Drill recommendation for concrete ceilings?

Flamingo_2

We live in a ground floor maisonette which has concrete ceilings & we have great difficulty in drilling into the ceiling (for light fittings etc).
My husband would like to know if anyone can recommend a good drill that would make these tasks a little easier
Thanks in advance

amerste

An SDS drill will be the tool required, depending on how much use depends on price you need to pay.

latecomer

electric drill or drill bit? IF its a drill bit make sure you get a good branded masonary drill. Make sure you are using a hammer action drill too.

fluffpot

Ideally as amerste says, you need a mains (ie plug in) SDS drill with a masonry bit.
Something like this http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/DWD25113K.html
A cordless one will not really cut it in concrete even with the correct bit. If you've not got much to drill might be worth trying to borrow one? Make sure you wear goggles when you drill as sometimes the concrete has been mixed with stone chips and they can fly out.

27col

It's got to be an SDS drill. Makes it 10 times easier. When I first used an SDS drill many years ago I could not believe how easy it made drilling through concrete and hard brick. At the time an SDS drill cost a minimum of £300 and I could not afford to buy one. Nowadays they are so cheap that they are available to anyone who needs one.

Al1x

I'd deffinetly recommend an SDS Drill.

A.Penny.Saved

If you only have a small number of holes to drill and don't envisage having to do it, often it might be worth renting a small SDS hammer drill from the local tool hire shop, just a basic one, nothing fancy. If you think you might need it again then purchase an inexpensive one, most should do the job fine.

The drill bit itself is probably more important, cheap rubbishy drill bits are a bit of a waste of time drilling into hard materials because they get ripped to pieces. Trust me on that, I have tried a cheap drill bit on no fines concrete and it wouldn't cut hot butter after 30 seconds drilling because the cutting edges were blunt. A decent drill bit such as Bosch last very well even drilling very hard materials as my experience of no fines concrete proves.

ormus

screwfix and toolstation sell em so cheap, that hiring one is not really a sensible idea now.

paddedjohn

Definately an sds drill, just be sure to use an 18 inch long bit so you can meet your neighbours.

mttylad

Try dynamite.

Makes lovely holes in concrete.

Although given the restrictions and licensing you would have to follow it would be better to get an SDS drill with good quality drill bits.

Try your local tool rental if you cannot borrow and do not wish to buy.