During repairs, builders may face the problem of drilling a cast-iron tub to install a faucet, drain, or for other purposes. Cast iron itself is drilled, as a rule, without problems, but how can you avoid chipping the enamel?

Instructions on how to drill a cast iron bath

In order to drill a cast-iron bath you will need
- drill;
- diamond drill or crown;
- drill for metal;
- rubber nozzle with abrasive rings;
- grinder;
- sealant or epoxy adhesive;
- water;
- conductor.

Using a marker, mark the drilling point on the enamel layer. To prevent the drill from slipping, scratch the point with an awl or the end of the drill.

To drill through the enamel layer, use a diamond drill. Drill very slowly, constantly cooling the drilling site with water, not allowing it to heat up. In order to cool the drilling point, stretch a tube supplying water to it, while doing this be very careful, do not forget that you have a power tool in your hands.

After drilling through the enamel, change the drill bit for a regular drill bit for metal. If a small hole is needed, drill a small diameter hole first and then ream it with thicker drills. Do not forget to cool the metal and drill slowly, if it heats up and “whitening” occurs on the surface - the drill will become blunt already at the first millimeter, as the cast iron will become harder than hardened steel.

If you need a large diameter hole, make a jig out of a piece of plywood with a center hole. First, drill through the jig to remove the layer of enamel with a pen drill on glass or tile. Then remove the jig and drill with a regular metal drill. Please note that the holes in the conductor should be located at a distance of no more than 1 mm, then the disc will be removed easily. Bore the hole from the inside with a rubber nozzle with abrasive sandpaper rings.

If you have a grinder, try drilling as follows: grind the enamel along the contour with it, then drill along the contour with a small drill and shape the edge with the same grinder.

If, nevertheless, part of the enamel is chipped, close the edges of the hole with a decorative chrome cup of the appropriate diameter.

When drilling a hole in a cast iron bath, cover the surface of the exposed cast iron with sealant or epoxy glue, otherwise rusty stains will begin to appear on the enamel after installing the faucet.

In the pursuit of style, the bathroom has evolved from a place for taking bath procedures into a full-scale designer's project with its own interior. The designer's ideas do not always involve the location of the bath near the wall, which means that it has to be placed on board. To do this, you need to make a hole, and here sometimes problems arise. Depending on the type of bath, acrylic or iron, the technology of the process is different. In the article and video, we will analyze in detail the features of each type, but first we will find out what makes mortise mixers good.

Advantages of mortise-type faucets on the side of the bath

The task of this type of faucet is to provide a good flow of water, which will quickly fill the bath. The choice of mixer depends on many factors. You need to consider the interior of your bathroom and your needs. Someone dreams of a cascade, but for someone a simple faucet with a shower head is also suitable.

There are many types of mortise mixers on the market, but they all have undeniable advantages:

• create an interior and optimize the space in the bathroom;
• prevent splashing of water;
• provide comfortable use;
• mask hoses and pipes for supplying water;
• fill the bath quickly and accurately.

It doesn't matter which option you choose. Whether it is a budget option or an expensive exclusive faucet of a famous company, it will have all of the above advantages. The only drawback of such faucets is the need for a hole on the side of the tub.

Attention! In order to make holes, you will first need to decide on the material of the bath.

Types of baths, their features

Not so long ago in our country there was only one type. These were old or steel tubs of certain sizes and shapes. But today on the market more and more this niche is occupied by acrylic counterparts with different designs and shapes.

Now you can see square, round and even wavy bathtubs. Canoe baths are not uncommon. Each type and type has its own advantages and features of the structure:

1. . Acrylic is a synthetic fiber. Such bathrooms are made by pouring material between two glasses of a certain shape and firing in a special furnace. The main advantages are: light weight, chemical resistance to various aggressive environments, durability, low heat transfer. Of the minuses, the softness of the material can be distinguished.
2. Metal baths. We all know what metal is, how it behaves in a humid environment. To do this, the metal base is covered with enamel, which turns yellow over the years or even wears off. The main, perhaps even decisive, is the weight of the bath. It is difficult to transport and install. In order to lift it into the apartment will need more than one person.

A hole in an acrylic bathtub? Easily

It is in this form that you most often have to make holes for the mixer, because most of these bathtubs have an exclusive shape and the manufacturer does not know exactly where it will be convenient for you to supply water. First, let's figure out what tool we need. The main power tool is a drill. We will also need a cutter of a suitable size, a tape measure and a marker.

Advice. First, try on the faucet at the intended location and check if the water supply hoses are long enough.

First, attach the faucet to the bathtub, and circle the places where you need a hole. Then find the center of the hole with a ruler and pencil. For most standard faucets, a 35 mm cutter will fit. Such a hole will ensure the passage of hoses and will not allow the mounting washer to fall through, which, by the way, has a diameter of 40-45 mm.

Attention! While drilling, try not to push too hard, as the acrylic can crack and break.

Everything is old fashioned. A hole in a cast-iron bath!

The set of tools that will be required to make a hole in a cast-iron bath will be the same as for an acrylic one. With the exception of a grinder, you will need it to remove enamel.

The first stage, as in the previous section, is markup. Next, we will need to remove the enamel in the place where we will make a hole, since enamel is a fragile material, during which chips and cracks form when drilled. For experienced craftsmen, it is permissible to drill without removing the enamel, but then it is necessary to constantly maintain the drilling angle. You should start drilling with a small drill, since you will not make a large hole right away, and then increase the diameter of the hole with large drills.

Remember that when drilling metal, it means that the drill will get very hot, you need to monitor this and give yourself and the tool a rest when necessary. You should also use only well-sharpened drills, otherwise you doom yourself to stretching the process for a long time.

Summing up, I would like to say that making a hole in the bathroom is not so difficult, you don’t need to call a specialist for this - it doesn’t require any kind of wild professionalism. You just need to follow the rules and be careful.

Installing the mixer on board the bath: video

The modern interior of a bathroom of any size involves not only the rational placement of all necessary elements, but also makes high demands on the combination of their style, comfort and functionality. Therefore, the installation of a faucet on the side of the bath is becoming increasingly popular. The faucet installed on board the bathtub looks elegant and original, which brings zest to the bathroom interior.

Advantages of mortise-type faucets on the side of the bath

The operational task of this type of in-line faucet is to create a strong stable flow of water for the accurate filling of the bath.

The mixer is installed on the side of the bath

Installing a faucet on a bathtub has the following advantages:

• ensures quick and accurate filling of the bath;
• prevents splashing of water;
• optimizes bathroom space;
• provides ease of use;
• allows you to disguise the hose of the shower head.

Cascade mixer creates a jet like a waterfall

A bathroom with a built-in faucet becomes stylish and as comfortable as possible. Especially interesting are the cascading models, reminiscent of a small waterfall.

Important: Due to the wider diameter of the spout, the load on the design of the mixer increases, and the hose located under the bathtub wears out faster than usual. Therefore, when choosing a faucet on board the bathtub, special attention should be paid to its strength and durability.

Compact hand shower, faucet, diverter, single lever faucet

In the previous article, we considered the issue - now we will talk about the features of the installation.

Stages and features of installation

An experienced master will install a mortise mixer on board the bath in a couple of hours. For a non-professional who decides to do such work on his own, it will take much more time. To begin with, you will have to study the mortise-type mixer device, since its installation is somewhat different from installing a traditional design.

Advice: If possible, to facilitate the task, it is recommended to immediately purchase a bathtub with a hole for the mixer.

To complete the work you will need:

• electric drill with a nozzle in the form of a crown cutter of the desired diameter;
• adjustable wrench, screwdriver;
• flexible hoses;
• fasteners.

The sequence of work on installing the mixer on board the bath:

How to drill a hole in an acrylic bathtub

How to drill a steel tub

Important: The hole on the edge of the bathtub can only be made independently if it is made of acrylic or similar composite materials. Cast iron and steel bathtubs should only be processed at the factory to avoid chipping of the enamel, which will lead to corrosion. But you can take a risk if everything is done very carefully.

Many manufacturers of faucets for installation on the side of the bathtub have special mounting plates as an addition to them. Their use makes it possible to strengthen the attachment point, since when creating a hole, the rigidity of the bath rim is significantly reduced.

In practice, masters prefer to do without these additional panels. Often they do not fit in size and require trimming. It is also difficult to use them on a rounded side. At the same time, we must not forget about the functional purpose of the mounting panels. Therefore, if there is any doubt that, with a decrease in rigidity, the rim of the bathtub will withstand the load, you need to consult with specialists.

Faucet in the side of the bath - to take or not to take?

The main thing is to approach wisely both the choice and the installation of the mixer on board the bathtub. And then this decision will be the most correct.

Most people who use a cast-iron bath bowl one day come to the idea of ​​introducing some innovations into water procedures. Often, improvements relate to the installation of a mixer directly on one of the sides of the product or the installation of hydromassage equipment.

Whatever the owners conceived, this process can lead to enamel chips and damage to the bathroom in the absence of sufficient experience and knowledge on how to drill a cast-iron bath.

The drilling procedure should be carried out without haste, because the base in which the hole will be located has a high level of fragility.

Drilling process

For the production of such work, the following set of tools and materials will be required:

• permanent felt-tip pen with a thick nib;
• a drill designed for drilling metal;
• drill;
• kerosene solution;
• Sander.

First you need to make sure that the work is supposed to be carried out on the surface of the cast-iron bath. Many are faced with the problem when it is outwardly quite difficult to determine what type of bathtub needs to be drilled. A steel product differs from a cast iron product in the first place in weight. If the bowl can be easily lifted, then it is a steel product. The cast-iron bath has a large mass, and it will take two or even three people to lift it.

At the first stage of work, it is necessary to mark with a marker the place where it is planned to create a hole. The mark should have a small diameter so that the drill does not recede too far to the side during the creation of the hole.

How to drill a hole in a cast iron bath? You have to do it very carefully. The fact is that the enamel on such a product is very fragile, it is easy to damage it. In order to avoid damage to the brittle layer, the drill should be held at the same angle both during drilling and after, while lifting the drill out of the hole.

Care should also be taken to ensure that a perfectly sharpened drill is used in the work, designed for drilling holes in metal products. It should not scratch the metal, but stick tightly into it. An insufficient level of sharpening of this tool will allow you to drill a hole, but this will ensure the formation of cracks in the enamel.

In order to drill a layer of cast iron with perfect evenness, you can use a wooden bar or a metal plate, in which a hole with the desired diameter will be pre-drilled. Through such a workpiece, it will be possible to drill a hole perfectly evenly even if the diameters of the drill and the workpiece differ slightly.

Back to index

One of the most common mistakes people make when they start this kind of work for the first time is the neglect of such a procedure as tool cooling. In order to speed up the process of cooling the drill and thereby increase productivity and reduce the time to implement the plan, a kerosene solution is perfect.

This tool will allow not only to avoid overheating of the tool during work with it, but also to provide much greater wear resistance. Thus, using this kerosene solution, you can increase the life of the drill and speed up the process of implementing the planned changes in your own bathroom.

If such a solution was not at hand, you can always cool the work site and the tool with plain water. It is impossible not to cool the metal at all, because when heated, the cast iron becomes very hard, which will lead to damage to the drill already in the first stages of work.

Another piece of advice a cast iron drilling professional can give to an inexperienced home tinkerer is a way to avoid damaging the enamel while drilling.

Before drilling a hole, use a grinder to remove the enamel layer at its location, as well as 2 mm around.

Thus, it is possible to exclude the possibility of cracking the enamel, because during operation the tool will not come into contact with it, which means that there will be no risk of damage to the bath itself.

To avoid damage to the enamel layer, some experts advise drilling it with a ceramic tile drill, and as soon as the layer boundary is crossed, change the tile tool in the drill to a metal drill.

Add site to bookmarks

• Kinds
• Choice
• Mounting
• Finishing
• Repair
• Installation
• Device
• Cleaning

Do-it-yourself hole in a cast-iron bath

Sooner or later, most people want to do something in the bathroom with their own hands.

Most often, we are talking about installing hydromassage equipment or simply transferring the mixer to the side.

Both in the first and in the second case, you will need to drill a cast-iron bath. If the hand is not stuffed, then complications such as chipping of the enamel, slipping of the tool from the right point, or a banal scrapping of the drill may occur. Drilling is required to be done slowly, because. the material you are working with is also quite brittle.

Hole drilling

You will need:

• permanent thick marker;
• drill for metal;
• drill;
• kerosene solution;
• grinder (optional).

The first step is to clearly mark the place of drilling with a thick marker. The mark is set small so that when drilling it does not deviate much to the side.

Many people cannot distinguish a cast-iron bathtub from the rest. If you don’t go into details, then it is many times heavier, and if you can’t lift it in flight, then this is cast iron. In order to drill a bathtub with high quality, it is important to be very careful, because. the enamel is quite fragile, respectively, and it is quite easy to damage it. From the very beginning of drilling until completion, for this reason, the drill / brace should be held at one angle.

The drill must be perfectly sharpened, and it is necessary to be very clear on the drill itself, which will be exclusively for metal and with an angle of 116-118 degrees. It should just stick into the metal, but not scratch it. Insufficient sharpening can crack the enamel, as well as retract the tool and ruin the material. In order to drill a cast-iron bath evenly, you can use a wooden board or a metal plate, where there will already be a finished hole of a slightly larger diameter. A small difference in diameter will not give any side effect, but it will perfectly guide the drill.

Cooling the drill is neglected by many beginners, but using a kerosene solution can greatly help speed up the work. In addition, if the drill does not overheat when working too often, then it will wear out more slowly, this will also allow them to drill more holes, i.e. increase tool life.

One of the secrets of how professionals manage not to damage the enamel around the hole is the use of a grinder. They simply remove the enamel in the desired area and capture a diameter of 2 mm, which provides an excellent opportunity for risk-free work.