Drill a hole in a concrete wall. How to drill holes in concrete

Sooner or later, most people living in houses with concrete walls need to hang a cabinet, lamp, shelf or picture. At this point, the pressing question arises of how to drill through a concrete wall. It's no secret that every home master has encountered this problem at least once in his life, but not everyone knows how to solve it. Many bravely torture the drill and own strength, but not achieving the required result, they give up everything until the next attempt to make a hole in the wall. But the drill eventually breaks, and the shelves remain standing somewhere in the corner of the room or collecting dust in the pantry. But there are still options - you just need to know them and be able to use them.

Concrete structures are quite strong and difficult to drill. In addition, quite often drills come across crushed stone included in the composition. concrete mixture, from which wall and ceiling slabs are formed.

Holes in concrete have to be made quite often, especially during the process:

finishing works;
furniture installation;
air conditioner suspensions;
additional electrical wiring device;
installation of plumbing.

Solve the problem of holes in concrete wall can be done in two ways:

an impact drill, or better yet a hammer drill, with a Pobedit drill bit;
diamond drilling.

It is worth noting that it will not be possible to make a hole in a concrete wall with ordinary drills, so before starting work you need to purchase drills with specially soldered plates made of high-strength pobedit alloy, which do an excellent job with concrete and brick. But for soft materials It is not recommended to use them, since pobedit drills do not cut them, but crumble them.

What will help the home handyman?

IN living conditions, when you need to make 2-3 holes in concrete, you can get by a regular drill, without shock function. To do this, it is necessary, as the Pobedit drill is immersed into the body of the wall, to break the concrete from time to time with a strong metal pin(with a punch) matching the size of the hole. It is used when the drill begins to “stick” in the wall. At this moment, a steel punch is inserted into the hole and they begin to hit it with a hammer or sledgehammer, trying to crush areas that are too dense and punch the hole deeper. In this case, the pin is turned a little. Then the hammerless drill can start working again.

All the above steps are repeated one after another until the hole increases to the required depth. This method is quite labor-intensive and tedious, but quite acceptable for a couple of holes.

Alternatively, when drilling a hole in concrete, you can use universal diamond-coated drills. They are highly effective when working with metal, crushed stone and concrete. They can only be installed on a conventional electric drill, or on a tool with the vibration function disabled.

You need to work with the drill extremely carefully, otherwise it will fail too quickly. The advice that professionals give is that to avoid overheating of the drill, it should be moistened with cold water from time to time.

How to choose a tool?

For a larger volume of work, you need a hammer drill or drill with an impact function and drills with pobedite tips. An impact drill combines rotational and reciprocating motion, which helps it cope well with lightweight concrete, and to the question of how to drill through a concrete wall, which is a load-bearing one, there is a simple answer - the best assistant will be a hammer drill, the main purpose of which is to punch through concrete fences. There is one more difference:

an impact drill is designed to drill holes no more than 12 mm in diameter;
The hammer drill is capable of drilling large holes.

Reinforcement found in the body of a concrete wall should be drilled using metal drills.

What do you use to drill large holes?

Professionals who are constantly faced with the problem of drilling holes in concrete use special equipment, which includes:

powerful electric motor;
drilling drive;
diamond core drills of different diameters;
a guide post fixed to the base.

Diamond drilling allows you to make holes large diameter– up to 40 cm. The process occurs quite quickly, efficiently, without unnecessary dust and noise. Water is automatically supplied to the drilling site, which simultaneously cools the diamond bit and washes away dust.

Drilling concrete is quite difficult due to its high strength and the presence of reinforcement. The ideal solution will use a hammer drill, but purchasing an expensive tool for small volumes is impractical, and almost every home has a drill.

To make a hole in a concrete wall no more than 12 cm thick, you can use a drill, preferably with an impact function. For other surfaces, choose a hammer drill.

The quality of the work performed also depends on the crown; a regular drill will not work. Need to use the following types products:

1. Impact type gears. For solid walls, varieties made from durable metal alloys are used. You can select attachments with SDS tails. They have one drawback: upon contact with steel, they quickly collapse. Therefore, it is advisable to check the presence of reinforcement in the wall the day before.

2. Diamond – for hammerless drilling in concrete. They have increased strength. The edge has a heterogeneous structure and cutouts; during their manufacture, corundum or diamond chips are sprayed onto the surface.

For household work select drill bits with a length of 10-12 cm; for professional equipment, larger equipment is required. The main advantage of diamond elements is that they are not afraid of contact with reinforcement. You will find a description of the technology in the article.

3. KS-nozzles with a cutting edge coated with crystalline diamond powder. They are used to make holes in walls, including external ones.

Crown selection criteria

For each type of work they produce various products. They are not cheap, so it is important to buy a part that is suitable for its intended purpose:

At the time of purchase, you must clarify whether it is suitable for concrete. There are analogues that are intended only for wooden surfaces;
When choosing a gear type, you should carefully examine how the teeth are secured. The service life depends on the planting depth;
selected based on the power of the equipment: up to 1,000 W, an option with a cross-section of up to 25 mm is purchased.

To drill a concrete wall, you can first use a triangular punch. This is a high strength rod with a pointed end. Before starting, place it at the marked place and hit it with a hammer several times, turning it periodically. You will get a small funnel, continue to deepen it with a drill.

If you feel that the drill has stopped advancing, you should return to the punch. Next, install it in the recess and hit it several times with a hammer, then again make a hole with a drill. The processes are carried out in this sequence until the required depth is reached.

Algorithm for working with a drill

First you need to make sure that the device is working properly and the drill is without visible damage. They work with a concrete wall very carefully; the duration of the actions performed should not exceed 12 minutes. If more time is required, the drill must be allowed to cool periodically.
To make a recess with less effort, it is recommended to moisten the surfaces with water; this will protect the metal from deformation and make the process much easier. It is strictly forbidden to cool the equipment in a glass with liquid.
The routing of electrical wires is pre-determined to prevent damage.
A regular electric drill must be installed perpendicular to the wall, otherwise there is a high risk of failure.
When using an instrument that has a striking function, periodically switch the “beat” mode to “impact”.
If the drill is stuck in concrete, it should not be loosened. To do this, disconnect it, insert a nozzle of a larger diameter and carefully release the tip.

Advice from professionals

1. To make a recess with a length of more than 110 mm and a diameter of 12 mm or more, choose a powerful tool, for example, a hammer drill.

2. To install plastic dowels, you need to drill 1 cm more, since drilling dust and small crumbs concrete.

3. They start working at low speeds. This is necessary to prevent the nozzle from moving. Impact mode can only be switched on when a depth of about 2 mm has been passed.

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

Buy or rent an impact drill. It is easier to drill holes in concrete with an impact drill or hammer drill (in case of large work). 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.

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.

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 can withstand the loads encountered during impact drilling 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 with one hand like a pistol, resting forefinger to the start button. If your drill has an extra handle, use your other hand to hold it for a more secure grip. Otherwise, simply grab the drill from below with your other hand, closer to the back of the body.

Part 2
Drilling concrete
1. 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.
  
  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.

Each of us at least once in our lives has been faced with the task of hanging a shelf, picture or other object in our apartment, and since the walls of the domestic housing stock are predominantly concrete, this task requires some skill and the necessary tool at hand.

Sometimes this procedure takes on a non-trivial character, because walls can have a heterogeneous structure, including iron reinforcement or crushed stone, and ordinary concrete is quite durable, so today we will tell the reader how to make a hole in a concrete wall and what you will need for this .

First of all, we need to decide on the tool with which we will drill the wall - the choice is between a drill and a hammer drill. If you have only one of these tools at your disposal, then the agony of choice disappears by itself, but for those who plan to rent equipment, let us remind you that a hammer drill is a device designed specifically for this type of work, and therefore in most cases fits better. And the available range of output section sizes is much larger than that of a drill.

But a drill also has its advantages, for example, when it comes to foam concrete structures, a hammer drill will simply crumble such a base. Remember that the drill must be an impact drill; an unimpacted one will not produce results and will most likely be damaged. Therefore, if you are wondering whether it is possible to drill through a concrete wall with a drill, then know that the answer depends on the type of drill and the material of the wall itself.

Drill

An impact drill differs from the more common hammerless drill in that the movement of the drill in it is carried out using special ratchets with teeth. It is very simple to use; you just need to switch the tool to impact rotation mode and get down to business. An even more important component for success are suitable attachments for our task - drills; read their list in one of the paragraphs below.

Beyond choice the right tool and consumables for it, let’s note a couple more features of drilling concrete walls with a drill. If you decide to work with a hammerless drill, then stop while drilling and help with your hands, driving the pointed drill in with a hammer, then continue using the drill. If the drill is low-powered, then let it rest often to avoid overheating.

In general, nothing is impossible, and with desire and diligence, you will certainly be able to cope with a wall, having in your arsenal tools that are not entirely suitable for this, but remember that if the surface does not give in, it is better to postpone the idea if you do not want to say goodbye to your drill.

Hammer

With this tool everything is simple:

First, we check its serviceability and clean the barrel shaft of debris.
Insert the drill until it clicks
We bring the tool perpendicular to the wall and begin to drill, applying a little pressure. If the process takes a long time, we moisten the drill with plain water from time to time so that it does not overheat.
If the drill gets stuck, then we simply take it out of the hammer drill, insert a tool of smaller diameter and try to use it to free the stuck object by widening the hole.

What drills are suitable?

As promised, we are considering drills suitable for our venture. The following will suit us:

Drills for concrete with a pobedit tip - cope well with the material due to the cutting edge made of teeth based on carbide alloys. The safety margin is enough even for drilling metal, but the impact mode quickly renders them unusable. If you need to make a hole between the reinforcement, this is the best option.
The diamond bit for impactless drilling is a modern attachment that opens material of any strength due to diamond sputtering.
Crown KS - in them on cutting edge diamond crystals have settled, making them something of a cross between the two previous types.

Holes in concrete are necessary for conducting and installing communications. The work is characterized by an abundance of dust, noise, high labor costs, and requires high-quality power tools. To drill a hole in this material, it should be taken into account that each hole in the load-bearing frame of the building reduces its strength and is fraught with damage to the elements located inside. engineering systems(mainly electrical wiring, ventilation ducts), traumatic.

Through holes with low quality tools cause adjacent sections of walls to crumble at the exit of the drill/crown from their reverse side. Additional finishing is required, the work time increases.

Safety precautions when making holes in concrete

The load-bearing frame of a building made of reinforced concrete is a strong, heterogeneous material. Inside it is located metal fittings, gravel or crushed stone of various fractions. Therefore, drilling a hole without observing safety regulations means exposing yourself and surrounding colleagues to the risk of injury. Experts recommend compliance with the following requirements when drilling/drilling reinforced concrete structures:

use of protective equipment - overalls in combination with goggles/mask, petal respirator, helmet;
installation of fences: during through drilling, when the worker does not see the opposite side of the wall, there may be a risk of pieces collapsing on passers-by or his colleagues;
the use of reliable scaffolding: without them, work at a height of more than one and a half meters is prohibited, since the operator’s stability is not ensured; when using stepladders, it is necessary to strengthen them with stops.

To drill a hole in concrete, you need to change the speed of the drill, hammer drill, or special diamond machine smoothly, and use only a two-handed tool. The presence of plaster dramatically increases the risk of destruction of internal communications. Therefore, before drilling a hole in load-bearing structure buildings, it is necessary to ensure their absence.

Drilling with a hammer drill in impact mode is allowed only when using a drill or drill as a working tool. If a bit is driven into concrete, rotation without impact is applied. The tool is able to drill a hole and efficiently cut internal reinforcement and stones.

Unlike a conventional drill, which destroys inclusions of crushed stone due to impact, it is not able to drill through reinforcement. To drill monolithic wall, it is necessary to study the location of the seams. It is in them that he often hides internal wiring power cable, gas, sewer pipes.

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Do-it-yourself technologies for making holes in concrete

In the process of construction and finishing of buildings, the need arises to produce blind or through holes of different diameters. Blind holes are created for fastening, their diameter is limited to 2-16 mm. Wherein important factor is compliance with the declared diameter. Otherwise, in broken holes, plastic dowels for self-tapping screws and nails will become loose over time, reducing the strength of fixation of wall cabinets, curtains, pipelines, and decorative elements.

To drill blind holes of large diameter or through penetration of reinforced concrete walls to enter communications, crowns are used. They are a cylinder, one side of which is attached with a shank to the chuck of a drill or hammer drill, the second has pobedite or diamond bits welded to it. A Victory drill is installed in the middle part of the structure to provide direction.

Drilling with a drill or drill leads to the destruction of the entire volume of concrete at the point of contact of the tool with the structural material. If there is reinforcement inside the reinforced concrete structure, it is impossible to drill through it; the hole is moved to the side.

Drilling holes in concrete with a crown differs from the previous method:

concrete is destroyed only around the perimeter of the hole;
a concrete cylinder remains inside the crown.

Therefore, after reaching the required depth of the blind hole, the inner concrete cylinder remains connected to the wall at the rear end. To remove it from the hole, destructive methods are used: a chisel with a hammer or a hammer drill. Concrete cylinders during through drilling are removed from the tool by lightly hitting the body with a mallet

Drilling holes in concrete is done with the following tools:

impact twist drill - more often used for blind holes, the diameter of the carbide inserts of the tip is always larger than the spiral body of the tool, the shank is round, not intended for working in concrete with a hammer drill with SDS chucks;
spiral drill - instead of a pobedit, a zirconium or tungsten tip (spraying) is used, the shank with grooves is suitable only for SDS cartridges(modifications Max, +), dust-free, low-noise drilling is ensured;
Diamond bit is a large diameter tool exclusively for high-speed rotary drilling.

The marking of a twist drill indicates the caliber, not the diameter. This is the distance between the protruding edges of the solders/liners. Drilling holes with this tool is carried out in the following modes:

800-1200 revolutions for diameters within 4 mm;
300-500 revolutions for diameters 5-13 mm.

Even the presence of a red marking on the tip of this tool does not guarantee that the tip material matches the metal declared by the manufacturer. Cheap substandard equipment, upon first use, develops into an incomprehensible configuration and becomes unsuitable for work.

Zirconium and tungsten drills are suitable for the following operating modes:

60-100 revolutions with a diameter of 42-76 mm;
150-400 revolutions for diameters 4-60 mm.

The length of the drill can reach 1 m; a small amount of dust when working with this tool allows you not to remove the furniture from the room. The destroyed concrete “flows” out of the hole in a stream through spiral channels and is collected on the underlying film or paper.

Professionals make blind holes for large diameter socket boxes in a few seconds. Home master Those who do not have regular practice of working with such a tool most often run the risk of damaging the crown at the slightest misalignment. Operating modes when using crowns are 2,000-3,000 revolutions for any diameter. The advantage of the crown is high-quality cutting of reinforcement of any diameter, granite, basalt crushed stone inside concrete at high cutting speeds.

segmented tubular drill - difficult to work with, used by specialists in areas with a high probability of the presence of thick reinforcement;
core drill with a centralizer - a carbide modification, inside of which there is a drill located in the center, which makes it easier to set the direction, reducing sensitivity to pressure and distortions of the working body; These options are not suitable for cutting reinforcement.

The latest modifications of crowns are operated at 600-1200 rpm; upon contact with reinforcement, the teeth crumble instantly. Therefore, before drilling, the walls are carefully examined special tool for the presence of an armored belt.