drilling a concrete wall panel.

ormus

tried to drill 4 holes in my aunties council flat, wall today.
its one them system build flats, from the 70s. concrete panel construction.
tried 3 hammer drills and 3 x masonary bits 6mm. no joy.
do i need a sds plus drill? or a special bit? or both!
any fresh ideas?

27col

Yes! Yes!
I once drilled 144x25mm diameter holes into a concrete factory floor, side by side and and 25mm deep, to create a channel across the width of a 12ft wide roller door. This was so that we could insert an aluminium drainage channel to stop rain water coming under the door. This was the first time that I had seen or used an SDS drill. It was an absolute doddle. It revolutionised my idea of masonry drills. I could not afford one of my own at that time. As I saved up, the price of SDS drill machines came down and I was eventually able to buy one for myself. Result, bliss!
At the time I thought that SDS+ meant that the drill had a stop action. I was wrong, but recently I bought an SDS stop action drill on the internet in order to break up some concrete. It was ridiculously cheap, about £50 including express delivery and made the job simple. If you are a serious DIYer then get an SDS machine, you will not regret it.

ormus

many thx.
i thought so. ive used hilti sds (not mine) in the past, but only on big stuff, with diamond core drills & large sds drills.
ive just checked on ebay and screwfix and i can get one for less than 50 quid now.
100 quid for a decent make one.
looks like the CC is getting some hammer tomorrow?

brightontraveller

An sds drill and bit is the better option there are many

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=VTIFRD3NEMFHWCSTHZOCFEY?action=search&fh_location=//screwfix/en_GB&fh_search=sds+drills&fh_sort_by=price_1&fh_sort_order=1&fh_start_index=0 my personnel preference is bosch but dewalt is also popular


if you stick with your existing drill try these drill bits

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/73770/Drill-Bits/Masonry-Drill-Bits/DeWalt-Extreme-2-Masonry/DeWalt-Extreme-2-Masonry-Drill-Bit-6-x-100mm

Insert masonry bit into a hammer drill/ sds drill.etc Adjust the clutch to the highest setting Place a small piece of masking tape around the drill bit to match the depth of the hole you need to drill. This will prevent you from drilling too deep.
Drill slowly. There is no need to push hard against a hammer drill/ sds drill. etc allow the drill to do the work. Withdraw the bit from the hole often to allow concrete dust to be removed from the hole.
Keep the drill as straight as possible as you work. Do not hold the drill too high or too low or off to one side.
If drilling larger holes Replace the small bit with a bigger masonry bit and drill hole as before, pulling the bit out often to clear dust and to prevent overheating the drill.
Use an air hose or vacuum to clean concrete dust from the hole when you're finished.
Do not drill into concrete without wearing safety glasses or goggles and a dust mask. Do not touch the masonry bit with bare hands after using it. It will be extremely hot.</SPAN>

If it seems you aren't making any progress, you've likely hit a dense area, or aggregate, of the concrete. Hammer in a masonry nail to break the aggregate and proceed with drilling.</SPAN>

thebaldwindowfitter

sds drill is whats needed and good quality drill bit.we fitted windows to a few ex council houses which were concrete ,like honeycombe construction and they are impossible to get a fixing in the bit would hit a pebble and go off in a totally different direction

studentpillock

If you have only a few holes to drill you should be able to get an SDS drill with 4 basic bits for about 30 quid. If you're going to use it a lot over a long period then you should think about buying the best you can afford rather than a budget model.

I had one very big demolition job to do that was going to take me about six weeks, then I would hardly ever need to use one again. I bought a 20 quid job, and when it packed up a fortnight later I took it back and got it replaced. I got through 4 in the end, one of them only lasted one day. Each time I went to a different DIY shop. When it broke I got a refund and bought another drill elsewhere for a similar price.

When I had finished I still had a serviceable sds drill that cost 20 odd quid. I had six weeks use and spent a fraction of what it would have cost to hire one. OK, it took longer and was harder work than if I had used a bigger more powerful drill, but I was on a tight budget so that was more important to me.

latecomer

I've been thinking about an SDS drill for a while and I've got my eye on this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/30228/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills/DeWalt-D25003K-GB-650W-2kg-SDS-Plus-Hammer-Drill-240V;jsessionid=ZOSSYLPBBR04SCSTHZOCFEY

Only thing I'm not sure about is whether its heavy enough the chisel function.

studentpillock

latecomer wrote: »

I've been thinking about an SDS drill for a while and I've got my eye on this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/30228/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills/DeWalt-D25003K-GB-650W-2kg-SDS-Plus-Hammer-Drill-240V;jsessionid=ZOSSYLPBBR04SCSTHZOCFEY

Only thing I'm not sure about is whether its heavy enough the chisel function.

For a 650 Watt drill you won't be able to split granite rocks on Dartmoor, but it should be OK for most jobs around the home like breaking up bricks, concrete blocks, and concrete floors up to around 100mm. It should also be OK for making holes for back boxes or enlarging an existing holes in a single wall skin.

The hammer function is usually the first thing to go on a cheap/budget drill, but a good make like DeWalt or Bosch should last a long time without any problem.

If you are doing heavy demolition you will probably need something more powerful, or adjust your technique according to your budget. When I was breaking up a very thick driveway, I cut slits with an ankle grinder first, then used a spade bit to split the concrete.

27col

That must have been painful, using an ankle grinder.
The first one that I used to do the big job on the factory floor was a Hilti. This was many years ago and it cost over £3oo then. But what a brute it was! My more modern one that I used for concrete breaking was ok, but I found that the chisel bits blunted quite quickly. I don't suppose that they are very good quality.

debbie42

I want one!

My house is pretty much built of engineering bricks and is a right PIA to drill. I am planning on breaking up a (thinnish) concrete path in my garden sometime, so would it cope with that (I do already have a half decent drill, so need an excuse!).

illzlee

i bought a mcculloch sds hammer from focus diy about 4 years ago. i've never looked back.

it has without doubt been the best £30 i have ever spent! apart from being a bit heavy it will go through anything. Buy cheap, and invest in some ppe too!

only gripe is it can be too powerful and knock bricks clean out of a single skin wall!:D