Drilling natural stone - making holes in natural stone
Drilling natural stone is pretty easy if you have the right drill bit for it.
Drilling natural rock requires drilling a hole in an extremely hard rock material. Often the natural stone is no longer in its original form, but already in the form of:
- Natural stone floor tiles
- terrace slabs
- paving slabs
are processed.
Depending on the drilling depth or material depth, a diamond drill or a special multi-material drill with a diamond tip is used.
Table of contents
1. Why drill natural stone?
Natural stone is a popular building material due to its durability and aesthetics.
Whether it's for installing fixtures or mounting decorations , there are many reasons one might want to drill a hole in natural stone.
2. Drilling in natural stone without impact?
It is best if you drill the natural stone without impact but drill with the right drill bit. You can imagine that with such hard rock, extremely high forces act on the drill.
If you don't make any progress and should use the impact function as well, it can happen that the drill breaks. In such a case, it is better to increase the speed and start again.
3. Which drill for natural stone ?
Natural stone works best with a diamond drill drilled. This manages to drill even the hardest materials. Available in small format with a 5mm - 14mm.
The die are also suitable for thin natural stone tiles or slabs Diamond tile drill bits with a diameter of 16 mm - 130 mm. However, these are only suitable for a depth of up to 4 cm.
All drill holes in natural stone over 4cm must be drilled with a diamond core bit to be drilled.
Our experience: Natural stone behaves very similarly to fine stoneware. We have written a detailed guide to drilling porcelain stoneware.
4. Instructions: Drill a hole in natural stone
- Mark the desired drill hole and lightly drill
- Place the diamond drill bit with the hexagon socket on the drill
- Start drill at low speed and increase steadily
- show patience. Don't apply too much pressure and let the natural stone drill bit do the work.
- Make sure that the drill does not start to smoke
- Set aside occasionally and allow the drill to cool and clean if necessary
- If necessary , grind the drill hole with a diamond grinding pad and clean the edges.
5. Natural stone drilling FAQ
1. Which drill is recommended for drilling in natural stone?
Different drill bits are suitable for drilling in natural stone. For unprocessed natural stone, use a stone drill. Diamond drill bits are particularly suitable for natural stone tiles. These types of drills are specially designed to drill into hard materials such as natural stone.
2. Why is it recommended to drill natural stone without percussion?
Natural stone is a very hard material. Drilling with percussion can break the drill bit. Therefore it is recommended to drill without percussion to minimize this risk. Natural stone tiles should generally be drilled without impact.