I can't drill through a concrete wall with a drill. How to drill a hole in a wall - practical tips for different materials

Sooner or later, most people living in houses with concrete walls need to hang a cabinet, a lamp, a shelf or a picture. At this point, the burning question of how to drill through a concrete wall comes up. 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 courageously torture the drill and their own strength, but, not achieving the desired 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 gathering dust in the pantry. But there are still options - you just need to know them and be able to use them.

Concrete structures are strong enough and difficult to drill. In addition, quite often, drills stumble upon crushed stone, which is part of the concrete mix, from which wall and ceiling slabs are molded.

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

finishing works;
furniture installations;
air conditioner hangers;
additional electrical wiring device;
plumbing installation.

There are two ways to solve the problem of holes in a concrete wall:

impact drill, and preferably a puncher, with a drill bit;
diamond drilling.

It is worth noting that it will not work to make a hole in a concrete wall with ordinary drills, therefore, before starting work, it is necessary 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 the Pobedite drills do not cut them, but crumble them.

What will help the home master?

In domestic conditions, when it is necessary to make 2-3 holes in concrete, you can get by with an ordinary drill, without a shock function. To do this, it is necessary, as the drill drill is immersed into the body of the wall, from time to time to break the concrete with a strong metal pin (punch) that matches in size with the diameter of the hole. It is used in the case when the drill begins to "stop" 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 too dense areas and punch the hole deeper. In this case, the pin is rotated a little. Then the hammerless drill can again come into operation.

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

Alternatively, when drilling a hole in concrete, you can use universal diamond-coated drill bits. 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 turned off.

It is necessary to work with a drill very carefully, otherwise it will fail too quickly. The advice that professionals give is to avoid overheating the drill, it should be wetted with cold water from time to time.

How to decide on a tool?

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

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

Drilling the reinforcement caught in the body of a concrete wall should be drilled for metal.

What are big holes drilled with?

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

powerful electric motor;
drilling drive;
diamond drill bits of different diameters;
guide post fixed on the base.

Diamond drilling allows you to make holes of large diameter - up to 40 cm. The process is fast enough, efficient, without unnecessary dust and noise. Water is automatically supplied to the drilling site, which simultaneously cools the diamond bit and washes away dust.

Drilling holes in the wall must be done both during capital construction and in everyday life. And in this matter, everything depends on the material of the base plane and the diameter of the hole. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the right material for the manufacture of the drill. After all, there is a significant difference here.

A drill for making a hole in a brick will not withstand concrete and will simply burn out. Today we will look at how holes are made in different materials. Also on the video in this article and the photo you can find out the options for the tool and choose the one you need.

What device is better to make recesses in the wall surface

It is quite easy to carry out installation by drilling recesses in our time. If a person is trained and correctly uses modern electric tools, then there will be no difficulties. To keep your home clean after work, use a jig that allows you to drill with a minimum of dirt and dust.

It is easiest to make a hole in the wall with a perforator, which is what professionals advise to use. He will cope with the most durable materials in the wall in the best way and nothing better has yet been invented. But such a power tool is expensive and not everyone can buy it for home use. An electric drill with a blow effect will help to make holes in the wall.

Cutting holes in the walls in most cases is done with a drill. This tool is in almost every family, and experts give their recommendations, they will expand the scope of the drill.

Attention: When choosing a drill, carefully read the technical descriptions. The power of the electrical appliance must be at least 600 W, and the revolutions can be no more than 2500 per minute, and this is in the mode of their regulation.

So:

Reverse is required, which changes the rotation of the drill clockwise and counterclockwise. Choose a model with a keyless chuck, only then you will not spend too much time looking for a key to replace the drill.

Do not forget that the device must have a shock function. It will help to cope with any complexity of the wall surface, and drilling holes will be quite easy and simple. And that's all, because materials such as bricks, cement or concrete are quickly destroyed by dynamic actions, namely, by impacts. If the electric drill is not equipped with such an impact function, then the simplest drilling process will take a long time. The drill will cling to the composition located in the wall and at the same time get very hot, but this will be of little use. Here is such a feature as impact drilling is generally different. This is something like chiselling.

How to choose the right drill

Probably everyone has seen a huge assortment of different types of drills in stores and markets. Now we will figure out which one is best to use. It is not difficult to drill a wooden, plasterboard or foam concrete surface of the walls with the most ordinary drill.

Now, if the material is brick, stone or concrete, then it is better to choose a drill made of hard alloys. Unlike the previous one, it has victorious cutting inserts. Welded elements are visible on the edge.

If your house has at least a couple of such drills with sizes from 6 mm. up to 8 mm is already fine, be sure they will still be needed. With their help, you can make a hole up to 20 cm deep.

When you need to make a large hole, you need to purchase a drill. They drill dense surfaces almost a meter deep, but only with a hammer drill, an ordinary drill will not help here.

So:

The drills have tails with a diameter of 15 mm. and more, there are grooves that serve for fastening. But if the drill works as a puncher, then they are clamped quite well in the cartridge. The characteristic of the drill is on the tail itself.
If you need to drill a solid surface, this process is divided into several stages, drilling will be safe and fast.
First, a drill up to 20 cm long is selected. Designed to a depth of almost 15 cm.
Next, use a long drill designed for 35 cm.
Drilling ends with a 50 cm drill. This requires a powerful drill, but notice earlier, we mentioned that it is not designed for heavy loads, except for individual cases.
If buying a rotary hammer is not an option, rent one for a few hours.

Attention: Punching a hole in the wall d=150 mm or more is best done with a drill. They are quite large in length and they have a secure mount in the cartridge.

Safe drilling of recesses in the wall

It is quite possible to drill a hole in the wall with your own hands. But at the same time, everything must be done quickly, efficiently and safely. For different wall materials, there is also an instruction on the rules for performing work. We read about this in detail below.

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, you have to mount lamps and sconces, paintings and photographs, mirrors and shelves on a concrete surface, install an air conditioner, 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, breakage of the drill, blunting it, it is worthwhile to properly prepare the partition, choose a 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 accurately drills a concrete wall or other desired material, simplifies the drilling process, while a bad drill 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 ambient temperature. 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 grinds the material without tearing it, which is ideal 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. In case of non-compliance with this rule, 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.

Construction, interior decoration, repair, installation of equipment - this is an incomplete list of works that cannot be done without drilling holes in the walls. Holes are needed for laying communications, power and telephone lines, heating and sewage pipes. And even if you just need to hang a mirror in the hallway, you have to drill. After all, you can't drive a nail into a concrete wall.

Electric drill or hammer drill

Concrete itself is a very durable material. In addition, it often contains pieces of natural stone, which is added to the cement mortar to give additional strength. Drilling such a wall with a conventional drill is useless. There are two ways to solve this problem:

use a drill with a victorious tip;
use a diamond drill.

Both a drill and a hammer drill are designed for drilling holes. But if the drill just turns the drill bit or other attachment, then the puncher combines the functions of torsion and impact. The drill can drill iron, wood, brick or foam block walls. There are drills that combine the functions of torsion and impact. Their power is enough to drill a concrete wall even without a puncher with a Pobedite or diamond drill with a diameter of no more than 10-12 millimeters. The perforator has more power and is able to punch larger holes in the walls.

Which tool to choose depends on the task at hand. If you need to make a couple of holes in the wall in order to hang a locker, then an ordinary drill with a drill bit will also cope with this task.

If you have to work a lot and often, then only a perforator will help out. Especially if you need to perform drilling in load-bearing structures with increased concrete strength.

From theory to practice

In order to drill a small hole in a concrete wall, even a non-impact electric drill with a pobedit drill is enough. To do this, the drill will have to help a little. The hole formed in the wall must be hammered from time to time with a metal pin-punch with a diameter of no more than the hole itself. After a few strokes, you can continue drilling. In this way, alternating drilling with punching, you can make a hole of the desired depth. It's long, but doable.

For the same task, you can use drills with diamond coating. Then you don't have to punch anything. It is only necessary to drill the concrete wall correctly, making sure that the electric drill and drill do not overheat.

A puncher with a pobedit drill is the most versatile solution where you need to make a large number of holes of not very large diameter.

If, when drilling the slab, the drill rested against the reinforcement, you need to change it to the usual one. The Pobeditovy drill crumbles material, but does not cut it.

Large diameter crowns

The problem of drilling large holes can arise when laying, for example, sewerage or ventilation systems. To make holes of considerable diameter, special nozzles are used, which are called crowns. Their main difference from drills and drills is that they are hollow inside. This allows you to spend much less energy on drilling. A crown for drilling concrete is a hollow metal pipe. From one end of it there are several cutting protrusions with diamond coating. On the other, a shank is welded for installation in a punch or drill chuck. Crowns are available in various lengths and diameters.

Drilling with a diamond crown can also be done manually. But not all such work can be done by hand. It is impossible to drill a hole in concrete for a large diameter pipe, and even with a hand tool. Holes in thick load-bearing walls are drilled using a whole set of equipment, which includes:

guide post;
drive unit;
electric motor with clamping chuck;
crown of the desired diameter.

The drilling process is as follows. A guide post is attached to the wall. A drive with an electric motor installed on it will move along it. A crown of the desired diameter is clamped into the chuck of the electric motor. Cold water is continuously supplied to the drilling site, which cools the tool and prevents the formation of dust.

Holes drilled in this way have very clear boundaries. and smooth inner surface. It is also important that such installations allow drilling at a certain angle. This allows you to lay communications with minimal damage to the walls.

Diamond drilling rigs are not cheap, so don't buy them just for the sake of making a couple of small holes in the wall.

Precautionary measures

Of course, anyone can drill a couple of small holes in a concrete wall. It is enough to have a good drill with an impact function or a hammer drill, as well as a victorious or diamond drill of the right size. If you have to pull pipes of large diameter, for example, to bring a ventilation pipe from a gas boiler to the street, then it is better to entrust this matter to professionals. This will allow you to perform work at the lowest cost and damage, and also save the psyche of not only the owner of the apartment, but also his neighbors.

When drilling concrete walls, do not forget about personal protective equipment. In order not to swallow dust, you need to use a respirator. And special goggles will protect your eyes from getting small concrete chips into them.

When making repairs in an apartment or house, the question always arises of drilling a wall. You can use different tools depending on the purpose of the hole and the material from which the surface is made.

When working with each tool there are nuances, especially when drilling a wall. How to make the right hole, and what recommendations to follow?

Drilling holes in the wall correctly: general rules and recommendations for drilling

In order to properly drill a wall, you need to take into account the material from which it is made, based on this, you need to choose a tool.

when working, hold the tool correctly. For example, a drill in the hands should be straight, and enter the surface in a vertical direction;
for convenience, use an additional handle;
Depending on the material of the surface, select the necessary drills.

The material of the tool used to work must be harder than the surface to be drilled.

Tools for different surfaces:

concrete, stone, brick wall - use a carbide drill, more often victorious;
metal - drill for metal;
tile, ceramic tiles - special drills for these materials, sometimes it can be replaced with a drill for concrete with surfacing will win;
Chipboard, wood - for holes smaller than 10–12 mm, a drill for metal is suitable, for larger ones, special drills for wood are used.

Work Tools

For work, they use different tools, the main ones: a drill, a puncher, a screwdriver. When using each, there are nuances.

Drill

The tool is suitable when you need to make several holes. You can use a regular drill. When plunging a drill bit into the body of the wall, sometimes it is necessary to break concrete with a punch that matches the diameter of the hole. This is necessary when the drill starts to get stuck in the surface, bumping into too dense areas. The process is quite labor intensive.

For greater efficiency, you can use universal drills that have a diamond coating. They are installed only on a conventional drill or on a tool where the vibration function is disabled.

For large-scale work, an impact drill and drills with victorious tips are used. They are designed for holes up to 12 mm. The drill is suitable for work with metal, concrete.

To prevent the tool from overheating, periodically moisten the drill with cold water.

Perforator

The perforator is a versatile tool. With it, you can make a hole in the wall of wood, tiles and concrete.

The tool has several functions - drilling, drilling with impact and impact mode. To make a hole, you need to select the desired drill depending on the surface and work by selecting the mode.

screwdriver

A screwdriver is one of the most popular tools for repair and construction work. With it, you can twist and unscrew self-tapping screws, drill wood, metal, chipboard, plywood, tiles, plywood, lightweight concrete.

What nozzles to choose

For each material, a specific nozzle is used:

concrete, brick, stone - a drill with a carbide plate or a drill;
tiles, glass - conical drills with diamond coating;
metal - a spiral drill with a cylindrical cone;
wood, drywall - for holes of different diameters, drills are used: feather, ballerina, screw, saw bits for wood;
foam concrete - victorious drills.

Is it possible to do without a drill and puncher

Make a hole without a drill and puncher, but not in a concrete wall. To do this, you need a bolt or punch.

A bolt is a pipe with teeth at the end. The punch has an end in the form of a bison or a tetrahedron.

The working end of the tool is applied to the place where the hole will be. On the opposite side of it, you need to strike hard, rotating the tool after each turn.

How to drill without dust: options, the better

Construction work is always accompanied by dust and debris, but with some recommendations and tips, it can be significantly reduced:

the hammer drill leaves a little dust during operation so that it does not scatter around the room at the same time use a construction vacuum cleaner. Some brands of tool have a built-in vacuum cleaner, which makes the task easier;
using a drill, it is best to either make a jig at the end or a bag, or make an envelope under the hole so that debris falls into it.

How to drill holes in a brick wall: the choice of tools and nozzles

To make a hole in a brick wall, a puncher with a drill or an impact drill is suitable, most often the latter is used. Its power should be at least 600 watts, the minimum number of revolutions should be from 2500 per minute. It is best to use a drill with smooth power adjustment and quick clamping function.

Using the hammer drilling function, the drill becomes identical to a hammer drill. Increased speed and ease of operation. To make a hole in a brick wall, you need to use the punch method of a dynamic nature. Without this, the drill will not be able to catch on the inside of the brick.

Drills must be victorious. If through drilling is necessary, then a drill is used.

How to drill a load-bearing wall in a panel house with a puncher

In most panel houses, the walls are made of concrete; in order to make a hole with a perforator, you need to use drills.

In addition to them, you can use special crowns. They have soldering around the circumference. Applying them, you need to turn off the percussion function of the perforator.

Specialists use diamond drilling, this requires powerful equipment and skills.

How to drill reinforced concrete under a pipe with an impact drill

Using an impact drill for reinforced concrete, you need to use the "perforator" mode and the drill bits. First, the hole is made smaller, then larger. The drill needs to be cooled down periodically.

Important! When working with concrete, you must not get into the reinforcement, otherwise the drill will break. With the help of a special device, you can check where it is located.

How to make a hole in a concrete wall with a drill

It is difficult to drill a concrete wall with a conventional drill. It is necessary to install victorious drills and select low speeds. A dowel is inserted in the right place to help the tool break through the surface. Further, drilling must be alternated with blows on the dowel.

The drill must be constantly cooled, otherwise it will burn out.

If the drill does not have speed control, then it will not be possible to make a hole.

How to make a hole in a concrete wall in an apartment with a drill

For a small hole, you can use a punch. It will make, most conveniently, from a drill, diameter 8 mm. The end is sharpened sharply. The drill is placed in the right place, rotated, while hitting it with a hammer. Periodically moisten the drill so that it works longer.

When working with tools, you must follow the safety rules and general recommendations:

How to fix a large drilled wall

You can close up unnecessary holes in the wall using a special building mixture. It provides strength and durability. The composition should be selected depending on the area and type of defect.

With the help of putty, you can level the surface, including concrete. There are several types of putty:

cement - used in exterior and interior decoration, suitable for concrete. Durable and moisture resistant. Dries for a long time and often with a mesh, which requires re-application;
gypsum - used in dry rooms, not resistant to water and afraid of temperature changes. It does not crack when applied, so it can be applied immediately in a thick layer;
acrylic finish. You need to apply a thin layer, so it is suitable for small defects.

None of the mixtures are used for sealing through holes.

Polyurethane foam is a versatile material. It happens one-component (used without preparation) and two-component (when used, a construction gun or mixer is used).

When applied, the foam expands in volume and fills the desired space. Hardens and gives high-quality density. Deep holes can be sealed.

Suitable for removing large defects. It has good adhesion, frost-resistant, strong and durable.

Having decided to make a hole, carefully read the rules and recommendations. Choose a tool, depending on the composition of the surface, and a drill. If you are not confident in your own skills, then entrust the work to specialists.