Almost all modern buildings are built of concrete slabs, so very often repairmen and home craftsmen are faced with the problem of drilling a concrete wall. Breaking through a wall of this material, even with a victorious drill, is not an easy task, since its design includes reinforcement and stones.
Scheme of a laser electric drill: 1 - Vertical level, 2 - Angular level, 3 - Horizontal level, 4 - Electric drill.
To do this, you need to understand the tool used and have step by step instructions which will greatly facilitate the process of drilling holes in concrete.
Tools for the job
Concrete is excellent construction material, which has increased strength and durability, but the presence of such properties causes certain difficulties in working with it. The need for fastening false ceiling or installing an outlet in a room requires drilling a concrete wall, which is fraught with certain difficulties. Before drilling a wall, you will need to decide on the size of the desired hole, and only then begin to select a tool. The depth and diameter of the hole, as well as the presence of reinforcement in the concrete wall, determines the method of drilling.
Cutting attachments
The shape of the nozzle is designed with safety standards in mind and allows for easy drilling in autoclaved concrete.
pierce concrete wall It is possible with special nozzles that differ in shape, size of the working part and type of shank. Drills and drills are used to drill holes with small and medium diameters. The rod of such nozzles has a screw shape and a carbide tip. For impact drills, drill shanks have cylindrical shape With smooth surface. And in perforators they can be made in accordance with the SDS standard. During use, the cutting tool requires sharpening. But it should be noted that Pobedite drills do not tolerate overheating well and break very often. Therefore, such a process is always accompanied by cooling the drill with a special liquid.
To make a large hole in concrete, crowns are used. This cutting tool is a hollow cylinder, inside which the cut material (core) moves. Its working part can be equipped with carbide cutting segments or diamond cutting edges.
For impact drilling using a puncher, a crown with carbide teeth is used. The working part with diamond coating is mainly used for non-impact method of drilling with coolant. This tool is quite wear-resistant, but in any case, it needs to be restored after a while. If the integrity of the case is not broken, then a hard-alloy or diamond segment is soldered onto the working surface of the crown. If you need to drill a hole relatively large diameter, the tool can be in the hands. But for drilling large holes, a professional installation is attached to the wall with anchors.
drilling tool
You can make a hole in concrete with an impact drill. But the puncher is best suited for such purposes. Such a tool will be effective when drilling holes with a diameter of about 100 mm. However, it must be borne in mind that on the way cutting tool reinforcing metal can jam it and break the teeth. Serrated crowns are especially susceptible to this moment. Therefore, before work, you will need to study the characteristics drilling tool and, in accordance with the properties of the material, select it. If it is not possible to work with a hammer drill, it can be replaced with an impact drill. It is, of course, less efficient and has some drilling features. But if there is a small amount of work to be done, then you can limit yourself to it.
To drill a hole in concrete of large diameter and with frequently encountered reinforcement, the diamond drilling method is used with a special non-percussive power tool that has a water supply to the drilling zone.
Drilling process
Drill or perforator
There are two ways to make a hole in a concrete wall: use a drill with an impact function or a hammer drill. The first is used when it is supposed to drill a hole to a shallow depth. As for the perforator, it is more powerful tool and the speed of drilling is much higher. Thus there is no need to use pressure when drilling. The methods of working with a drill and a hammer drill are similar.
Drilling a concrete wall is necessary in the following sequence:
- First of all, you need to determine the location of the wiring. If this condition is not met, the master may receive an electric shock.
- Mark drilling locations. In this case, the master must have a comfortable and stable position. The drilling process is accompanied by a lot of dust, so when working, the eyes must be protected with special glasses.
- Prepare the tool and make a mark on the wall with a drill having a standard sharpening. Such a nuance will help to make the right start.
- Break stones with a punch. This is a drill that is not difficult to find in a construction kit and its price is much lower than for a cutting one.
- The master needs to monitor the temperature of the drill and cool it with water every 10 minutes.
- In the process of drilling, the tool may stumble upon rebar or stones. This can be understood by the characteristic whistle and ringing (fittings). In addition, drilling speed may drop significantly (stone). A punch is used to break the stone. To cut reinforcing metal, it is necessary to change the pobedite drill to a conventional one designed for cutting metal.
- In the process, every 1.5 cm, the drill must be pulled out of the hole a little, without turning off the tool itself. This will allow the accumulated concrete crumb to come out and gently approach the reinforcement.
- To reduce dust formation, you can make a funnel of transparent polyethylene film, which is worn directly on a drill or puncher.
Drill a large diameter hole in the wall for an outlet, junction box, or make ventilation duct possible in several ways. The first is to make several holes of small diameter along the marked contour, after which the concrete should be knocked out with a chisel. But the work in this case will be sloppy, since the edges will not be smooth enough.
Therefore, it is better to punch a hole in concrete with a crown, which must be selected in accordance with the desired size. To extend its service life, you can first use the first method, and then go through the slotted hole with a crown.
diamond drilling
Diamond drilling has a serious advantage over other methods. High precision of execution, efficiency, low level of noise and vibrations allow this technology to be quite in demand.
The process of making holes can be carried out in different directions: in horizontal, vertical planes and also at an angle. The maximum drilling depth can be up to 2 meters, and the hole diameter is up to 500 mm. In this case, the drilling speed is from 1…6 cm/min.
The technology of diamond drilling is carried out by special equipment using diamond ring bits. To do this, a diamond drilling machine, located on a special frame, is fixed to working surface anchoring system or vacuum plate. This installation method greatly facilitates the drilling process and improves the accuracy of the cut holes.
The operation of the installation begins with the spinning of the annular crown at high speed, while water is supplied by means of a pump to working area. The fluid is needed to cool and remove drilling products from the cutting tool. At the end of the process, the hole is smooth, with neat edges.
I would also like to note that the cost of new equipment or its rental is quite high. But at professional use With a special diamond machine, the costs are paid off by the accuracy of the work performed, high speed and silence. In addition, the absence of additional processing of the hole and exhausting cleaning of the premises are a significant plus for its use.
Everyone who has at least once encountered the need to make a hole in the wall knows that the question of whether how to drill concrete is not so easy to answer. Both the instrument itself and consumable you need to choose the right one, otherwise the idea risks turning into a complete failure.
How to drill concrete - choose a tool
So, first you need to decide on the tool. Actually, there are two options here: shock and. A puncher, of course, is preferable, because the original task of this tool is to punch holes in concrete or stone. With it, you can make a hole of a sufficiently large diameter, while even the best impact drill is not designed for drilling passages thicker than 12 cm. However, if we are talking about foam concrete, then in this case you need to choose the drill, because the puncher will simply break the wall .
You can not use an ordinary hammerless drill for work - this is not only useless, but can also lead to breakage of the tool.
Of course, if you need to make several holes, then in the absence of a puncher, you can use a drill, but if you have a long job to do, then its acquisition cannot be avoided. And we are talking here not only about saving time and effort - since the drill was not originally designed for such loads, then with inept handling it can become unusable. If, however, you still have to work with a drill, then you need to remember that in this case they use a victorious drill bit for concrete, the tip of which is coated with carbide coating.
Diamond drill bits for concrete and other accessories
Sometimes on sale you can find ring drills with a diamond coating on the end. Such devices are designed for special drilling rigs that drill large holes up to 25 cm in diameter. It should be said right away that such units are very expensive - several tens of thousands of rubles, so there is no point in purchasing them for the home.
If during the repair process you need to make a place for a socket or switch, use crowns for drilling concrete. Along the circumference of their cutting edge there are special solderings made of hard-alloy metals. Their diameter can be from 35 to 120 mm, however, 68 mm crowns are most often used, since these are the holes that are needed for switches and sockets. When working with a crown, it is imperative to turn off the perforator impact mode. Most of these devices drill holes with a depth of no more than 15 cm. If you want to go deep into the wall to a greater thickness, you can use an extension nozzle.
There are similar crowns among. Unlike the previous ones, such crowns do not have soldering, but a coating of tungsten carbide alloy around the entire circumference. The advantage of this "device" is that if you need to drill a hole in tiled concrete, you do not need to change the nozzle, as it can work equally well in concrete. However, it is worth noting that such nozzles are intended for drills, the power of which is not lower than 1000 watts.
Usually, special ones are used to work with a puncher. Their diameter ranges from 4 to 80 mm. Often, beginners have a question about how to choose the right diameter of the drill. In fact, just in case, along with the purchase of a puncher, you should immediately buy and concrete drill set. However, as a rule, really high-quality kits are very expensive, so the advice is this: the diameter should be exactly the same as that of the dowel that will be inserted into it. When buying such drills, you should know what kind of shank they should have - SDS+ or SDS-max.
Before you fix the drill in the chuck, you need to check if there are any contaminants in it. If any are found, it is worth removing them with a dry rag, otherwise problems may arise when working with the tool. When inserting it into the cartridge, you need to make sure that it stands at a perfectly right angle, and the shank enters all the way.
The most a big problem, which can be encountered when “passing” a concrete wall is the “opposition” of a drill and metal reinforcement (usually this happens during penetration to a great depth). In this case, the reinforcement is passed with a punch, and then work continues. If the hole is made with an impact drill, then a conventional drill for metal will help to cope with the obstacle.
Since a non-professional tool is not designed for a long load, about every 15 minutes you need to take a break for about the same period. During this time, both the tool itself and the consumable will cool down. Before continuing work, you need to moisten the drill with water - this will extend its service life.
Sometimes it may happen that when drilling a wall from its reverse side pieces of plaster begin to fall off. In this case, you need to reduce the speed so that the work goes a little slower. Although such work will take more time, you can not worry about the safety of the wall. Another incident that can happen in the process is the drill getting stuck in the wall. In this case, you should not try to remove it by loosening the tool back and forth, as this can break off the sting. It is necessary to carefully disconnect the puncher, and then insert another small-diameter drill into it and start drilling a “brother” tightly stuck in the wall, while trying not to touch it.
By choosing the right tool and accessories for it, you can successfully make holes even in such an unyielding material as concrete. A bit of theory seasoned with practice - and such work will be done quickly, efficiently and without any extra effort.
Each of us has repeatedly faced with the need to mount various objects on the walls that bring variety to the interior, create coziness, or simply remind of the pleasant moments of life. Most often it is necessary to attach to concrete surface lamps and sconces, paintings and photographs, mirrors and shelves, install air conditioning, or a TV. If in the case of a small painting or photograph you can get by with driving a nail into the wall, then when the question is about more massive and heavy objects, the question of drilling holes arises. In order to avoid misunderstandings when working with concrete, for example, drill breakage, blunting it, it is worthwhile to correctly prepare the partition, choose quality tool and choose the right drill.
Choosing a tool and working with it
When choosing a tool to drill a hole, you should understand that your work depends on it. A good drill will accurately drill into a concrete wall or other desired material, simplifies the drilling process, while a bad one will require a lot of time, may not cope with the task, or complicate it. What you need to pay attention to when choosing a drill:
- Is it possible to change the drilling speed? - this point is important, because the correction of the speed mode will ensure accurate operation of the drill, helping it not to damage the surface.
- Is it possible to hammer drill and adjust the depth? – impact drilling can be applied to problem areas, softening them.
- Is it possible to hold the drill with both hands? - a drill is not an easy tool and therefore models that are equipped with handles should be preferred.
- Is the power of the tool sufficient for your work?
Having decided on a drill, before starting work, you need to get the hang of holding it. To do this, take the drill in one hand, like a pistol, place the other hand on the handle of the tool (if it is not intended by the design, the hand is placed near the cartridge). It is necessary to hold the drill in your hands strictly horizontally so that the hole does not turn out with distortions and at the wrong angle. Before turning on the drill, wait until it reaches temperature environment. Sudden temperature changes can cause condensation to form. If you decide to take a break during work, unplug the tool from the mains.
Surface preparation
It must be remembered that the wall is looser than the following layers. Before you start drilling, you need to make sure that there are no wiring, pipes, electrical cables in the selected floor area. A metal detector will help to cope with this task, as it reacts to non-ferrous metals, iron and steel.
By ignoring this condition, you can stumble upon rebar, damage the drill, or cables / pipes that were hidden in the ceiling. If this section satisfies all of the above requirements, then a point is marked on the wall, and after that a small depression is made in it at a slow speed using a drill. It is also worth remembering that the surface of the concrete wall is looser than subsequent layers.
Drill selection
This point can rightfully be considered the main one, since the quality of work and the safety of the drill itself, as well as the accuracy of work, depend on a properly selected drill. Today, there are a huge variety of drills on the market: for working on wood, metal, concrete. The latter are distinguished by a triangular tip. For a concrete surface, it is best to use a carbide drill, for example, Pobedit. This type of drill crushes the material without tearing it, which is ideal option for concrete floors.
If in the process of drilling the wall the drill does not go forward, colliding with a dense area, it is recommended to use a punch. After inserting the punch into the hole, it is beaten with a hammer until it begins to move forward and softens the problem area. After that, you can continue drilling.
It should be noted that without a punch, a perforator can easily cope with such difficulties, however, they make holes that exceed 13 mm in diameter. If you want to use universal drills when drilling, you need to remember that they require cooling, vibration is turned off and are only suitable for a conventional drill.
A little about the device of the drill and the installation of the drill
Drilling pattern for a concrete wall. A classic drill consists of a power cable, a button, a capacitor wire, a reverser, brushes and springs, an armature, a stator, a gearbox and a chuck, bearings, a key and fastening screws. A correctly inserted drill improves the quality of drilling, and is able to secure it.
The first thing to check when starting work with a drill is that there are no contaminants on the drill itself. A rag will be a great helper in cleaning drills. If the drill is loose, then there is a risk that it will fly out and injure the master. Accordingly, it is necessary to immerse the drill as much as possible in the cartridge (up to the stop!).
In no case do not try to "lengthen" the drill by partially immersing it in the chuck!
It is important to ensure that the drill in the tool is fixed strictly along the axis. If this rule is not observed, drilling in concrete will be performed poorly, the shape of the hole may be unpredictable, and the elementary effect of the beat of the drill will become the cause of all these misunderstandings.
During the repair and finishing works there is a need to drill walls, which are most often concrete. Let's say you need to hang a cabinet, nail a shelf, install a lamp or air conditioner, attach metallic profile or plumbing fixture. Since concrete is very solid material, it is difficult to process. In addition, when drilling, drills can stumble on crushed stone present in the composition. Therefore, making a hole in concrete is not easy, you have to work hard.
Before drilling a concrete wall, it is worth checking the surface for what is not nearby. water pipes and steam heating communications. To do this, use a metal detector. Using this device, it will be possible to detect electrical cables passing near the place of work. To make holes in concrete, it is customary to use a drill with an impact function or a hammer drill, and diamond drilling is also practiced. If you only need to make a few holes, then you can do a simple tool. But an ordinary drill will not work, it is recommended to prepare a drill on which a plate made of a Pobedite alloy is soldered. When the drill drill sinks into the wall, and the drill starts to stop, you should start breaking the material. To do this, take a punch - a metal pin, the diameter of which matches the size of the hole. Insert it into the hole, then you need to hit it with a hammer. This should be done until you crush the compacted areas. Having slightly turned the pin, you can again use the drill, constantly scrolling the drill around its axis. It should not heat up, so it is recommended to wet the drill with water. Repeat these steps until you reach required depth holes. As an alternative to Pobedite drills, you can use universal diamond-coated drills that are mounted on a conventional drill.
Thus, if you choose the right tool to work with concrete wall, you will be able to make a hole without much difficulty, regardless of the fact that pieces of rubble or metal fittings. Be sure to use safety glasses while working to avoid getting concrete crumbs in your eyes!
The repair process in the apartment includes a lot of work related to creating holes in the walls: a tool can be used for this various designs and power. Many craftsmen and those who are going to do the repair themselves want to know how to drill through a concrete wall with a conventional drill and whether it is even possible. For such work, a puncher is usually used, but it is not always suitable for this, moreover, if the tool has to be bought, then its cost is much higher than that of a drill.
Features of choosing a tool
In most cases, it is better to use a hammer drill: it has increased power, is designed for punching hard surfaces, and allows you to make large holes in diameter. The use of the tool is inappropriate in the following cases:
- the need to drill a wall to a depth of 10-12 mm;
- working with, which crumbles when processed with a perforator;
- in the work it is required to make no more than 10-15 holes.
Before drilling a wall, it is important to choose the drill itself: it should not be unstressed, since this variety is ineffective when drilling concrete, the nozzle and cartridge become unusable almost immediately. The nozzles themselves must be victorious, designed for concrete work, the tip - with a hard-alloy coating.
In some cases good decision there will be a purchase of a perforator drill: the device is more expensive than the classic model, but it has increased power that can be adjusted.
What nozzles to choose?
Before drilling a hole in a concrete wall, you need to select a nozzle of the appropriate design. The following types are used for work:
- Tooth crowns impact type, designed for drilling. When working with concrete, it is recommended to use varieties from the teeth of a separate soldering, made from the most durable metal alloys. Many hole saws are equipped with SDS tails for installation in drills with keyless chucks. Drills are well suited for concrete walls, however, upon contact with metal, they can begin to collapse, so before drilling reinforced concrete wall, it is required to check that there are no reinforcements used for reinforcement in the place of work.
- Diamond crowns, which are designed for non-impact drilling of holes. Such nozzles are more modern, with their help it is easier to make a hole in a concrete wall. The edge of the crowns has an abrasive structure and special cutouts; during production, it is processed by spraying diamond grit or corundum. Before you make a hole in the wall, you only need to pick up desired length nozzles: in everyday life, varieties with a diameter of up to 100-120 mm are used, in professional works larger crowns are used. Distinctive feature is the possibility of drilling without the risk of damaging the fixture with fittings.
- KS-crowns, which have a cutting edge with crystalline diamond particles. Such nozzles are used for most solid walls, including drilling with them. concrete plates, external walls and stone structures.
Before drilling or a partition, you need to make sure that during the work the wires or cables will not be touched, if any are laid inside.
How to drill concrete with a drill?
Typically, such work is performed in the following cases:
- rough finishing of premises;
- installation of built-in furniture and appliances;
- installation of wiring and plumbing, when communications need to be concreted.
When using a pobedite nozzle in the course of work, it is required from time to time to use a metal punch, which is selected according to the size of the hole being formed. Such a tool allows the drill not to jam when the drill is deeply immersed: the punch is placed in concrete and deepened by hammer blows to make a hole in the wall, destroying the seal.
This process is quite long, an alternative would be to use diamond crowns: a drill equipped with such nozzles will not get stuck in concrete.
Action algorithm:
- Before drilling a hole in the wall, you need to install the desired nozzle, after making sure that the tool is in good condition and the integrity of the drill.
- Drilling concrete is required carefully; when using low-power equipment, the duration of continuous operation of the drill should not be more than 10-12 minutes. If drilling is delayed in time, you need to take breaks so that the motor of the device cools down.
- After it became clear to drill a concrete wall, in addition it is worth considering that for each new hole it is required to process the nozzle. You can moisten the surface with water to facilitate the procedure and save the metal from deformation.
The whole process of work can be seen on the video:
If you encounter a stuck drill, you can not remove it by force: this leads to breakage of the fixture, as a result of which the tip will remain in the concrete. The nozzle needs to be disconnected, select a crown of reduced diameter and use it to pull out the stuck element.
Before you decide how to drill concrete walls and start work, you should pay attention to the following recommendations:
- if the hole diameter exceeds 12 mm and the depth is 10-11 cm, it is better to use a hammer drill or a hybrid device (hammer drill);
- if holes are made for plastic dowels, the depth should be over size fastener by 7-10 mm, since concrete dust remains inside and small particles stone;
- it is recommended to start work at low speeds so that the nozzle does not move due to increased torque, and the shock mode is turned on when the drill goes 2-4 mm deep;
- the dust that appeared during the drilling process can be removed with a vacuum cleaner, it is advisable to do this in the process, periodically stopping the drill and cleaning the hole from concrete particles;
- it is imperative to observe safety precautions during work: it is required to wear gloves to eliminate the risk of slipping of the handle and goggles so that the crumb does not get into the eyes and does not damage the mucous membrane.
In most cases, a concrete wall is drilled with a hammer drill, without a drill. If, as part of the repair, no more than 15-20 holes need to be made or the wall is made of foam concrete, using a drill is optimal choice which will save time and money.
Before punching a hole, you need to make sure that there is no wiring in this place, and check whether the nozzle is suitable for such work (the duration and efficiency of work depends on which drill the drill is equipped with). When deciding how to drill a wall, you should pay attention to victorious crowns: with such a drill, using a drill, you can easily punch a hole up to 10-12 cm deep.
