I’ve moved into a flat that has solid concrete block walls, it was built in the 1960s.

My cordless drill won’t hack drilling the walls to put a shelf up, even with it’s hammer drill setting. I’m therefore looking for something a bit beefier, but don’t really want to spend a fortune, ideally about £30.

B&Q have this:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drills/hammer_drills/Ryobi-500w-Hammer-Drill-11227768 Which is from Ryobi but ‘only’ 500w.

There’s their own brand too:
http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drills/hammer_drills/Performance-Power-Hammer-Drill-710W-12389423

It’s own branded, more powerful and has a depth gauge.

At Wickes I can get this:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/810w-hammer-drill-keyless-chuck/invt/195534/

Again it’s own branded, more powerful and has a depth gauge.

Am I best to go for a brand like Ryobi or will the Wickes or B&Q own brands be sufficient?

Anything else about? Ideally want to buy from a shop today or tomorrow

For general DIY you should be fine with any of them but I would go for the most bang for the buck.

Oh and make sure your drill bits are sharp, that helps more than you would think.

Just read a review of the chuck key version of the Wickes drill (apparently made by Draper). It says that they found the drill to be useless on concrete aggregate walls… what I think I have! The guy went back to the store and Wickes advised at least 1000w to 2000w, as 810w is not powerful enough

Bosch SDS+ FTW

Do you know anyone you could borrow a drill from?

I recently bought a ‘proper’ hammer drill (it’s a Draper core drill, multi-speed, lots of watts etc) and the difference between that and the cheapy one I had before is amazing.

I’d probably either bite the bullet and buy something more expensive, borrow one or rent if it were me. If you’re onyl using it for one or two jobs the latter might be ok?

Currently I need to drill only one hole to secure bookcase to the wall, but there will be more jobs to do in the future so maybe I’ll have to consider investing in something.

Don’t know anyone I can borrow one from…

Having recently drilled alot of deep holes in concrete, either go for the best SDS drill you can, or even better, rent a big ass SDS drill from HSS.

The difference in drilling abilty with the same SDS drill bit between a cheap purchased SDS drill and a nominally expensive but rented Hilti SDS drill is night and day.

Go for an 3 function SDS drill(hammer,chisel and regular action) as said above, will drill through most materials and all you’ll need is a chuck adaptor for it to take normal drill bits(not advisable to use masonary bits in it on hammer action).

not advisable to use masonary bits in it on hammer action

Can you expand on this? I’ve tried with a masonary bit in my cordless drill that has hammer action (useless). It’s an 8mm hole, what drill bit should I be using?

Cheap one from Argos Challenge Xtreme 1050w

I never cease to be amazed at the responses to these threads. You don’t need a bigger drill, you need better bits. Try blue Bosch multi construction bits or dewalt masonry bits, a cheapo bit will get you nowhere fast even in a big drill. I drill brick walls regularly with a tiny 10.8v drill/driver that doesn’t have hammer when I can’t be bothered to get the bigger one out. My big dewalt sds only comes out when I have a lot of holes to do and need the speed or when I’m core drilling. I put a 107mm hole in one time with my 18v dewalt combi, I’d left the sds in my garage

dmorts – Member

not advisable to use masonary bits in it on hammer action

Can you expand on this? I’ve tried with a masonary bit in my cordless drill that has hammer action (useless). It’s an 8mm hole, what drill bit should I be using?

Sorry if you use a SDS chuck adaptor on hammer action it will generally destroy the chuck!

Honestly, if you will be using the drill a lot invest in a 240V SDS I have a 110V one and would rather use that and lug the 20kg transformer around than use a battery drill.

Bosch multi construction drill bit bought, hole drilled with my cordless drill! 😀 Cheers!

Turns out it’s not solid concrete masonry either. Went through plaster/render easily, then hit something very hard and grey, then finally a softer layer producing black dust…..

😀

sounds like cinderblock same as my gaff messy shit

i tend to go through plaster on non hammer- otherwise you start busting it off the wall and bouncing about trying to get a start – then once i get into block – stick it on hammer – goes through like butter.

Decent SDS every time. Get one that you can switch to normal non-hammer mode also and invest in a few bits and you will be able to drill through anything life throws at you.

A good corded SDS can be had from around £80 and I got a cordless SDS from Lidl the other week for £70 and its been bloody brilliant.

Cheers

Danny B

A lot of surfaces don’t need the hammer. Red brick and cinder block a normal rotary action good drill bits and a decent cordless shoes the trick.