x300x10 tiles, the first 2 of which will have 15mm pipes going through them for the towel rad. The issue i have is that i am using speedfit connections which i have managed to get mostly into the wall, but have a slight protrusion where the chamfered part of the fitting sticks out, therefore i need to use my 18mm ATS bit from the front for the 15mm pipe (bit of margin for error!), then some how chamfer the back of the tile to accept the speedfit fitting - I have bought a further 32mm bit to attack the tile from behind to drill halfway, to hopefully file down - from what i am reading, filing isn't really an option for porcelain.

Can anyone offer any advice as to the way to go with this slight problem

Thanks in advance


Tim

 

[Flintstone]

Quite simple if you have a grinder and an ats blade just shave the back down where required

 

[Dumbo]

As local drill 18 mm hole then grind back with grinder

 

[Sean Kelly]

How about these?

 

[Old Mod]

Get a piece of 6mm board, hardibacker mdf or ply,
drill thro with your 32mm bit.
Place the board with the hole in over your tile and stand on it, then drill thro tile using board to hold drill bit over the hole so that it doesn't move or skate.
Fit tile and use a pipe collet around the bottom of pipe and over hole.
Haha just like above.

 

[Flintstone]

They might be a bit bling them big cover plates!

 

[Flintstone]

what you need is a hole like this with no cover plate required

 

[One Day]

View attachment 87726 what you need is a hole like this with no cover plate required

Yes, and then continual expansion and contraction of the pipe rubbing a hole into the pipe!
Always leave a gap you show-off!

 

[Flintstone]

If that pipe rubs through because of expansion and contraction I'll re tile the place for free!
You can only see one side of the cut, other side is a right mess looks like a dogs chewed it

 

[1animal1]

Thanks for the tips - I was going to get a hole guide bought which raised the problem of the suction cup gaining traction on the back of the tile!! I've plenty of board so I'll use that

I do want to step away from those chrome cups if I'm honest - have gone to considerable expense (for an amateur) to expand my tool collection for tiling. I ideally want a 1-2mm bigger hole for the pipe, presume grouting this gap after is ok given the expansion? or will it simply crack?

Regards the grinder - is it easy enough to grind down without adjusting the hole dimensions on the front? As mentioned above, I was going to drill down from the back with the 32mm... hopefully this will chip off easier? Or am i creating too much work?

And also while I'm asking, any top tips on how to get the exact hole centered? I'd usually use paper, but given its a 600x300 tile, that might be quite difficult

 

[One Day]

I'd aim for a bigger hole and fill with colour matched silicone.

 

[1animal1]

Sounds like a plan! It'd have to be white as the tiles are an off white - should be fine at that given the relative size of the gap.

What size bore do you normally go for a 15mm pipe?

 

[Flintstone]

Seing as a copper pipe isn't going to expand, a 15mm hole would be perfect if you can get it accurate enough, in my humble opinion of course! When I'm measuring I measure to one side of the pipe then to the top or bottom then use those two marks to line up your hole guide.

 

[1animal1]

That's why I went 18mm, not being a pro

The only additional thing here is the fact that it's the first tile off the floor that needs the holes, so presume i'd measure to the floor taking off the 3mm spacer.

As it's turned out, this is a bit of a PITA - the first 2 tiles are the 2 requiring the rad holes, meaning a drain down of the system - then a further drain down to fit the s***ing thing. The joys

 

[Chalker]

Errrrr
Sorry to state the obvious.
Chase the pipe in deeper