Home DIY

I prefer to use a drill bit made for glass when going through tiles. Too many cracked tiles in the past by using normal bits

It all depends on how hard the tile is.
Basic ceramic tile you can drill fine with a new masonry bit - I think good quality straight shank are harder to find these days but I only buy SDS so I don't know. At a pinch I've used sds in a chuck drill -just line it up carefully.

The spear shaped tungsten carbide jobs don't really seem that much better than a good masonry bit in my exp.

Most floor tile and a lot of better quality wall tile is just too damn hard though.
The diamond mini core bits which come with the trickly water thing are the way to go really - but they are expensive.

If you're just drilling a hole or two for fixings try a masonry bit first, if it won't cut it go and buy a diamond jobbie, that's what I do.

Top Tip; Put a bit of masking or electrical tape on the tile first to stop the drill bit walking/sliding.

Also DON'T use a hammer drill.

Doh!

I've drilled a fair few holes into tiles over the years and all the above is spot on. Try to avoid drilling too close to the edge of the tiles if you can. You'll probably have to put a fair bit of pressure on the drill initially to start the cut into the glaze but, once through, it's a breeze and just needs light pressure and a steady speed.

Get the diamond coated mini-core bits, they work perfectly:

White grout, it'll be fine.

I wasn't going to chip that whole tile out for that.

Huh? Detached the shaving light above the mirror and I find this big fucking hole behind it? Never seen this before, was expecting some kind of box embedded in the wall. Here the wire emerges from behind some kind of metal sheet, then runs free inside the hole.
(The weird colours comes from me having sanded down the surrounding area.)

Is it OK if I fill the whole with plaster, and let the wire emerge trough the plaster from a smallish hole? The layer of plaster isn't deep enough for a metal back box. But I wanted to check with you guys that it's safe and legit to do so.

It doesn't have to look pretty. This area will be covered with a new mirror and a new bathroom strip light just above the mirror.

What you can see is metal capping. It's main purpose AFAIK is to keep the cable tight to the wall for plastering. So long as there's no danger of the wire being damaged by any sharp edges on the capping you'll be fine plastering over it.

OK, thanks for the tip. I've folded the capping back on itself so the sharp edge is out of the way.
Plastering fun will commence tomorrow...

Don't damage the wiring with the trowel either...

Have fun!

OK, thanks for the tip. I've folded the capping back on itself so the sharp edge is out of the way.
Plastering fun will commence tomorrow...

Would you like to come and display your new found plastering talents at my house?

No talent at all I'm afraid. Looking at your photos I know I am not working to the same standards as you. My flat seems to have been a cheap jobby when it was built, if you run your hand over the brick and plaster wall you can feel bulges here and there. So I only have to match that standard, rather than kill myself aiming for perfection.
Plus I tiled over the area I plastered so it didn't have to be glass smooth. I used mosaic tiles to compensate for the slight imperfections/bulges, but if you know where to look you can see that the mosaic tiles are a bit off here and there.

That being said, I am perfectly happy to lend a hand to fellow forumengers.

S&C, before you do any wet work in the bathroom, turn the electrics off - you probably will but just checking!

Wet work makes me think mafia.
Neil,
if you're concidering doing the plastering yourself I can lend you a broken in trowel and a hawk and give you some advice.

I can't plaster for shit but I am awesome at finishing and removing blemishes - if I do say so myself

I can get it on the wall, it's getting it perfectly flat afterwards that I find challenging.

pick a room, experiment. I know the theory and have watched a few plasterers so I would be willing to have a crack as long as you are prepared to very likely have to chip it all off again.

although, on my last labouring job, I thought exactly the same about brick laying and gave up after the first trowel of mortar missed the course entirely. handed the trowel back to the brickie, picked up my shovel and fucked off back to the hole I was digging with my tail firmly between my legs.

pick a room, experiment...

There are a few abandoned brick buildings near where I live, I have seriously considered trespassing and practice my plastering on random bits of wall.

I have an internal wall, currently bare brick, 2m x 3.5m.

It's the inside of a chimney breast, I need to reconstruct one chimney stack within that space, then plaster the lot.

The advantage is that I can just dot and dab it if I make a complete horlicks of it.

S&C- you'd be welcome to come and practice on it with me if you wish?

Hi all, what a useful thread!

I have some questions about installing a new sink. My original one had a crack, but the new one doesn't properly fit on to the pedastal. I picked up some Hangar bolts from Chris Stevans up on Holloway Road, would it be safe to just bolt the new sink directly on to the wall? The original holes behind the sink had two screws fixing it to the wall - didn't look like they bared much weight at all.

I am worried the porcelain may crack as the hole is not that far from the edge of the basin.

If you get a hanger bolt set there should be a couple of fat galv washers and rubber cone washers included. Screw the bolt into fixing in wall, offer up sink, slide cone face towards ceramic then galv washer, then nut, the cone will centre in the larger hole in the sink, and tighten evenly and gently. Sometimes a bit of polyurethane packing behind the sink might be required if the back surface is partic lumpy, but proper preparation, etc..

Yep the hangar bolts came with everything I needed. Just to clarify, i'm planning on removing the whole pedastal and just having these couple of chunky bolts holding the entire weight. I would ordinarily have it just resting on pedastal in an ill fitting position but the new is quite a bit lower than the original sink so i can't really do that.

Is that still OK?

Unless the replacement basin is a 'floating' design then i don't think it'll have enough material to just hang without a pedestal underneath. Some floaters come with bracketry for fixing before tiling.

You could just bodge the new sink onto existing pedestal with a 'bit' of silicon - yeehah!

That's the thing, it is designed to be used with a pedastal and has no bracket fixing to take some weight off the bolts. Can't bodge it either the gap is too large. Or I could but i'd have to do some more tiling!

Looks like i'd better get the right pedastal.

Thanks mate

Not so hasty, a short pedestal can be 'mounted' on a 'feature' plinth.. ;-)