How To Drill Hole In Ceramic Pot? – 5 Easy Steps！

Gardening in containers, or container gardening, gives both small and large yards, gardens, and homes more versatility. Placing them anywhere inside the house or outside, on a pedestal or on the ground, adds color instantly and creates a focal point.

You can plant flowers, vegetables, and herbs in ceramic pots. A fun part of decorating includes selecting ceramic plant pots and containers.

Why Are Drill Holes So Crucial?

While every plant has different requirements, none of them want soggy roots.

Water usually sinks to the bottom of the pot when you water plants. Mold or rot can develop in standing water.

Drainage holes allow excess water to flow out and prevent soggy soil and plants.

Should I Drill Holes In My Planter’s Bottom?

You can easily add drainage by drilling holes in a pot’s bottom. Your plant won’t get waterlogged if there are holes, assuming they aren’t blocked by anything.

However, adding drainage to a plant pot is not only possible by drilling holes in the pot.

Here’s What I Used:

• Ceramic pot
• Drill
• Masonry bit

A Method For Drilling A Hole In A Ceramic Pot

1. Find A Masonry Bit

Drilling our hole required a masonry bit. Our initial plan was to use a tile bit, but when my dad couldn’t locate his, we decided to use a masonry bit instead. Brick, stone, concrete, and other similar materials are the only ones for which masonry bits are intended.

One can use a standard power drill and this kind of bit. We used it on a cordless battery-powered drill; a hammer or a corded drill was not required. The regular drill bit that came with your drill is different from the masonry bit. When drilling slowly and under moderate pressure, its tip is larger than the bit’s shaft, which helps prevent cracking.

A masonry bit costs only a few dollars and is available at your neighborhood hardware store or on Amazon. It’s not a big investment, but I asked my dad if he had a masonry bit we could borrow because I wasn’t sure how frequently I’d need one.

I highly advise calling a friend or asking a handy neighbor for help so you don’t have to buy things you don’t need—most handy people are more than happy to share!

2. Wet The Top Of The Pot

In order to avoid overheating and potential breakage, diamond bits are made to be used on wet surfaces.

Our pots were reverse-drilled. For unglazed ceramic, this is effective.

Be aware that drilling glazed ceramic pots may remove some of the glaze from the area around the hole, which is approximately 1/2 Prime.

If the missing glaze bothers you, you might prefer to drill from the inside out rather than from the bottom. Just make sure your drill will fit.

3. Go In At An Angle

Holding the drill at a 45-degree angle at first will help you get the best drilling results.

On our wooden shop table, I found this to be very difficult. The spinning never stopped.

We finally had success when Sean placed the pot on the grass outside; it acquired a much better grip that way. The grippy effect of a towel might be similar.

The drill bit should be positioned at a 45-degree angle toward the pot base. Pull the trigger and start drilling gradually.

4. Straighten Out

When you feel the drill bit catches, adjust the drill so that it is straight up and down at a 90-degree angle, and speed up the drilling. To fully drill your hole, press down firmly.

One pot did break on the bottom, so take that into consideration. This occurred when we applied too much pressure after the drill bit had finished drilling the hole, causing the heavy drill body to crash into the delicately glazed pot. To prevent this, proceed with extreme caution at a slow pace and stop pushing once the hole is complete.

5. Add Your Plant

Fill the pot with fresh soil and your plant. You shouldn’t need to add small pebbles below the soil; the drainage holes should provide adequate drainage. Make sure they’re big enough not to fall through the hole you just drilled, though!

If you intend to keep your pot indoors, place a drop tray underneath to prevent extra water from dripping out onto your tabletop.

Types Of Drill Bits

Any type of pot can be drilled using this method; all you need is a drill bit that can easily cut through various materials.

Pot type	Drill bit type
Terra Cotta & clay pots	Diamond drill bit/masonry bit
Ceramic tile	Diamond drill bit
Plastic pots	Sharp twist bit
Metal	Cobalt steel bit
Thick Glass	Diamond drill bit

How Many Holes Should I Make?

To make sure that water isn’t pooling on one side, I like to add two holes to any pot that is over 8 inches in diameter.

For increased stability, drill two or more holes halfway between the center of the pot and the edge rather than in the center of one hole.

The strength of the ceramic in between two holes could be compromised if they are too close together.

Conclusion

Watch our instructional video or read on for a step-by-step photo guide on how to drill a drainage hole in the flowerpot base.