drilling into concrete - clearly im not man enough

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drilling into concrete - clearly im not man enough

22 posts & 18 voices | Started 7 months ago by slimjim78 | Latest reply from andyl

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slimjim78 - Member

Ive gotten through about 8 drill bits, and purchased an 1100w hammer drill just to be able to drill into the supports of my concrete garage, but I can only get in about an inch before the drills bit snaps/blunts/untwists etc..
This garage is made of Satans finest, including the asbestos roof.

Is my drill not powerfull enough?
Should I be on the 'slow' gearbox setting?
Start thin and work up to wider bit?
Are mush higher quality bits required? (ive tried masonry & HSS)

A while back a friend came over and drilled straight through a reinforced lintel like a hot knife through butter, so it must be possible.
Im looking to fix bike hanging brackets by the way, but would also be keen to hang a few other bits and pieces.

Posted 7 months ago #
bedmaker - Member

hammer drill = old moped
SDS = Hayabusa turbo

Posted 7 months ago #
Klunk - Member

are you running into steel reinforcements ?

Posted 7 months ago #
project - Member

Som its a concret supprt garage, and you can dril to about an inch in.
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As concrete has little strength when weight is applied, its always reinforced with very hard steel bar, called rebar, and is usually set into the mould when the concrete is poured into the mould, so youll quite easily drill through the concrete with a modern drill bit, but theyre unsuitable for drilling metal, for this youll need a HSS, dril bit, or something stronger/tougher.

Posted 7 months ago #
petrieboy - Member

Had a similar problem drilling into old paving slabs with a pretty powerful power drill. Bought B&Q'a cheapest SDS and it goes through like butter. Usefull tool for lifting floor tiles and chasing channels etc. Wasn't expensive either.

Posted 7 months ago #
alpin - Member

yup.. get a decent SDS drill and it'll make much lighter work of it.

Posted 7 months ago #
d45yth - Member

If it is the steel reinforcing you're coming up against, you want nothing drilling through it!

Posted 7 months ago #
maccruiskeen - Member

Bosch make drill bits that'll drill through concrete and steel ( like these )

I find they work well going into concrete even without a hammer action drill ( a keep a set with my drill driver for unexpected events), so I'd try them on non-hammer setting and they should be able to deal with any steel you hit. They are available in SDS flavours if you go down that route too, although again I'd switch the hammer off if you're expect to hit steel

Posted 7 months ago #
craigxxl - Member

SDS and don't use cheap bits, Bosch and Dewalt last. When drilling don't push down on the drill but apply light pressure and let the drill do the work.

Posted 7 months ago #
myheadsashed - Member

Hire a Hilti TE25 = GP race bike

Posted 7 months ago #
singlespeedstu - Member

SDS? Seriously you guys need to man up and use the correct tool for the job.
Makita HR 5000 for garage floor drilling.

SDS my arse.

Posted 7 months ago #
tron - Member

You want an SDS drill for drilling concrete. You'll get nowhere with a standard hammer drill.

The cheap B&Q ones were a complete waste of time for me, and I tried most of the shop's stock. The basic Wickes one is good though.

Posted 7 months ago #
convert - Member

I think I had (still have but rent it out now) a similar garage - kind of a prefab job with concrete uprights and slabs that are slotted in the groove between them all topped off with a lovely asbestos roof?

Give up now - Your manliness will continue to take a beating - I have access to some serious tools and bugger all would touch them. They made em tough in the early 50's!

I used grab adhesive to bond some batons to the uprights and screwed into them in the end.

Posted 7 months ago #
ChrisE - Member

All drills are not the same. I have a couple of Hilti ones (TE6) and Hiltibreaker and other stuff. It's streets in front of DIY type kit

C

Posted 7 months ago #
Brycey - Member

http://www.hilti.co.uk/holuk/page/module/product/prca_rangedetail.jsf?&nodeId=-99921&selProdOid=422689

We use these at work, they'll go through anything. A little excessive in this instance and about £1300.

Posted 7 months ago #
slimjim78 - Member

convert - youve hit the hammer on the head!
Exact same garage as youve described, its like nothing ive ever drilled into.
im pretty sure i havent hit a metal reinforcing rod - but may give it a final try with an SDS and see how I get on.

The thing that bugs me is like I said, I watched a friend previously drill upwards and through a window lintel with no bother so I was certain there was a tool out there to do the job.

'No more nails' and batons may be the way forward! (just not sure about hanging bikes from wood & glue!)

Posted 7 months ago #
slimjim78 - Member

Those Hilti's look fab - unforunately my budget is about £0.

Anyone in surrey who fancies hiring one?

Posted 7 months ago #
convert - Member

I feel your pain then!

Honestly I hit mine with a big unit very similar to that hilti with some carbide tipped sds drills and I got.... about 5mmm in! Same setup went through concrete lintels like butter.

I've been doing a van conversion recently and I've learnt how much of a commercial van is held together with (admittedly fancy) grab - your bikes will be fine.

Posted 7 months ago #
slimjim78 - Member

sweet - thanks for the advice

Posted 7 months ago #
Rockhopper - Member

Window lintols might only have a couple of bits of steel in them hence you'll find it very easy to miss them!

Posted 7 months ago #
TuckerUK - Member

Phone the Police and them you dreamt that you'd murdered some children years ago, and even remember roughly where you buried them under the floor. Suggest where they drill the test holes to test for remains! When they find nothing just shrug and say well it was just a dream.

Posted 7 months ago #
andyl - Member

Is it a coarse concrete with lots of stones in? If it is you may just be having trouble with hitting them.

My SDS drill makes light work of such problems and I discovered how easy it is to slice concrete with a 1000W angle grinder and diamond disc the other day

Posted 7 months ago #

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