Enlarging 4" hole through ceramic tiles
 

I'm now tiling the ceiling of my shower cubicle, into which there will
be a shower fan/light inset, so a 4" diameter hole is needed through the
tiles. This will affect 2 tiles only, and I've already cut out two
half-moons from these using a hand tile-saw but have yet to attach these
two to the ceiling. These are standard ceramic tiles, ~6mm thick.

Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need to
enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally do
using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what would be
a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it? (It took a
long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it again!)

Thanks

David

Lobster wrote:
I'm now tiling the ceiling of my shower cubicle, into which there will
be a shower fan/light inset, so a 4" diameter hole is needed through
the tiles. This will affect 2 tiles only, and I've already cut out
two half-moons from these using a hand tile-saw but have yet to
attach these two to the ceiling. These are standard ceramic tiles,
~6mm thick.
Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need
to enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally
do using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what
would be a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it?
(It took a long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it
again!)

Dremel?

Si

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
I'm now tiling the ceiling of my shower cubicle, into which there will
be a shower fan/light inset, so a 4" diameter hole is needed through the
tiles. This will affect 2 tiles only, and I've already cut out two
half-moons from these using a hand tile-saw but have yet to attach these
two to the ceiling. These are standard ceramic tiles, ~6mm thick.

Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need to
enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally do
using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what would be
a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it? (It took a
long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it again!)

Thanks

David


Leave the tiles off and cut them to shape with a tile saw before you install
them around the ceiling fitting. You won't get a good cut that size after
they're stuck in place, believe me.

BigWallop wrote:

Leave the tiles off and cut them to shape with a tile saw before you
install them around the ceiling fitting. You won't get a good cut
that size after they're stuck in place, believe me.

???

Si

BigWallop wrote:
"Lobster" wrote in message
...

I'm now tiling the ceiling of my shower cubicle, into which there will
be a shower fan/light inset, so a 4" diameter hole is needed through the
tiles. This will affect 2 tiles only, and I've already cut out two
half-moons from these using a hand tile-saw but have yet to attach these
two to the ceiling. These are standard ceramic tiles, ~6mm thick.

Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need to
enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally do
using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what would be
a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it? (It took a
long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it again!)


Leave the tiles off and cut them to shape with a tile saw before you install
them around the ceiling fitting. You won't get a good cut that size after
they're stuck in place, believe me.

Erm, yes, I agree entirely - that's why I'd already done that step...!

David

Lobster wrote:
I'm now tiling the ceiling of my shower cubicle, into which there will
be a shower fan/light inset, so a 4" diameter hole is needed through the
tiles. This will affect 2 tiles only, and I've already cut out two
half-moons from these using a hand tile-saw but have yet to attach these
two to the ceiling. These are standard ceramic tiles, ~6mm thick.

Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need to
enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally do
using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what would be
a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it? (It took a
long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it again!)

You could always see how much meat there is in the fan housing, and see
if it could deal with a trim.

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:46:34 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Unfortunately however, the hole's a bit tight for the fan, so I need to
enlarge the diameter by 1 or 2 mm - the sort of task I'd normally do
using a file or rasp were I working in wood or metal. But what would be
a good way of abrading a ceramic tile without busting it? (It took a
long time to saw the hole, so I'd rather not have to do it again!)

I have successfully enlarged/straightened cut-outs in tiles with a very
fine file - the flat one from a set of "warding files". It really
depends on how much of the tile there is left - I wouldn't want to do it
on any narrow projections.
--
On-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk

(Waterways World site of the month, April 2001)

Lobster wrote:

I'm now tiling the ceiling [snip]
These are standard ceramic tiles

I'm trying to think if I've ever seen ceramic tiles on a ceiling, sure
will make it sound extra "echoey" in there ...