Step 1: Choose the right location

Choosing the right location and drilling holes into the tile for removal
Photo: Smith/Baer
Choose a spot on the wall for the new dish that's four or five tiles below the showerhead—about 16 to 20 inches—and two or three tiles to the right or left. Next, wearing appropriate eye protection, scratch out the grout from around the tile with a grout saw or awl. Then, use a hammer and nail set to punch a series of divots across the face of the tile in an X-shape pattern. Using those small craters as starting points, bore through the tile but not the wall behind it with a 1/4-inch-diameter masonry drill bit.
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    Tools List

    • drill
      Drill/driver fitted with 1/4-inch-diameter masonry bit
    • hammer
    • nailset
    • cold chisel
      1/4-inch cold chisel
    • putty knife
      Putty knife
    • torpedo level
      Torpedo level
    • Grout saw

    Shopping List

    1. Porcelain soap dish

    2. Tile adhesive, for adhering soap dish to wall

    3. 2-inch-wide masking tape, used to temporarily hold soap dish in place

    4. Tile grout, used to fill joints around soap dish