How to drill holes in a cast iron bath. How to drill a hole in a cast iron bath. Installation and tie-in

Most people who use a cast-iron bath bowl one day come to the idea of ​​adding water procedures some innovations. 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 high level 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 exactly 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 wooden block or a metal plate in which a hole with the desired diameter will be made in advance. 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.

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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 to give to the inexperienced home master a professional in drilling cast iron, this is a way to avoid damaging the enamel during drilling.

Before drilling a hole, use grinder 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 drill for ceramic tiles, and as soon as the layer boundary is crossed, change the tile tool in the drill to a metal drill.

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. were they old or steel baths certain sizes and shapes. But today on the market more and more this niche is occupied by acrylic analogues with different design and forms.

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 previous section- 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 you are drilling metal, which means 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

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

Diagram of a cast-iron bath.

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.

Scheme of a cast-iron bathtub with hydromassage equipment.

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 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 guide the drill perfectly.

Despite the successes of modern housing construction, a small bathroom and a combined bathroom remain a sad reality for many apartment owners. Where almost every square centimeter counts, some of the problems can be solved by installing a mixer on the side of the bath.

This fashionable novelty has many advantages. However, it also has a number of shortcomings. Let's try to understand them and the intricacies of installing faucets on the side of the bathroom.

The ability to save space is not the only advantage of this type of device. The faucet, installed directly above the bath bowl, fills it with virtually no splashes, which can stain walls and other interior elements. As a result, cleaning will require less effort.

Models of mixers that are mounted directly on the side usually have increased performance. Therefore, the bath fills up faster and the level of comfort is noticeably increased. Indirectly, this solution allows you to save a little: if the bath is filled quickly, the water in it does not have time to cool down, i.e. heating costs hot water will decrease somewhat.

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The same principle should be followed when choosing consumables: even more expensive, but more reliable.

Depending on the model of the mortise mixer, it may be necessary to purchase additional consumables before installing it: flexible hoses, eccentrics, gaskets, fasteners, etc.

You will need the following materials and tools:

• electric drill, professional or household;
• a special nozzle for a drill, it is called a crown cutter;
• screwdriver;
• fasteners;
• flexible hoses for supplying cold and hot water;
• wrench.

Fasteners are usually sold with the mixer, but this is not always the case. The diameter of the hole cutter must match the dimensions of the device. You can do without a drill and without a cutter if you buy a bathtub in which the hole for the mixer has already been made at the factory.

place of flexible hoses can be used water pipes from PVC. It is more difficult to mount them, but such structures last longer than.

Usually the mixer is installed in the middle of the side, at the end or at the corner. When choosing a place, it should be remembered that part of the communications, including the shower hose, must be hidden. For this, a special space should be provided. Sometimes you have to arrange a special false panel to hide these communications behind it. It all depends on the specific situation.

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If you plan to install a faucet on the side of the bathtub, we can drill holes in any model of cast iron, steel, acrylic, quartz, cast marble baths.

The cost of 1 (one) hole - 1500 rubles. (acrylic, quartz 1000 rub)

Departure of the master to the house within the Moscow Ring Road - 2500 rubles. Outside the Moscow Ring Road - by agreement.

Drilling holes in a tub requires some skill. Of course, you can take a drill or a brace yourself, find a drill of the desired diameter. And in the process of drilling cast iron or steel, damage the enamel, "move out" from the desired hole by a few centimeters, break the drill and ... turn to a professional for help. Indeed, in the manufacture of a bath with hydromassage, the master does this more than once or twice.

Of course, it might not actually be all that bad. However, sometimes it is better (easier and cheaper) to entrust drilling holes in cast iron, steel, marble to a professional than to master it yourself. Moreover, this skill may no longer be useful.