Drilling holes in a brick wall?

I’ve tried to drills holes in the brick wall of my garage and failed multiple times and I was just wondering, why is it so hard? What’s more important, the drill or the bit?

I have 2 ground anchors which I want to mount at around shoulder height so I need to drill 8 holes.

I’ve got a Makita cordless drill and I’ve bought individual masonry bits in 8 and 10mm. They’ll dent the surface of the brick and just spin forever.

What am I doing wrong?

Do you have it on hammer action?

Is it a hammer drill, or just a spinny thing?

If your drill is generally a bit feeble, you could try starting with a smaller bit and working your way up. If your garage is made of engineering bricks, like mine, then you might need something a bit meatier.

Invest in a sds drill, makes a massive difference

Concrete block perhaps, the non-house side of my garage is.

A cheap mains SDS drill (from £50 or so) will make light work of it if you can justify or borrow one, but assuming your Makita has hammer action then I’ve had decent results with the Bosch multi material bits, the ones with blue paint in the valleys.

Yeah, my corded boschhammer thing goes through brick like butter, regardless of the quality of the bit.

As above, you have got it set to hammer mode haven’t you?

2) Some concrete is harder than others, but bricks are usually pretty soft.

3) The correct tool for the job is an SDS drill as they have a far more concentrated hammer action (it pounds on just the bit which can float in the chuck rather than the whole chuck assembly absorbing some of the impact).  Overkill unless you have a lot more big jobs to do, mines done everything from 5″ core drills through concrete to breaking up the crazy paving on our driveway.

Cheap masonry bits are usually fine, they go blunt quicker but you can see when the tips have worn off (the ‘spade’ needs to stick out past the ‘drill’ bit) It’s not like HSS or wood bits where it’s not even worth using cheap ones as they’ll just go blunt or break.

There are two sorts of hammer drills.  An impact one that is ok for most stuff but gets stuck on some particularly hard brick and then a ‘proper’ hammer drill that usually takes SDS bits and will have a Joule rating in the spec when you buy it.  A proper SDS one is much better on that sort of stuff

If your using a basic makita drill with a hammer function then the are generally abit pony at drilling into brickwork, even the expensive combo drill isn’t brilliant, best thing to use would be as mentioned a sds drill.

Have you got any tradesmen friends nearby?

Where do you live?

Drill spinning the right way?

Drill a pilot hole first say with a 4mm bit.

Some bricks are really hard and I find a pilot hole is easier to get going.

Some cordless drills can be rubbish for masonry – my old Makita one was pants (always had to get corded drill out), my new DeWalt one laughs at it.

…and have you got it on hammer mode!? 🙂

Did anyone mention an SDS drill?

I have a Makita cordless and Bosch green corded drill, both hammer, both could barely scratch the old solid bricks in my house. Bought one of these beasties – goes through it like butter!

One tip I found when using a crap hammer action drill on bricks was that if you have a variable speed drill, then don’t go at max speed. Don’t let the drill bit get too hot

Try a Bosch Multi con 3cyl drill bit first .

Then go and buy a Titan sds set from Screwfix.

If you have it on hammer action and drilling clockwise, the next thing to consider (other than an SDS drill) is better drill bits. Also, if you push too hard you can quickly overheat the bit and blunt it. I agree with the above about starting with a smaller pilot hole too – you can remain much more accurate with pilot holes.

I have a decent Bosch battery hammer drill.

However, if I need to drill hard stuff I get my old, cheap, corded drill out.

Get some decent drill bits as well.

Watch you don’t make the holes too wide, also I would use chemical fixings for your anchors.

Wow so many replies so quickly!

Yes drill has a hammer function but it’s not an SDS.

Yes it’s spinning the right way.

I’m keen not to buy a new drill as I won’t have much use for it after this.

I’ll pick up a smaller bit and try the pilot hole method.

Have you got any tradesmen friends nearby?

Nope

Where do you live?

Sheffield S2.

Might depend on the brick…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accrington_brick

It may already have been mentioned once or twice but if you have hard brick or concrete an SDS drill will easily deal with what appeared to be impossible with a common or garden hammer drill.  Borrow one if you can check the cost of hire if you can’t, there is a risk you will be throwing money away on fancy drill bits in my opinion

Just had to drill 8 x holes in my garage wall to mount a boxing bag hanger.  Ryobi basic drill on hammer setting with fresh smaller drill bit followed by the correct diameter drill bit.  Took me about 20 mins all in.

If i have to drill into anything more difficult i crack out the SDS drill but its a little bit over the top for most jobs.  I saw it as an investment 5 years ago as there are always jobs needing that extra umph, like putting in ground anchors etc.

I recently had this exact problem on some rock solid brick wall. Solution was to drill a pilot hole first, then work up in size. I did a 3mm, then 5mm then 8mm. This was much, much quicker than battling on with 8mm SDS drill.

Took me about 20 mins all in

Yes, but I suspect the OP has harder bricks that would have you digging out the SDS.  It’s a bit like thinking all tyres can be mounted by hand until you encounter the unholy tyre/rim combo that snaps all your tyre levers and has you swearing for hours

Some bricks are referred to as engineering bricks and can be very hard, lots of ex council houses in places like Leeds are built from them. You will need an SDS drill to make progress. Tool hire places do them

Just been mounting magnetic tool holders on my workshop wall. Neither of my battery drills did much of a job on hammer action.

SDS came out & did it in seconds.

If you know anybody with a lot of tools ask them to come & help. People with bigger tools than you’ve got absolutely LOVE coming round & showing off & they’ll do it all for you.

@sharkattack – If you’re desperate I have an old mains percussion masonry drill you can borrow/keep.

Upgraded to an SDS years ago and it’s great. Sorry you can’t borrow that as the son has it.

Oh S41 based, so a bit away but if you’re passing may make sense.

Pilot hole, even if it’s not full depth, will line you up to be straight for a larger bit.

Then an electric drill rather than battery powered one with a big chonky masonary drill bit.

If you know anybody with a lot of tools ask them to come & help. People with bigger tools than you’ve got absolutely LOVE coming round & showing off & they’ll do it all for you.

Also this, lol!

Thats kind of why i said it took me 20 mins.  Of course some jobs are harder/bigger/longer than others due to the bricks you are drilling into.  As i said i have a SDS drill which if the job was taking me a long time i would have used.  So in the OP’s situation, if its taking a long time……get an SDS drill

Everybody needs an sds drill

Here’s an instructional video to help get to grips with the basics

As previously stated get a budget sds drill. Maybe see if Lidl (Parkside) have anything.

I learned this when we moved into our current house and the first morning in the Mrs asked me to put up a new curtain pole. No problem Dear! Epic fail of my trusty old Bosch hammer drill ensued. It wouldn’t touch it. The bricks and mortar in our 1950’s council house are like titanium. I bought a cheap Erbauer corded SDS .ftom Screwy and all was golden. Used it loads since for hole drilling and for chiselling concrete floors etc.

There are tool libraries, and the one in Sheffield has an SDS drill you can rent for a fiver-

https://sheffieldtoolbank.myturn.com/library/inventory/show/271474

I just had to drill a 30mm hole through a concrete block wall. Ive got a reasonable mains sds drill, started with a pilot hole which was no bother, then tried the 30mm and got nowhere, used an intermediate size then went to the 30mm and took it slow and it went through

My Makita 18v cordless on hammer will go through some bricks but won’t touch others.

My corded SDS will go through pretty much anything. But I did have some bricks in a previous house cellar that would burn an SDS drill bit in 2 holes!

The switch on a non-SDS hammer drill should just be called ‘extra pointless noise vibration mode’.

Not a patch on an SDS, find a mate to borrow one!  Cordless SDS is also pretty good so don’t assume any battery one will be rubbish.

If you have tough bricks I would always start with an under-sized bit, even if not as a pilot hole as such. If it’s a standard hammer drill by the time you have managed to drill deep enough you’ll probably find the hole has ended up considerably wider than intended.

I just had to drill a 30mm hole through a concrete block wall. Ive got a reasonable mains sds drill, started with a pilot hole which was no bother, then tried the 30mm and got nowhere, used an intermediate size then went to the 30mm and took it slow and it went through

I would recommend core drilling a hole of that size in a conc wall !

My 50 quid SDS has been more useful than expected. You could spend plenty on bits trying to save money before plumping for an SDS in the end anyway.

Someone mentioned hanging curtains – a concrete lintel will need an SDS