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New house has nice ceramic tile floors but no hole for the Icemaker line.
I need to drill a hole in the floor for the water line and when I pulled out the fridge I discovered that the tiles extended under it. - DARN! My first attempt started out well. A 1/2 in. masonry bit in a regular cordless drill started the hole but quickly became visibly dulled & useless. Conventional wisdom suggested a hammer drill another bit.
What kind of bit ?? How long will it last ?? I can probably rent a hammer drill at Home Depot but I don't want to buy 3 more $10 masonry bits
Ideas and suggestions cheerfully accepted
PS We love the tile. It's hard when barefoot but much easier to clean after 24 years with a hardwood kitchen floor.
TIA.................George
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I've used this set to drill clean 1/2" holes in porcelain tiles. Lowes/HD might sell something similar.
Amazon
I wouldn't use any impact tools that might crack the tiles.
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(10-07-2021, 01:16 PM)joe1086 Wrote: I've used this set to drill clean 1/2" holes in porcelain tiles. Lowes/HD might sell something similar. Amazon
I wouldn't use any impact tools that might crack the tiles.
+1 exactly what i would use, go slow with the drill and some water. Home Depot ,Lowes, and Menards all have them by the tile tools. Roly
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Can you go up through the wall just behind the fridge? I would use an icemaker outlet box like
this. do a search at your Lowes or HD as they have different versions for PEX, PVC, etc.
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I also went up the wall into a recessed box. In my case was PEX line attached to sharkbite brand box w fitting. Once you cut the large hole into the wall for the box you'll have to figure out how to angle the drill bit to go through the 2x4 floor plates. In my case I had the walls open anyway so was easier.
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(10-07-2021, 01:16 PM)joe1086 Wrote: I've used this set to drill clean 1/2" holes in porcelain tiles. Lowes/HD might sell something similar. Amazon
I wouldn't use any impact tools that might crack the tiles.
I used this set to drill a faucet hole thru a granite countertop and it worked great. Should work better for your situation than a masonry bit.
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10-09-2021, 05:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-09-2021, 05:01 AM by Snipe Hunter.)
A hammer drill will destroy the tile. The tile is harder than carbide so that's a no-go. A diamond drill will work for you.
1/2" at Home Depot
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Is there a reason why you have to drill though the middle of a tile? It would be much easier to drill through a grout joint.
Bob
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(10-10-2021, 01:07 AM)BobW Wrote: Is there a reason why you have to drill though the middle of a tile? It would be much easier to drill through a grout joint.
No. I put the hole as close to the rear wall as possible of fish the line through the wall.
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(10-09-2021, 05:00 AM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: A hammer drill will destroy the tile. The tile is harder than carbide so that's a no-go. A diamond drill will work for you. 1/2" at Home Depot
This is the way I would do it as well. I make a quick and dirty template out of 1/4" masonite/scrap plywood. Make a hole in the template to act as a well for the water that you will spray on the bit continuously as you drill. I tape the template to the floor. Has worked well for me.
