Diamond drilling porcelain

Porcelain tiles are growing in popularity in both the domestic and commercial markets. Producers are now able to replicate a range of natural stones, finishes and designs but with the additional benefit of being durable, strong and easy to clean. Current production methods can produce porcelain to resemble Marble, Slate, Limestone, Granite, Travertine and Quartzite.

The main reasons to choose porcelain are set out below:

1. Larger tiles can now be produced up to 2mx2m to provide an elegant uncluttered finish with simple lines and a contemporary and spacious feeling.
2. Wet rooms and showers are perfect for porcelain because it is impervious to water penetration.
3. It is highly resistant to chipping and scratching and lasts for many years. The tile is a homogenous mix so damage just blends in.
4. It is frost resistant so may be used outdoors. In colder countries it is the external material of choice.
5. Once installed it is very low maintenance, easy to clean, resistant to mold grown, stains and bleaching and does not need sealing.
6. It is even stronger than granite. Granite is considered the benchmark when comparing very hard stone. Porcelain is 25% stronger than granite.

"The growth of the hard tiles market continues unabated: Consumption of porcelain tiles alone is predicted to double in the next 10-15 years. And not only is the demand for hard tiles growing, the trend for 'floor to ceiling' tiles is equally strong" c4carbides

Tilers and plumbers report installation difficulties because until now there has been genuine difficulty drilling porcelain tiles. Some tilers and plumbers avoid jobs using porcelain fearing the cost of breaking the material, the perceived complexity of installation, larger sizes plus the cost of cutting it. And so decent tilers able to work with such materials are much in demand and able to charge a premium. Its a shame more tilers do not embrace the material because with a little knowledge the cutting process can be shown to be quite straight forward. In contrast DIYers are keener than ever to "give it a go" and so are looking for good tools to tackle the task.

Cutting material such as granite or porcelain is in fact not that difficult. Providing of course that it is only in a straight line. For example a cheap tile cutter with a decent diamond blade is able to cut porcelain fairly easily. The problem starts when trying to drill or bore holes into it. Putting holes into porcelain stone has until now been a bit of a dark art...

There are now two methods to cut holes which are described below

1. Drilling rigs: In this method the hole is cut using an electric drill fitted with equipment consisting of a pilot drill bit, an arbor and a diamond crown . Prior to making the hole the installer selects the correct sized crown. He attaches a pilot drill into the center plus an arbor connected to a source of water. The arbor, the crown and the pilot are fitted into the chuck of the drill. To make the hole the rig is then placed at the drilling site. Water is switched on to feed the pilot. The pilot first bores a small hole into the material and once complete the crown follows through. The pilot drill locks the crown in place from the inside while it bores the hole into the tile.
2. Drilling kits: In this method the hole is cut with an electric drill and a diamond crown. Prior to making the hole The installer selects the correct sized crown and locks it into the drill chuck. He selects a drill guide containing a range of pre-formed holes. To make the hole he pushes the drill plate onto the material. The crown is placed into one of the pre-formed holes. The guide plate locks the crown in place externally while it bores the hole into the tile.

Both methods embrace similar principles to bore the hole. For example each uses a crown fitted with diamonds to do the cutting work. Each uses a method to steady the crown and of course they both need water. But its here the similarities end . In fact the system which holds the crown internally has some obvious disadvantages over the external method.

There are about ten major disadvantages:

1. Pilot drills cost money to buy and money to replace. They wear out and must be replaced and paid for. Pilots cost about £20 plus
2. Pilots are only made of carbide not diamond so must continuously be kept cool. They also have a short life.
3. To cool the pilot a special rig or "arbor" must be attached to feed water continuously. Arbors add cost to the initial purchase price.
4. To supply the water to the arbor a special pressurized dispenser must be used which adds further cost to the initial purchase price.
5. To be able to be fitted together the component parts must be of sturdy construction and precision machined again adding to the initial purchase price.
6. Spraying water constantly onto the material is wasteful.
7. Spraying water constantly is messy. And a problem for sites still under construction and not yet water tight.
8. The extra energy involved in creating a pilot hole is wasteful and an unnecessary additional operational step.
9. Drilling a small pilot hole into a tile may accidentally pierce unseen electrical cables or water pipes hiding behind the drilling surface.
10. The initial outlay for the kit may be a barrier to purchase. And once purchased attractive to thieves.

In contrast the drilling kit does away with all of the drilling rigs disadvantages.

1. It requires no pilot drills so there is no initial outlay. So there is nothing to replace.
2. There are no carbide elements that require constant cooling. And so there is nothing to wear out.
3. There is no need to fit extra items to the drill to deliver water. This reduces costs. A simple sponge is fine.
4. No need for pressurized vessels to pump water. This again reduces costs.
5. No need to machine hard metal components. A plastic drill plate will provide robust support.
6. No need to continuously spray water. Cooling the drill bit via a sponge periodically is acceptable.
7. The location remains almost dry as the required water can be held in a bucket with a sponge. A tablespoon of water at the drilling site is all that's required
8. Removing the pilot reduces the drain on batteries by lowering the electrical energy required. Less drag on equipment and so lower maintenance.
9. No danger of piercing cables or pipes. The diamond crown slowly grinds out the minimum of material to form its hole. Does not penetrate any deeper.
10. Reducing parts reduces costs to give financial value to customers. Simple kits are less attractive to thieves and easy to replace if stolen.

And finally

The good news is that drilling porcelain is now easy. Along the way there have been two surprising extra benefits. The first is the kits are able to drill softer tiles and in fact they actually do it really rather well. When using diamond on soft tile the results are near instant and the drill never wears out. The other exciting benefit is that the results are perfect. Holes are now so neat that many tilers prefer using diamond kits for all their tile drilling.

We should not assume porcelain will be with us forever. It may just be a passing trend. We don't know. But one thing must be obvious. "Perfect holes" will never go out of fashion!

Perhaps then the real legacy will be perfect holes formed with diamonds as the byproduct of the porcelain tile era.