Construction, decoration, repair, installation of equipment. this is an incomplete list of works, the production of which can not do without drilling holes in the walls. Holes are needed for laying communications, power and telephone lines, heating pipes and sewers. And even if you just need to hang a mirror in the hallway, you have to drill. After all, you will not drive a nail into a concrete wall.
Electric drill or hammer drill
Concrete itself is a very durable material. In addition, pieces of natural stone are often found in its composition, 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 winning tip;
- Use a diamond coated drill.
Both the drill and the punch are designed for drilling holes. But if the drill just twists a drill or other nozzle, the rotary hammer combines the functions of torsion and impact. Drill can drill iron, wood, brick or foam block walls. There are drills combining the functions of torsion and impact. Their power is enough to drill a concrete wall and without a perforator with a drill or diamond drill with a diameter of not more than 10-12 millimeters. The puncher has more power and is able to punch holes in the walls and larger.
Which tool to choose is solved depending on the task at hand. If you need to make a couple of holes in the wall in order to hang a cabinet, then an ordinary drill with a drill with drill will do the job.
If you have to work a lot and often, then only a punch 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 hammerless drill with a drill bit is enough. To do this, the drill will have to help a little. The hole formed in the wall, it is necessary from time to time to hammer with a metal pin-punch with a diameter of not more than the hole itself. After a few strokes, you can continue to drill. In this way, alternating drilling with punching, you can make a hole of the desired depth. It is long, but quite feasible.
Video: How to properly hammer concrete with a puncher
For the same task, you can use drills with diamond spraying. Then you don’t have to hammer anything. It is only necessary to drill the concrete wall correctly, making sure that the electric drill and drill do not overheat.
A drill with a drill bit is the most universal solution where you need to make a large number of holes of not very large diameter.
If, during drilling of a plate, the drill rests against reinforcement, you need to change it to normal. The drill bit crumbles the material, not cuts it.
Large diameter crowns
The problem of drilling large holes can arise when laying, for example, sewage 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. The crown for drilling concrete is a hollow metal pipe. From one end of it there are several cutting ledges with diamond spraying. On the other, a shank is welded for installation in a chuck of a perforator or drill. Crowns are available in various lengths and diameters.
Diamond core drilling can also be done manually. But not all such work can be done by hand. It is impossible to drill a hole in concrete under a pipe of large diameter, and even with a hand tool. Holes in thick load-bearing walls are drilled using a whole set of equipment, which includes:
- guide rack;
- drive unit;
- electric motor with chuck;
- crown of the desired diameter.
The drilling process is as follows. A guide post is fixed to the wall. A drive with an electric motor mounted on it will move along it. The crown of the desired diameter is clamped into the cartridge of the electric motor. Cold water is continuously supplied to the drilling site, which cools the tool and prevents the formation of dust.
The 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 expensive, so don’t buy them just to make 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 the function of a blow or a puncher, as well as a drill or diamond drill of the right size. If you have to pull pipes of large diameter, for example, take the ventilation pipe from the gas boiler to the street, then it is better to entrust this matter to professionals. This will allow you to perform work with the least cost and damage, and also save the psyche of not only the owner of the apartment, but also its 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 glasses will protect your eyes from getting into them small concrete chips.