Hi everyone. I have 2 questions regarding ceramic (porcelain) tile.

1. What is the best type of drill bit to drill holes in a tile? Titanium,
carbide, masonry? Also, is there a method to keep the bit from getting so
hot (squirting water on it as I drill, a little 3 in 1 oil)

2. In my bathroom, inside the tub/shower area, tile goes up the wall 3/4 of
the way to the ceiling, and in the rest of the bathroom only 1/2 way. The
part that isn't covered with tile is drywall. When installing tile like
this, is drywall put up, then cement backerboard right over top of it where
someone is going to tile, or would the top 1/2 be drywall, and the bottom
1/2 be cement backerboard so the two meet at a joint. In looking at what is
done in my house, the tile comes up even with the edge of the door casing,
so I would thing cement backerboard is right over top of the drywall. What
is the correct way of doing this? Put cement backerboard right against the
studs, or drywall, then cement backerboard over top of it?

Thanks for any help.

"Eric and Megan Swope" wrote in message
news:hD1ee.8466$jU6.3803@trndny06...
Hi everyone. I have 2 questions regarding ceramic (porcelain) tile.

1. What is the best type of drill bit to drill holes in a tile? Titanium,
carbide, masonry? Also, is there a method to keep the bit from getting so
hot (squirting water on it as I drill, a little 3 in 1 oil)

diamond. make a dam using clay around the hole and fill with water.

2. In my bathroom, inside the tub/shower area, tile goes up the wall 3/4
of the way to the ceiling, and in the rest of the bathroom only 1/2 way.
The part that isn't covered with tile is drywall. When installing tile
like this, is drywall put up, then cement backerboard right over top of it
where someone is going to tile, or would the top 1/2 be drywall, and the
bottom 1/2 be cement backerboard so the two meet at a joint. In looking
at what is done in my house, the tile comes up even with the edge of the
door casing, so I would thing cement backerboard is right over top of the
drywall. What is the correct way of doing this? Put cement backerboard
right against the studs, or drywall, then cement backerboard over top of
it?

no drywall in wet areas at all. build it up with whatever you want out of
cement products to whatever heights you want it.

Thanks for any help.

you can put the cement board against the wall studs, you could put
it over the old drywall , but if the drywall is bad tear it out , and
dont put up new drywall and cement board over it,its not neccesary. its
not really much more work to take out the old drywall. you only need
cement board under the tile , drywall on the parts that dont get wet.
use the special screws for the cement board.if your house is over 30
years old and hasnt been redone you probly have drywall under the tile.
a masonry bit will dril tile,its hard to get thru the glaze but then it
goes on thru, i dont use lube on a small hole.. lucas

Guys, thanks for the great info. I don't plan (can't afford) on remodeling
for 5 years or so, so at that point I can have the drywall replaced. I
don't know for sure if there is cement backerboard behind the ceramic tile
in my bathroom, but I do know for sure that where the top row of tile ends
to the ceiling and the ceiling itself, it is drywall. The house is 40 years
old, and there were no signs of rotting drywall when we bought it 2 years
ago. I know it is drywall on the ceiling and top 1/4 of the walls because I
had to cut a hole to put in an exhaust fan.

I myself have never felt the texture of cement backerboard, so can it be
painted over just like drywall (if there is a section without tile on it),
or does it need to be covered with tile?

Actually my wife just reminded me, that it wasn't exactly drywall in our
bathroom ceiling (and the whole house for that matter), it was actually some
kind of plaster board. Is that more water resistant than drywall?? Either
way, should I use a specific kind of paint on the bathroom ceilings and
walls that aren't tiled? Exterior paint maybe??

Thanks again for your super information.


wrote in message
...
you can put the cement board against the wall studs, you could put
it over the old drywall , but if the drywall is bad tear it out , and
dont put up new drywall and cement board over it,its not neccesary. its
not really much more work to take out the old drywall. you only need
cement board under the tile , drywall on the parts that dont get wet.
use the special screws for the cement board.if your house is over 30
years old and hasnt been redone you probly have drywall under the tile.
a masonry bit will dril tile,its hard to get thru the glaze but then it
goes on thru, i dont use lube on a small hole.. lucas

when i redid tile in mybathroom, i took the tile off, took a saw and cut
the drywall on the edge of where the tile ends, then removed the old
drywall . the drywall was good above the tile,,, and cut the cement
board to fit with a mosonary blade on a circular saw.(cement board is
dusty to cut, but really not much different than putting up plywood or
drywall.its same thickness so it doesnt stick out) then laid up the
tile just over the line where drywall begins. i dont know how cement
boards hold paint, its not as smooth as drywall , just before i painted
washed the drywall and painted with latex interior paint and it has held
up, dad allways used oil base gloss in bathrooms buts its brighter...
lucas

1. What is the best type of drill bit to drill holes in a tile? Titanium,
carbide, masonry? Also, is there a method to keep the bit from getting so
hot (squirting water on it as I drill, a little 3 in 1 oil)

Bosch masonry bit w/oil is the way I went. The instructions said try to
'chip' the surface as a starting point where you want to drill.

I had to drill 4 holes to use to install my shower door. It was slo-o-ow
tedious work. Use a slower speed rather than fast.

I burned up 3 cheap "diamond" HFT bits first.

R

"Rudy" wrote in message
news:IKEee.1241670$Xk.1183924@pd7tw3no...

1. What is the best type of drill bit to drill holes in a tile?
Titanium,
carbide, masonry? Also, is there a method to keep the bit from getting
so hot (squirting water on it as I drill, a little 3 in 1 oil)

Bosch masonry bit w/oil is the way I went. The instructions said try to
'chip' the surface as a starting point where you want to drill.

I had to drill 4 holes to use to install my shower door. It was slo-o-ow
tedious work. Use a slower speed rather than fast.

I burned up 3 cheap "diamond" HFT bits first.

R

you have to use coolant with diamonds. they can't be used dry. using them on
the wall is pretty hard to do, but can be done with someone spraying a
stream of water on them whilst you're drilling.