Concrete structures, walls and ceilings are not uncommon in our houses and apartments. In multi-story construction, they are generally used with particular frequency, since houses with concrete walls are the most reliable. The reliability of concrete is determined by the good strength of such a material, which is achieved by using the right components concrete mixture and quality work done on its construction.
And so we are proud of our strong walls. But usually it becomes necessary to drill a hole in this very wall. Moreover, this may be needed quite often, for example:
- when finishing walls and ceilings;
- during the installation of air conditioners;
- when installing plumbing;
- when building furniture;
- when working with electrical wiring and its installation;
- the need for holes for mounting under a picture or other interior items.
As you can see, there are many reasons to drill into a wall. The main thing is not only to do the job well, but also to make your life easier by using the right good tool. Which one can you choose to drill concrete?
It would seem that what’s wrong with this: just take a regular drill and drill. But no, in fact, many difficulties may arise in the process of completing this task. Firstly, concrete walls are very strong and difficult to pick up, and secondly, their structure is heterogeneous, and you can easily risk falling on crushed stone or a piece of reinforcement. Stuck with the usual concrete wall You can end up drilling nothing for a long time.
How to drill a hole?
The answer to this question will not be too complicated. The fact is that drilling a concrete wall, as mentioned above, is an extremely difficult process. To solve this issue, it is worth using one of two types of tools: either a hammer drill or a drill.
Both will be good in certain conditions. I'll explain why. It is best, of course, to use a hammer drill: it is intended specifically for concrete walls and common practice is to use it. After all, a hammer drill easily breaks through both stone and concrete surfaces. Another advantage is the ability to drill holes large diameter, which a drill cannot accomplish.
But, if you have a wall made of foam concrete in front of you, or you need to drill several small holes, a drill will do just fine. IN in this case a hammer drill can split the surface of the wall, which is not very successful. But, as already mentioned, on big holes do not count, only with a diameter of no more than 12-15 cm. In addition, drilling a concrete wall has its own nuances, which we will consider below.
How to drill through a concrete wall with a regular drill?
Let's talk a little about drilling a regular drill. So, let's start with the fact that the usual one is unlikely to work here. Those. theoretically this is, of course, possible. But in practice it is extremely difficult. In this case, it is necessary to use a special Pobedit drill for working on concrete with a tip coated with a hard alloy composition.
The best way is to use a special impact drill. How is it different from the usual one? The fact that in such a drill the movements of the drill are carried out due to special ratchets with teeth interacting with each other. This type of drill is not difficult to use to get high quality work done. To do this, simply switch the drill from normal rotational mode to impact rotation mode.
But it doesn’t matter what type of drill you use, as long as it is important to use specialized attachments. Attachments (crowns) are sold in two configurations: for impact or non-impact drilling.
The classification of nozzles is as follows:
Serrated drill bits with impact function. A concrete wall can be drilled with such crowns with a cutting edge made of separately soldered teeth made of durable alloys. For quick-release drill chucks, these drill bits have SDS tails. Their strength is so high that it is possible to cut metal, but the impact mode contributes to their destruction, creating unacceptable loads. That is why such drills are used to drill a hole between the reinforcement of a reinforced concrete slab or brick walls.
Diamond bit for non-impact drilling. These are more modern attachments that simplify the task several times better than conventional ones. The abrasive edge with cutouts on them is created by diamond sputtering or sputtering of corundum sand. As you know, diamond is distinguished by its unprecedented strength. That is why it can easily cope with the reinforcement of a concrete wall. With such a nozzle you can make a hole at least 1.5 meters deep and more than half a meter in diameter. This type of nozzle is already used by professionals, but nozzles with a diameter of up to 100 mm can easily be used in domestic conditions.
Crowns standard KS. Crowns with diamond crystals embedded on the cutting edge. They can be used for slabs, rocky soils, and monolithic concrete structures made of high-strength grades. They can easily replace toothed carbide crowns.
Based on your conditions, you can safely select the necessary drill bit for the drill and drill a hole. But there are also a number of recommendations for working with a conventional drill, which is not equipped with an impact function.
To do this, you start drilling into the wall, but periodically stop. You need to drive a pointed drill into the concrete surface with your hands and destroy the concrete with metal punches. We take our drill or chisel, other metal devices of the appropriate and required diameter and hit them with a hammer/sledgehammer. Rotate the punch periodically. Then take the drill again.
Please note that when drilling a hole in a concrete wall with a regular drill, you risk breaking the tool. Be sure to give a low-power drill a rest. Drills also tend to heat up, so they need to be cooled with water. In this case, take a break every 10-15 minutes of work, leaving the same amount of time for the instrument to rest.
How to drill a hole in concrete without an impact drill, watch the video:
- 1 Drilling tool
- 2 Drills, drills, bits for concrete
- 2.1 Video: drills for rotary hammers SDS-max, SDS-plus
- 3 How to use a conventional drill with a Pobedit drill bit
- 4 Diamond drilling method
- 4.1 Video: diamond drilling technology
- 5 Tips for Drilling Holes
The walls and ceilings of modern buildings are most often made of monolithic reinforced concrete slabs. It is well known that concrete is a material of increased strength, the handling of which requires knowledge of its processing techniques. In particular, drill concrete wall necessary special tool: drill or hammer drill.
Drilling tool
Impact drill for concrete
Organization of work on making holes in concrete requires a special approach, which involves choosing the appropriate tool and special drills (ordinary drills are not suitable in this case). The following tool kit is best suited for these purposes:
A hammer drill or impact drill provides a rotational-forward movement of the drill (drill), which greatly facilitates drilling concrete.
Definitely choose a hammer drill if you need to make holes larger than 12 cm in diameter.
Some experts believe that in most everyday situations you can get by with a regular drill that does not have an impact function. But in this case, to successfully complete the work, it will be necessary to use a special metal pin, the thickness of which is approximately equal to the diameter of the planned passage. Using this pin, they “fill” the point of the intended drilling and periodically break the concrete as it sinks into the wall. Several small holes can be drilled with a conventional drill with a Pobedit drill bit.
Drills, drills, bits for concrete
The choice of components is of great importance. The pobedite tip is T-shaped. If you really want to get durable tool, purchase drills from domestic manufacturers, where the metal ratio is 9:1; if you buy a Chinese-made drill, know that it contains less hard alloys.
Strength depends on the ratio of its diameter and length. There is a rule: the longer the drill, the thicker it should be.
Hardened drills have a black tint, golden color- drills with titanium coating. Titanium is much stronger.
Drilling concrete with a drill
For a drill, choose drills with a shank in the form of a polyhedron or a cylinder; for a hammer drill, drills marked SDS-plus, SDS-max. Drills for drills and hammer drills are not interchangeable: they can be installed on another tool only with an adapter.
But the fact is that with the help of drills they make holes only up to 4 cm in diameter. To drill larger passages in concrete, concrete drill bits with carbide tipped bits are used. Their diameter is 35-120 mm. However, the most popular are crowns with a diameter of 68 mm. They are ideal for creating holes for socket boxes. Extensions are available for sale that allow you to make holes deeper than 15 cm.
If a drill is used, then you should choose bits coated with tungsten carbide alloy. The ability to work with such bits is determined by the power of the drill. It must be more than 1000 W.
Drilling with crowns is performed with the impact mode turned off.
Video: drills for hammer drills SDS-max, SDS-plus
How to use a conventional drill with a Pobedit drill bit
Diamond drilling for concrete
Once all the accessories necessary for the job are prepared, you can begin the hole preparation procedure itself. . Even before starting the procedure, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the following recommendations from specialists:
- When working with a conventional drill, you need to carefully ensure that the drill does not overheat, for which it is periodically cooled in cold water.
- After digging a little into the concrete, you should use the same pin, which you need to insert into the recess and hit it with a hammer several times (with simultaneous rotation).
- Then “drill” a little more and repeat the same operations with the pin again.
Avoid overheating of low-power tools; take breaks from work every 15 minutes.
Diamond drilling method
Before drilling into a concrete wall, for example for an outlet, it won’t hurt to familiarize yourself with one more effective technique making holes. We will talk about the so-called diamond drilling, which allows you to cope with the task quickly enough and without unnecessary dust. Please note that for this you will need special equipment, which is a set consisting of an electric motor, a stand mounted on the base, and a core drill.
The design of such an installation provides for the possibility of cooling the working tool by supplying water to the drilling site. At the same time, the water washes away the dust, and it does not have time to penetrate into the surrounding space. Using a special water vacuum cleaner, also included in the installation kit, the work area is cleaned.
Video: diamond drilling technology
- Before starting work, check that the drill is installed correctly in the tool.
- If you come across reinforcement along the way, you should drill it with a metal drill or punch it with a punch.
- If the wall is crumbling on the other side, reduce the speed and do the work in a reduced vibration mode.
- If a drill gets stuck, it should be drilled out with a tool of smaller diameter, but not removed by loosening it.
From the author: good afternoon. Now my story will be about how I broke a drill bit and a drill, and also broke off a piece of the wall, just trying to make a hole in order to insert a cable for a new socket. Before I tell you how this happened, I’ll clarify where I got the knowledge and experience in such a matter.
The wall I broke the drill on was brick. After this incident, not knowing how to drill a concrete wall correctly, I began to consult with my familiar builders, read articles on the Internet and analyze the incorrectness of my actions. Having synthesized all the knowledge and made a couple of conclusions, I am ready to present you with a few lines on this topic. Let's begin.
What mistakes did I make and what mistakes should you not make?
The wall I was drilling was quite thick. About thirty centimeters. She stood as a barrier between the kitchen and the loggia. Why drill? I’m not a big fan of boxes and I think that they don’t look as aesthetically pleasing as possible, so it’s better to make one small hole in the wall to pass the cable through, rather than spoil appearance a bunch of plastic.
Armed with a hammer drill, I got to work. The first mistake I made was putting too much pressure on the wall at the beginning of the drilling process. You see, if the drill bit is quite long, putting too much pressure on it will create unnecessary deformation, which will either break the bit itself or cause the chuck to become loose.
In my case it was the second option, and the cartridge was practically torn from the base due to the vibrations created. Fortunately, I had a hammer drill at home, and I easily did the same procedure without any problems.
I’ll explain why I didn’t immediately use a hammer drill, because that’s what it’s designed for. The answer is simple. I knew that the wall was made of brickwork, which means that it is an order of magnitude softer than concrete. Therefore, using an impact drill seemed optimal to me. There was no desire to take out a huge, in my opinion, hammer drill from the pantry, but the miser pays twice.
The second attempt to take the brick wall was successful. The next step was making holes in the concrete ceiling slab, which in the future were supposed to hold profiles for . For this I used a drill much smaller. It was eight millimeters in diameter and about 9–10 centimeters in length.
Already with a hammer drill in my hands, I climbed onto the ladder, raised my head up, chose a place and began to drill. The stove did not give in to me. I decided that the effort was not enough, and it would be quite reasonable to push even harder. Having pressed, all I managed to see was the moment the drill broke into two halves, lasting one moment, and how the upper (broken off) part fell right into my eye.
Without having time to react to the attack of the drill, I just stood there, petrified. The fragment hit the safety glasses, deflected and fell to the ground. At that moment, I realized that it was not in vain that I studied safety precautions so diligently and always follow them. Otherwise, I would have been left without an eye out of stupidity. The mistake this time was that next to the Pobedit drill I needed for working with concrete walls and slabs there was another, ordinary one, which in appearance was barely different from what was needed.
A mistake was made, but not in vain. You see, an ordinary drill, although barely, drills through concrete. It made a small hole in the ceiling, allowing the drill not to slip on the surface. The main thing is not to overdo it when doing it.
So, the mistakes I made:
- pressed too hard on the drill when drilling a hole;
- made a mistake when choosing a drill;
- overestimated the talent of the impact drill.
Avoid these mistakes and using the instructions below, you will achieve the desired result without any problems.
I would also like to once again draw additional attention to safety precautions. Quite a few people neglect to even use safety glasses, ending up damaging their eyes and, in best case scenario, losing sight. It wouldn't be difficult for anyone to put a little plastic on their face to stay intact.
Algorithm for correct drilling of a concrete wall
The first thing you should know is that the drill must enter perpendicularly, creating a right angle between the drill and the plane of the wall. Otherwise, you may damage your hands, the tool, or the surface itself, causing unwanted scratches.
When drilling concrete, this is not the most important thing, but if you do not get used to these rules, then when working on a ceramic surface or tile, you may end up with debris in your hands, and when making a hole in the wall with or plaster casting, before you have time to come to your senses, tears will flow from your eyes saying goodbye to your favorite decor.
If you do not have enough physical strength to hold a hammer drill or drill evenly with one hand, then we recommend using the additional handle that always comes with any hand tools. When working, do not hold the drill by the body, as you may receive a small electrical discharge.
Select a drill bit that is designed to create holes in concrete structures. It has a pobedit tip, and is popularly called a “pobedit drill.” What is it that will win? It is an alloy of cobalt and tungsten carbide, which has incredible hardness and strength. If you need to create a hole in a concrete wall to install a new socket, then there are special drills for such work with Pobedit tips that will make the job easier. So, we have decided on the nozzle. Now it's time to do the same with the tool.
You can use either an impact drill or a hammer drill. Depending on how deep the hole should be and how wide it is. If its diameter exceeds thirteen millimeters, then the hammer drill will be a more reliable gadget.
A small life hack: do not rush to drill a hole right away, adding high speeds and pressing hard on the drill. First, make a small depression like I did, which will allow the drill bit to not move from side to side and slide across the entire surface of the wall. And one more piece of advice. When working, dip the drill bit into a glass of water from time to time to prevent it from overheating.
Too lazy to clean up later?
Is it possible without dust? A fairly adequate desire in this case is to simplify the process by eliminating dust after it is completed, because hardly anyone experiences the pleasure of cleaning. Yes, you can’t find anything on Aliexpress and Ebay, but nothing will save you money and amuse others better than making your own inventions.
A fairly common way to collect dust is to create a small envelope. Place it under the place where you will drill and take out the video camera to amuse your friends later.
One example of how the mind works is in the video below:
I'll share personal experience. More precisely, the experience of my father, who finds a sound solution in any situation. Before he starts drilling something, he takes a vacuum cleaner and calls someone who is closest. Further according to the algorithm.
- Before you bring the vacuum cleaner tube to the place where you will make the hole, turn it on.
- Use a vacuum cleaner to catch dust that falls on the floor during drilling.
- Don’t force anyone to clean up after you and don’t suffer from this process yourself.
Be careful in your work and happy in life. Best wishes!
During repairs and finishing works there is a need to drill walls, which are most often concrete. Let's say you need to hang a cabinet, nail a shelf, install a lamp or air conditioner, attach metal profile or plumbing fixture. Since concrete is a very hard material, it is difficult to process. In addition, when drilling, drills may encounter crushed stone present in the composition. Therefore, making a hole in concrete is not easy, you will have to work hard.
Before drilling into a concrete wall, it is worth checking the surface to see if there is anything nearby water pipes and communications steam heating. A metal detector is used for this. Using this device you can detect electrical cables passing near the place of work. To make holes in concrete, it is customary to use a drill with an impact function or a hammer drill, and diamond drilling is also practiced. If you only need to make a few holes, you can get by simple tool. But regular drill will not work, it is recommended to prepare a drill on which a plate made of pobedite alloy is soldered. When the drill bit sinks into the wall and the drill starts to stop, you should start breaking the material. To do this, take a punch - a metal pin, the diameter of which coincides with the size of the hole. Insert it into the hole, then you need to hit it with a hammer. Continue this way until you break up the compacted areas. After turning the pin a little, you can use the drill again, constantly turning the drill around its axis. It should not heat up, so it is recommended to moisten the drill with water. Repeat these steps until the required hole depth is achieved. As an alternative to Pobedit drills, you can use universal diamond-coated drills, which are installed on a conventional drill.
Thus, if you choose the right tool for working with a concrete wall, you can make a hole without much difficulty, regardless of the fact that pieces of crushed stone or metal reinforcement may come across your path. Be sure to use safety glasses while working to avoid getting concrete crumbs in your eyes!
The ability to drill holes in concrete is a fairly useful and convenient skill. With it, you can easily hang shelves, hang pictures, install lamps and do a lot more work around the house quickly and safely. The process of drilling concrete is quite simple, but with correct selection tools and understanding the principles of operation you will save yourself a huge amount of time.
Steps
Part 1
Preparing for work- Follow safety precautions. This includes wearing safety glasses to prevent concrete chips from getting into your eyes, using earplugs to protect your hearing, and thick work gloves to protect your hands from increased friction and hot drill bits. For long work where there is a lot of dust, it is also recommended to wear a respirator.
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Insert a high-quality concrete drill bit into the tool. Concrete drill bits with carbide tips (or, as the packaging may indicate, “impact drill bits”) are specifically designed for impact drills and withstand the load that occurs during impact drilling of strong concrete. The length of the fluted drill bit should be no less than the depth of the hole you are going to drill, as these flutes are important for removing generated dust from the hole.
Adjust the drilling depth. Some drills have the ability to adjust the drilling depth or a special limiter. Read the tool's user manual to learn how to use it. If your machine does not have a drill depth stop, measure and mark with a pencil or masking tape the required hole depth on the drill itself. If you are unsure about the depth of holes you need, follow the guidelines below.
Hold the drill correctly. Hold the drill in one hand like a pistol, with your index finger on the start button. If your drill has an additional handle, use your other hand to hold it for a more secure grip on the tool. Otherwise, simply grab the drill from below with your other hand, closer to the back of the body.
Buy or rent an impact drill. It is easier to drill holes in concrete with an impact drill or hammer drill (in case major works). These tools will allow you to crush concrete with reciprocating blows of the drill and extract the resulting crumbs by rotating it. Doing this type of work with a conventional drill will be slow and difficult, since concrete does not drill as easily as wood or metal. For any job that will involve more than drilling a few holes in decorative (rather than structural) concrete surfaces, such as modern softer ones kitchen countertops made of stone chips, don’t skimp on paying a little more to rent a percussion instrument.
Learn the tool. Read the owner's manual and memorize the functions of all buttons and switches on the instrument. You should have a good understanding of how to handle the tool before moving on to the next step.
Part 2
Drilling concrete-
Continue drilling, but with more force. Switch to impact mode (if your drill has one). Place the drill on the basting hole strictly perpendicular to the concrete surface. Start drilling again using firm, but not excessive, pressure on the drill until the drill bit begins to sink into the concrete. Gradually increase the rotation speed of the drill and the pressure on it if necessary, but remember that the drill must remain under your full control and in a stable position at all times. Concrete is quite heterogeneous and the drill can easily slip if it hits an air pocket or void.
- Apply enough pressure to the drill to keep it in position, but do not push it forward too much (this increases wear on the drill and may cause it to break). You will understand how hard to press the drill from your own practical experience.
Mark the point for drilling the hole. Using a soft pencil, place a mark on the wall in the form of a dot or cross in the place where you want to drill a hole.
Drill a pilot hole. Place the drill bit against the mark and briefly run it at slow speed (if your device has an adjustable speed) or make a few short presses on the start button (if there is no speed adjustment). You should be left with a 3-6mm indentation that will help you guide the drill correctly when drilling the main hole.
