I'd like advice on how to make a hole in the wall for a 1/2 inch pvc water pipe. 

 

It's a kitchen wall, tile on the inside, render outside.

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

Concrete drill bit, you'll be able to find at hardware store.

Use a smaller drill in the tile side to start you off , then go to 1/2" , 

if you drill it from the render side you would most likely push the tile

off the wall or crack it ,good luck

 

regards Worgeordie

 

Thanks pj71,

 

What size bit are you talking about?  I have a concrete drill bit, but it's not long enough to go through the wall.

There are special drills for tiles. 

At least for some of those drills you drill a hole and at the same time you make sure the tile is "under water".

18 minutes ago, zlodnick said:

Thanks pj71,

What size bit are you talking about?  I have a concrete drill bit, but it's not long enough to go through the wall.

for 1/2 inch hole, you need a 12 or 13mm diamond-coated or carbide-tipped drill bit
drill from tile side, do not use hammer on tile, tape on tile will help too, also drops of water if needed when drilling
drill on slow speed to start, do not apply too much pressure, pause frequently
you can get tile drill bits that have more of a point 
but not sure that size
just take your time
myself i would also buy a box of new tiles ready to replace the first attempt lol
and hopefully they won't be needed and would be a waste of time purchasing
which is still better than needing them but not having them.

saying that it is 1/2 inch pipe, iirc they are not exactly 1/2inch OD
have you measured the pipe for exact dimension?

Edited May 24, 20242 yr by patman30

Do they make longer bits?   Before, I've drilled a series of holes but the bit wsn't long enough to go through the wall and I had to punch out the concrete and it's not pretty.

1/2 inch pipe is almost 1 inch in diameter. Do they make 1 inch bits ?

1 minute ago, zlodnick said:

Do they make longer bits?   Before, I've drilled a series of holes but the bit wsn't long enough to go through the wall and I had to punch out the concrete and it's not pretty.

how thick is the wall?
what drill do you have?
i have drill bits for this 20mm bit 300mm long etc but are SDS 
so it may depend on your drill

Not necessarily recommending this one, but just to show they are available. 25mm diameter about an inch:

 

 

BAI WEN 350mm SDS Plus Hammer Drill Carbide Cross Tip Rotary Tool Drill Bits & Chisel 14 inch SDS Plus Bits for Concrete Masonry (10/12/14/16/18/20/22/25mm) | Lazada.co.th

A half inch plastic water pipe hole is way wider than 1/2".

 

Use a small drill through the tile and wall, when it appears outside, it will spread a bit. Use the full width drill outside first to go in an inch or two, if you don't, it may create  render patch coming off drilling from the inside, come back inside and finish the hole..🤗.

Do NOT use hammer mode on the tile, use a masonry bit through masking tape.

As my Mrs says, as long as it is long enough and thick enough, it will do the job !

 

 

Use a diamond coring bit (hole saw) to make a neat hole on both sides of the wall  then punch through with whatever drill bits you have to connect the two sides..inside the wall it doesn't really matter how messy it gets.

 

3 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

Not necessarily recommending this one, but just to show they are available. 25mm diameter about an inch:

 

 

BAI WEN 350mm SDS Plus Hammer Drill Carbide Cross Tip Rotary Tool Drill Bits & Chisel 14 inch SDS Plus Bits for Concrete Masonry (10/12/14/16/18/20/22/25mm) | Lazada.co.th

At that price, buy two to ensure you get the job done.

Thanks everyone,   going to Global House tomorrow to see what they have.

Using a hole saw can be a bit of a challenge to get it started they tend skid all over the place...some come with a center drill to help with this problem

but a lot don't  and in that case a template can really help.. use the hole saw to cut a hole in a

sacrificial thin(ish) bit of wood,tile,plastic etc  and have a helper hold the template on the wall whilst starting off  once it cuts about 1 mm in then no more skidding around...it also helps to spray water whilst cutting..and no hammer action with the diamond bit.

1 hour ago, PJ71 said:

Concrete drill bit, you'll be able to find at hardware store.

Not that easy with the tile, and need a hammer drill for the concrete bit. As noted already start with a small bit and work up in size.

For the tile, mark the outline of the pipe, drill very small holes all round the edge and use something metal and strong, like an old screwdriver to join the holes together, and remove the waste bit of tile. DO NOT use the drill on hammer on the tile, or it will get smashed- I have learned that the hard way. Use safety googles or a sharp bit of tile/ concrete may entail a visit to hospital and an operation.

 

I know that it's possible to get a proper hole drill to use on masonry, but I never found one in Thailand.

1 minute ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

blue pills

Viagra ??

 

Anyway one time my Thai landlord had said I had made many holes in his walls ...yes I had installed

mosquito nets and windows and power points and Ethernet trunking..when he put up the rent again  I called it quits but was determined to get my 8,000 baht deposit back so I restored his premises to pristine condition removing (most) everything I had installed,filling every single hole and colour matched paining of the holes...he was quite astonished when he come for the leaving inspection  and I got my full deposit back.

51 minutes ago, zlodnick said:

Do they make longer bits?   Before, I've drilled a series of holes but the bit wsn't long enough to go through the wall and I had to punch out the concrete and it's not pretty.

Any decent hardware place sells long drill bits. Hammer drills often see large chunks of concrete break off on the opposite side, which is why you drill from the tile side. I used a lot of wall filler in my time. Luckily it comes ready made in a pot.

24 minutes ago, johng said:

and have a helper hold the template on the wall whilst starting off

Don't forget safety goggles for the helper too.

You guys are obviously not good with safety precautions.

39 minutes ago, zlodnick said:

1/2 inch pipe is almost 1 inch in diameter. Do they make 1 inch bits ?

Start slowly with a 5.5mm concrete drill bit just enough to put a marker point in the tile then use a tile cutter hole saw 22mm when you are through the tile start again in the centre with a 10mm drill bit go through the wall then use 15mm and do the same, the raise that to 22mm and your pipe will fit but before you go all the way through with 15 and 22mm bits go to the outside and enlarge the the hole by about 25 mm depth this will then reduce the damage to the outside wall.

you will not need more than 400mm total length.

As has already been said when cutting the tile do not use a hammer drill setting.

Good luck

26 minutes ago, johng said:

Using a hole saw can be a bit of a challenge to get it started they tend skid all over the place...some come with a center drill to help with this problem

but a lot don't  and in that case a template can really help.. use the hole saw to cut a hole in a

sacrificial thin(ish) bit of wood,tile,plastic etc  and have a helper hold the template on the wall whilst starting off  once it cuts about 1 mm in then no more skidding around...it also helps to spray water whilst cutting..and no hammer action with the diamond bit.

Just use a very small drill hole as a guide for the larger. Putting a bit of masking tape on the tile helps avoid drill skid.

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

For the tile, mark the outline of the pipe, drill very small holes all round the edge and use something metal and strong, like an old screwdriver to join the holes together, and remove the waste bit of tile.

 

Yes this method works well too but its not so neat as a hole saw/diamond coring bit..

Global house  Hardware house  and many other hardware stores should have them  but may require a bit of searching for....or buy from Lazada / shopee if no rush.

50 minutes ago, johng said:

 

 

Use a diamond coring bit (hole saw) to make a neat hole on both sides of the wall  then punch through with whatever drill bits you have to connect the two sides..inside the wall it doesn't really matter how messy it gets.

 

I never found anywhere in Thailand that sold those. I did look.

1 minute ago, johng said:

 

Yes this method works well too but its not so neat as a hole saw/diamond coring bit..

Global house  Hardware house  and many other hardware stores should have them  but may require a bit of searching for....or buy from Lazada / shopee if no rush.

As I said I could not find anywhere in LOS, and I don't buy stuff on line.

 

Rough edges doesn't matter with the pipe as can get those round covers that go over the pipe just for that reason. I did smooth the sharp bits with an ordinary half round rasp to avoid damage to the plastic pipe. On the outside wall filler takes care of the rough hole, and if a large bit of concrete gets broken off, as usually happened.