How to Drill A Hole in Concrete

How to Drill A Hole in Concrete

The strength and durability of the buildings depends on these used materials. And when the construction of buildings is completed, there is a task of finishing and to decorate these areas, for which you need the drilling in the walls or whatever the place is. The drilling in concrete walls is a difficult and technical task but not impossible one.

Difference between brick and concrete

In everyday life you see the common bricks that are in the form of blocks. The main ingredient of brick is clay. These are then heated in kiln and converted to blocks and made hard. Some other things are also added to the bricks which are hydrated silicates, iron sand and shale.

Now you come to concrete material. This material is made from gravel, sand, stones which are in crushed form, by using cement these all are bonded together. The concrete is a very hard for drilling. Boring a hole in concrete can be done in a minute or so if you have the appropriate tools like hammer drill and drilling machine.

To drill in a Concrete you need

  • Hammer drill.
  • Goggles.
  • Long masonry nail
  • Drilling bits
  • Canned compressed vacuum
  • Pencil.
  • Ruler.

STEP 1

You should buy or rent a good hammer for drilling purpose. It is not easy task to drill by hammer but can be done by little effort. The hammer drill is same as the regular drill, but only when the appropriate drill bits are attached to them. Also, the masonry bit can do this job very effectively. Use water to avoid it from heating. You are to face the spinning action as well as the hammer action in this process.

  • You should mark the point on the place where you want to bore the hole.
  • You should check the drilling depth for every hole.
  • Set the stop bar in your drilling machine.
  • When you want to stop the machine wrap a masking tape around it.

STEP 2

  • A rotatory drill makes the job very slower and more difficult.
  • Concrete cannot be easily shaved in layers and also same is the procedure with wood and metal.
  • For a well-known brand it is usually worth to pay for more powerful hammer drill.
  • Other features include depth stop, speed setting, strong grip, a second handle for your other hand.

Get to know your tool

  • Learn about all the knobs and controls are for.
  • Follow the safety instructions, wearing safety goggles to protect from the chips of concrete, heavy gloves to protect your hands.
  • A respirator is also be used for big projects that create a lot of dust.
  • By turning the collar, hammer drills can be converted to non-hammering drill setting.
  • The flutes of the drill must be at least as long as the hole you plan.
  • Evacuate the dust from the hole.
  • Rotatory hammers need drill bits, SDS.
  • Reinforced concrete is more difficult to drill, if you need to drill deeper.
  • To prevent heating slow down and pause.
  • Some drills have depth control settings and bar.
  • Mark the depth with pencil or masking tape if the machine has not depth control setting.
  • Concrete is hard, dense material screws embedded in 1 inch deep for light objects..
  • Heavy objects require longer screws, which should list minimum embedment.
  • Add the 1.5 inch to embedment to allow room from the dust.

Hold the drill properly

  • Like a gun hold the drill, with your index finger on the trigger.
  • If you can hold the drill with you other hand, use it
  • The drill bit should be at the 90 degree angle to the concrete
  • You should hold the drill with very strong hands and grip of the feet on the ground should be the same.
  • When you start the task. Control the drill very carefully.

STEP 3

  • Drill carefully, place your drill on the mark.
  • Using a low speed in beginning, because various drill machines have two speed controls in it.
  • On the other hand if it has only one speed, then you should give a gap while boring a hole.
  • The stability of drill can be increased by using a small bit for the pilot hole.
  • The deepness of the hole should be 1.8 to 1.4 inch in the concrete.

STEP 4

  • When the hole is 1.8 inch in depth, it is easy to control the drill at this time
  • You should never force on the drill operation.
  • Now its speed should be full, while doing this you should be confident.
  • By keeping the strong grip on the machine, bore in the concrete, when it is done completely.
  • There are stones, pebbles, and air pockets present in concrete, because of these the resistance of the machine becomes low and can lose the grip of the tool also.

STEP 5

The obstructions can appear in concrete, causing the damage to the bits of drill machine, also the surface can be messed up or damaged.

  • When you find the damaged surface in this process, you should use masonry nail and hammer in it.
  • You should tap with tip of masonry nail, where the problem is occurring.
  • With the help of hammer hit the place of obstruction.

STEP 6

  • Bring it back and press it back in for 10 to 20 seconds.
  • This will helps to pull out the dust from hole.
  • After some time stop the drill let it cool for few seconds.
  • Strength of concrete can be increased by removing dust particles.
  • Remove the concrete dust with the squeeze bulb or a can of compressed air.
  • Vaccuum it up.
  • Leave your goggles on while doing this task, to protect from dust.
  • Concrete dust can be dangerous to breath in, you should wear mask.

Conclusion

Therefore, by using little knowledge about the working of drill machine you can easily learn how to dig a hole in concrete. This will not only save you the hassle but also your precious time, if you do it yourself.