Preview! In the coming weeks Montolit will launch on an international scale their new wet saw. This wet saw is unique for the European market. A product that we are sure will captivate many tile layers because of it’s ease of use, compactness, standard “optionals” and … beautifull value for Money. Full details and pictures in a few days!
Drilling a tile of any type is probably one of the most difficult operations to be undertaken by a tradesman.
The kitchen and bathroom are where most of the hole drilling in tiles is carried out since these are generally the areas where most water connections and fittings are required!
We should distinguish between the shape of the hole required.
Round holes allow the passage of pipes and cables, plus wall plugs for the screws which are used to mount the accessories. In these cases the hole size required could range from 5mm to 120mm!
Square holes are necessary where sockets, junction boxes or cabinets of various sizes need to be fitted.
In the case of drilling round holes – this operation is usually easier to carry out and the Tiler may have many different makes of Drill or Core Bit at his disposal. With careful consideration to the type of tile to be drilled the drilling operation may often be carried out dry in a soft ceramic tile or in the case of a hard Porcelain or Granite Tile water should be used to keep the drill bit cool. These methods allow for precise drilling.
However a square hole requirement in a Tile can be a major dilemma for the Installer!
Cutting square holes can be achieved in two ways.
Firstly dry cutting, depending on the type of tile material, could be carried out with the aid of a special ultra thin 115mm diamond blade fitted in an angle grinder.
Secondly, again depending on the type of tile, wet plunge cutting is another option using an Electric Tile Saw and suitable wet use Diamond Blade.
Apart from plumbers, electricians and tilers having the necessary expertise and skill it is also important they are made aware that a square cut hole in any type of tile may increase the risk or chance of cracks emanating from the square point of the hole. These cracks may be induced because of the drying out process or settling of building or land.
Here we have a small scale model of our terrazzo marble floor tile cutter. This model was made many years ago by our foreman.
The nice thing is that the mechanism works!
Ciao
If you or your tiler make the holes in tiles without a correct drill or drilling procedure (using for example the hammer more the normal drill bit or making a square hole) it is most likely that the finished job will fail as illustrated in the picture.
Failure (cracks) may occur after a period of time (days, weeks or months).
This problem has previously been explained on the Blog site: see Old and new ways to make holes in tiles. As you can understand, you will find the problem when the work is finished and when it will be impossible to make the claim and very expensive to fix the problem by laying new tiles. So, if you are an end users, ask to your layer to use core bits for making holes in tiles. With this diamond drills you will avoid many problems with cracks in your tiles.
The Montolit Staff wishes you and your family a great 2010!
See you in Colonia and Cersaie fairs 2010 and “on the road” day by day 