How do I fix something to tile without cracking it?

Tile cracks from hammer action and from a bit that wanders before it bites. Both are avoidable, and on light loads the hole can be avoided entirely.

The three rules when a hole is needed

No hammer. Rotary only until the bit is through the glaze and the tile body.

The right bit. A tile or diamond bit for porcelain; a masonry bit will skate and then crack it.

Stop it wandering. Masking tape over the mark, or a starter punch through the glaze, and a slow speed until the tip is seated.

Then the fixing itself has to suit whatever is behind the tile, which is a different question — and the anchor manufacturer answers it, not this page.

When not to drill at all

Towel rails, hooks, roll holders and shower shelves all exist in adhesive versions that hold a genuine few kilos on smooth tile, provided the surface is clean and the stated cure time is respected before loading. On a rented bathroom that is often the better answer, and some are designed to release without damage.

What adhesive will not do

Hold a wet robe grabbed in passing on textured stone, or hold anything at all on a surface that has had silicone or bathroom cleaner on it.

This does not replace the manufacturer's own instructions. Every dimension, thread size, flow rate, operating pressure, water seal depth and load figure on this page is reported from the manufacturer's own documentation, with its unit written as published, and named as such — none of it is measured here. A flow rate is reported with the pressure the manufacturer measured it at, and is never converted to another pressure, because no conversion exists.