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How to Drill into Tile EASILY

May 09, 2023

What not to do

Drilling into tile is easy if you have the right tools.  It took me a little--a lot--of trial and error to figure it out.  Do NOT drill into tile with a normal drill bit.  It will crack.


I tried to use a diamond bit, but a diamond bit is shaped like a hollow cylinder on the end--there's no point.  If you're drilling into slick tile, it's really tough to get it to catch and start grinding away at the tile.  In fact, I never really got it.  I think it would be easier if you were drilling into tile on the ground, but there's no easy way to stabilize it on the wall.  I think you could create a template out of a piece of wood, but that's still an extra step.

tile laundry room wall

Measure Carefully!

With drywall, if you mess up on where you drill a hole or nail into the wall, it's no big deal. It's easy to patch.  But with tile, you want to measure until you are sure you have your spot right, then measure again. For me, I was putting shelves on the wall, and one support was going to be in the stud, and the other was going into the drywall, so it needed a drywall anchor to support it.

Once I had my holes marked with a permanent marker, I got out my drill bit.  This bit required the RPMs on my drill to be turned down a little, but that was a matter of just drilling slower.  It cut through the tile with ease.  Here is a picture of the exact bit I used.  It comes in various sizes, so just get something that works for you.
drill bit for drilling into tile

Drywall Anchors

Select the correct drywall anchors for your hole size, and gently hammer them into the wall.  
Drywall anchors for tile

Once the anchors are in, you can put your bracket back up and tighten your screws. Be sure to not over tighten them--it will crack the tile. Don't ask me how I know. 

Bracket for shelf on tile
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