Drilling a bath to fit taps

[gadgetguyuk2005]

Hi i am installing a bathroom suite for the mother in law which she got from B & Q i have already tilled the floor,plumbed in the toilet & wash basin, i went round today planning to install the bath having fitted the feet and positioning the bath for the plumbing only to find that there are no tap holes drilled,what type of drill bit and what speed should i use to drill the holes into the plastic top edge of the bath? thanx in advance

 

[ChrisR]

I've used hole saws, flatbits, a ring of drilled holes and a round file...

If I woz wicked I'd say heat the tap with a blowlamp and shove it through

 

[manortim]

buy a hole saw from b+q, its simple.

 

[Gunslinger]

If I woz wicked I'd say heat the tap with a blowlamp and shove it through

evil person, that was mean (i've just finished reading that other thread!)


as for tap holes in a bath, you need to try and avoid stressing the bath too much, some are more flexible than others.

Flat bits are harder for the DIY user to use and get right without damaging the bath (not to mention messy!)

Drilling linked holes and then filing is slow messy and puts unnecessary stress on the bath, i imagine your bath or tap came with some sort of template for drilling the holes, so it's easy to mark the centre of the holes... so i would say use a hole saw, they are simple to use, cheap and ideal for the DIY user

Speed... you need it fairly quick, to avoid it snagging as it cuts through, too slow and it will cut rougher and hang up as it goes through, to fast and it will try and punch out the back of the hole rather than cut through it... dont apply too much pressure to it, allow it to cut through at its own pace.

practise is the name of the game, grab a few bits of material similar to your bath to practise on if you are not sure, also i would mask up the area you were going to drill, although with a holesaw this is less important/useful

 

[lagunaglen]

Use a hole saw, it will drill through no problem, ive done it dozens of times.
All i would suggest is that you take time to measure and mark hole centres and to ensure that the backnut can be fastened on without fouling anywhere underneath. Its a bit of a pain but just go steady with drill until its cutting a full dia and let it feed itself through the bath, dont force it. Good luck.

 

[Gunslinger]

good point on the back nut fitting and required space

 

[sheslookinhot]

good point on the back nut fitting and required space

Very good advice, but too late for me. I drilled two perfect holes with a 29mm hole saw. But when I fitted the taps the back nut fouled with only 20% of the surface touching the bath. i.e it is not tightening against the full area underneath.

I now have to make a filler piece.

 

[Gunslinger]

ouch, thats tricky.

last time i did that, i found it easier to make the 2 spacers, which ended up shaped like to small half-moons (cut a section out of some large washers) then join them together to stop them twisting as you tighten the nuts.

Also, if you have a spanner that is the correct size, then you can afford to polish off the sharp angles of the nuts a little, but not too much

could you maybe use 2 spacers made out of 22mm pipe ? - only problem with this is the area touching the bath being too narrow a profile

 

[sheslookinhot]

I am going to try and machine the fibreglass away from the tap holes to allow the backnut to tighten fully against the bath surface. I have got a millcutter which I wil use to co-bore down to create a flat surface. It is about 15mm deep to achieve that.

If it becomes too difficult, I will create two spacers as you suggest.

 

[Gunslinger]

if you are handy at making things like that, maybe make one spacer out of a thick piece of plastic to fit on the underside and cover across both holes, and give you the clearance you need for the nuts ?

you can always have a couple of goes at that, but re-shaping the bath is a one hit deal

 

[possum_jenkins]

top hat washers perhaps?

 

[gadgetguyuk2005]

At last i purchased a set of Bosch hole saw cutters,but there is no template with the bath and so i am a little nervous making the first cut, does any body know if there is a template you can buy or download and print out to suit the taps you want to fit?

 

[Gunslinger]

get a few sheets of cardboard, like from a cereal pack, or the back of a pad of paper and then make some test templates, trying them as you go, once you have one your happy with use that... you can always get more card easier than a new bath

 

[sheslookinhot]

Cover the surface with masking tape and carefully mark out the dimensions, tap pitches, size in from edges etc. Measure twice and cut once.

 

[mcniven]

Go and buy tophats.