Drilling Holes In Concrete With A Diamond Core Bit

We drill concrete walls: tools, technology, safety

Do-it-yourself concrete drilling is hard, noisy, dusty and at the same time delicate and responsible work. Why thin? First, due to the high risk of injury. Secondly, drilling of building structures can reduce their strength and damage communications in the walls, and this is material damage. Third, the walls are often drilled through and through, and with a bad tool and / or improper use of it, something like a small volcano erupting from the other side occurs with flying debris and the formation of a crater. And there. people, furniture, decorative trim. That is, again injury and material damage. Therefore, it will be appropriate to start with safety precautions.

Occupational safety and health

Once an incident happened to the author of these lines, which, in general, does not do him honor, but indicative:

I drilled a wall in an old public building. There are a lot of holes, the brick is “merchant”, and moreover, it gained strength over time, so it was necessary to lay on it properly. Another hole. put a drill, aligned, pressed, grinned, turned on. and the punch with the drill flew through the wall, and the performer flew into it with his head up to his eyebrows and his hand up to the elbow. There was an opening, sealed with drywall on both sides, plastered and pasted over with wallpaper.

The audience, who had previously seen how difficult it was before the drill went into the wall, watched with curiosity a scene that you will not see in any action movie with kungfu stars, but the worker miraculously stayed at a height of 4.5 m, and the puncher hung on a cord inside, and the end the rotating drill was 15 cm from the head of a woman with a magnificent haircut. Another miracle happened. she was frightened to a stupor, and colleagues managed to drag her away.

Second case from practice:

Drilled through the plaster. This time, PTB and PPR (Work Rules) observed: before drilling, he carefully chipped the plaster to concrete. There was a thick black cable. It took two days to figure out what it was. It turned out. the input of 380 V 50 kW, indicated on the communications plan in a completely different place. The worker is a non-drinker, but, having learned what he had missed, he felt a burning desire to chill a good glass of vodka in one gulp.

These cases are given not for fun, but as an illustration to PTB and PPR. Without examining them punctually, we will immediately outline the essence:

• When drilling walls, provide yourself with personal protective equipment. work in a respirator-petal, hard hat, goggles and overalls. Silicosis is not only a disease of miners, dust from the walls is no less harmful than mine dust, and a piece of plaster from the ceiling that hit the head is not uncommon.
• Move people out of the working area (with a diameter of 2.5 m, considering the hole as the center at a height of up to 5 m) ON BOTH SIDES OF THE WALL. Place or stretch a guardrail. If the wall is outside, it is advisable that there is an observer outside to warn passers-by.
• Working upwards of 1.5 m or more without a firm, stable base underfoot is considered work at height. It is forbidden to work with a puncher at a height. So work with goat or scaffolding; in extreme cases. from a stepladder with stops, but its steps should be parallel to the wall; then the stability of the body “within the bounds of decency” will be ensured by the support of the “fifth point”, and suddenly you crash. the ladder will play the role of a damper. A bruise and a fracture are two big differences. It is strictly forbidden to drill walls from stairs.
• Increase the speed and feed of the tool smoothly when drilling. Also, smoothly introduce the working body into the wall: it is forbidden to turn on the power tool with the working body resting against anything. it may splash or fall through, as described.
• Use only two-handed tools.

When drilling walls through plaster:

• Study your communications plan carefully.
• Trace each one personally along its entire length; if in doubt, ask your local electrician, plumber, gas worker for clarification.
• Not content with this, in the places of future holes, chop off the plaster to a monolith on both sides of the wall with a small, No. 1, blunt chisel and 50 g locksmith’s hammer.

Additionally:

• Do not drill for yourself or agree, for hire or as a favor, to drill through decorative surfaces. The wiring indicator under it most often does not “catch” the wiring, and the coating will be completely damaged.
• When drilling in a block house, DO NOT DRILL SEAMS OWN IN ANY CASE! Most often, electrical wiring and even gas pipes are hidden in the channels between the plates, which, by the way, is completely prohibited.
• If the gas distribution in the house is hidden (also a gross violation), turn OFF the GAS during the work. A gas accident is more serious than an electric one.

Working bodies

Working bodies (sometimes called consumables) used for drilling building structures are shown in the figure. Let’s describe in the order of numbering:

• An impact twist drill with a carbide insert is used for drilling small, most often blind holes for dowels, etc. It differs from a solid carbide drill for metal, which is unsuitable for rotary percussion drilling, by the protruding edges of the insert. Often the working end of such a drill is colored red. The shank is round. The designation does not indicate the diameter, but the caliber. the distance between the edges of the insert. Working revolutions. from 400 for 13 mm to 800-1200 for 4 mm. It is necessary to buy such a drill with caution: the market is full of “alternative” rubbish with substandard inserts and a body made of raw metal, which folds into the “letter ZU” at the very first holes.
• Drills for concrete. Tungsten- or zirconium-based tungsten carbide tipped or tipped tip. Shank. most commonly SDS or SDS Max. Caliber. from 6 to 76 mm; length. up to 1000 mm. Working revolutions. from 400 to 60-100; the larger the diameter, the lower the speed. Thanks to the low operating speed, drilling holes in concrete with such a working body is quiet and low-dust: you can work with a good branded drill in a living room without taking out the furniture, just tidying up the carpet and laying a film on the floor: the dust seems to be poured out in a stream and almost does not fly into the air. Most SDS drills do not require hammer drilling in concrete up to 600.
• Diamond core drill. Professional durable and high-performance working body. Drilling. rotary only. It is used most often in mass electrical work for drilling holes for socket outlets. In the hands of a pros, one hole takes no more than 5 seconds. It is not recommended for home craftsmen: without solid working skills (“full hand”) it is easily damaged, but it is expensive. Manufacturers guarantee durability and reliability when drilling with a diamond bit at 2500-3000 rpm with strict adherence to the technology and operating rules: “air” feed and not the slightest distortion or slipping.

• Carbide core drills with center drill are general-purpose tools that are quite suitable for non-professional household work. The preferred drilling mode is rotary. Durability, of course, is ten times less than that of diamond, but several hundred holes for a good branded drill is not the limit. They are not as sensitive to skew or feed with pressure as diamond ones, but when they hit the reinforcement, all the teeth crumble at once. Working revolutions. medium and above average, 600-1200 rpm.
• Segmented Diamond Tubular Bits. Purpose. professional diamond drilling of concrete of any brand with any inclusions, including through reinforcement. Despite the fact that the bodies of diamond drills are made of ultra-modern materials, they are even more finicky in work than diamond bits. Craftsmen who know how to work with diamond drills until their calculated wear and tear are literally countless. Drilling conditions are the same as for a diamond core bit.
• The working body of the motor-drill. Length. up to 1500 mm and more; caliber. up to 300 mm. The fruit of the most modern technologies: this outwardly slender construction gnaws at the strongest industrial reinforced concrete so that dust and crumbs gush out of the hole in a dense fountain. Drilling conditions. strictly according to the instructions for the tool.

Tool

• Drilling of walls made of brick, soft stone (limestone, sandstone, shell rock) and aerated concrete can be done with a two-handed rotary percussion drill with a power of at least 250 W (preferably from 350 W) with a collet (self-clamping) chuck. The three-jaw chuck is suitable for drilling one or several holes: after driving 2-2.5 m of the wall, the central point of the converging cams turns into a blurred speck of 1-1.5 mm in diameter when rotating. That is, the cartridge began to hit, and it needs to be changed; most likely. and with a front sleeve bearing.
• Drilling of concrete floors up to 30 cm thick with a drill with a collet chuck is admissible occasionally. For systematic work of this kind, you already need a drill with an SDS chuck (shank diameter. 10 mm). The drill, of course, is also percussion and two-handed.
• For long-term work on drilling concrete monoliths from concrete grade 400 and more, the SDS Max drill is suitable, for a shank with a diameter of 18 mm. The SDS Top system (14mm shank with slots like SDS) is generally a Bosch failure. For SDS Top to work, as they say, neither fish nor meat.
• For professional drilling of any building structures, including those made of aged reinforced concrete of the highest grades, the only acceptable option is a powerful, 1 kW or more perforator. They can both drill and hammer grooves with a chisel. But a drill of low power (up to 200 W) and without an impact mechanism is also needed: sometimes you have to work on concrete with a diamond, and often with a crown, but they are not applicable with a perforator.
• And, finally, if you need to “pierce a hole” up to a meter and a half and a diameter of up to 250 mm or more, then the only option here is a motor-drill. Power will be required at least 5-8 kW, and a household power tool of such power is not produced and is not included in a single-phase network.

We drill concrete

The beginning of concrete drilling with a non-diamond working body is the same: when the tool is turned off, the tip is pressed against the hole mark and, by rotating the chuck by hand, a hole is selected. Then the tool is retracted, turned on, slightly pressing the regulator, and drilling begins, gradually increasing the speed and feed.

The drilling technology and preferred use cases for each tool have already been described. We only note that reinforcement in reinforced concrete is the enemy of any drill. And it is also an important connection of the supporting structure, the damage of which is undesirable. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have a special miniature metal detector in the tool box. an armature detector. This device is inexpensive, runs on batteries, the does not pull either in weight or money. The benefit from it in work is enormous.

Outcome

The main thing when drilling concrete is the correct choice of tool, working body, compliance with safety rules, modes and drilling technology. Give it a try and you will be amazed at how much cleaner and easier drilling concrete can be than people usually imagine.

Drilling holes in concrete with a diamond core bit

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Nowadays, diamond cutting of concrete has become widespread due to the quality, speed of work, as well as minimal noise and less dust emission compared to other tools. Conventional drilling tools cannot in all cases cope with the tasks assigned. When working with concrete, the most optimal drilling tool is diamond core bits.

To receive a commercial offer indicating the cost and timing of work on diamond cutting / drilling holes in concrete with a diamond crown, send the floor plan to mail@refreshmsk.Ru.

It is best to send the BTI plan, if any, and mark the planned changes on it by hand.

You can also fill out the callback form below or call our phone 7 (495) 137-95-01, you can get a free consultation and help in agreeing on redevelopment.

Drilling holes in concrete can be necessary in many situations. For example, when carrying out work on the repair of premises. When installing sewer pipes, water supply, heating, ventilation, you may also need to drill holes.

Methods for drilling holes in concrete with a diamond core bit

When drilling holes with a diamond core bit, two drilling methods are distinguished. These include dry and wet methods. The dry method of drilling holes can be used if you need to drill holes in a brick wall or a wall made of foam concrete and gas silicate. These materials are not as strong as concrete, so the diamond bit has no time to overheat and does not require water cooling. And also if there is no possibility of cooling the diamond bit with water. The maximum diameter is 20 cm.Wet method is preferred.

In this case, the diamond bits are cooled, plus the resulting debris is washed off with water. If there is no water nearby, use special pressure tanks.

Hole drilling stages

Initially, you need to mark the contours of the future hole. The center of the hole is also marked. Next, you need to mount the surfacing stand for the drill. It is fixed on a special plate using an anchor or suction cups. Then the installation itself is fixed to the rack. Water is brought to her. It cools the crown and removes dust with water. The advantage of a diamond core bit is the simultaneous grinding of the hole while drilling. Also, when drilling, there are no cracks and chips.

The drilling equipment does not require a large installation area. If you need to drill holes up to 40 cm in diameter, then 220 V electricity will be enough for installation. If the holes are needed with a larger diameter, then electricity will be needed at 380 V.

Diamond Drilling Tools

Diamond core bits are pipes that are made of special steel. On the one hand, they have a cutting element, on the other, the so-called tail, which is attached to a drill, hammer drill, etc. A special diamond segment is soldered to the body.

You need to be serious about choosing a drill for drilling. You need to choose a drill with a power of at least 600 watts. The drill should have a speed controller. It is desirable that there is a striking mechanism and a reverse motion. With a drill, you can make holes up to 1.5 cm in diameter.

If you need to choose a hammer drill, you need to pay attention to the power, impact speed, and its frequency. If the volume of work is not large, you can take a 750 W hammer drill. work will require a more powerful tool.

Mainly, equipment with an electric motor is used to drill holes in concrete. When using it, it is possible to create holes with a diameter of up to 350 mm using a conventional socket. If you need to create holes with a larger diameter, equipment with a hydraulic drive is used.

Drilling holes for sockets in concrete, possible options

Hello blog readers. The topic of this post will be drilling holes for sockets in concrete, we will drill ourselves as always and use a possible option, of which there are several. Overhaul is always not a pleasant event at the beginning and joyful after its completion.

It will be very, to put it mildly, not making a good repair correctly or making a new electrical installation. Surely you will have new, more powerful electrical appliances and they need not just to show off, but to work, and here the old wiring can “crack”.

New wiring is, of course, a new schematic diagram, taking into account your possibly new electrical appliances, a power panel, punches in which new wires will be laid, preferably copper, junction boxes, switches, all kinds of lamps and of course sockets.

So we will discuss how to drill holes for socket boxes, into which switches and sockets will be installed. If you have an apartment in a panel house, then you simply cannot do with hammers and chisels, because you will have to “gnaw” the concrete, so you will need serious equipment. For work you will need:

• Roulette and ruler
• A pencil, better than a construction one, he has a thicker rod
• Correct level
• Perforator, preferably powerful, barrel
• Concrete drill bit 8 mm
• Crown with a diameter of 68-70 mm for a perforator for drilling holes for socket boxes
• Chisel type hammer drill bit
• Goggles and respirator

After you know the location of the sockets and switches, you will need to use measuring devices to put marks that will be the centers of future holes for the socket boxes and through the marks using a level we draw axial (horizontal and vertical).

If you have two switches or a block of sockets, then from the first mark we draw a horizontal axial one to the required length, depending on the number of sockets and switches. So that the work is not in vain, it is advisable to check the presence of reinforcement in the wall using a special device.

On the horizontal axial from the first mark we mark 70 millimeters and put the second mark, there will be the axial second socket, from the second after 70 millimeters we put the third mark, and so on on the required number of socket boxes.

Then, using a puncher and an 8 mm drill, in the marks, we drill holes with a depth of at least 60 mm. Then we change the drill to a crown with a diameter of 68-70 mm and in the finished holes, the holes are needed as guides, we drill holes to a depth of 50 mm.

Next, we install the chisel nozzle, put the puncher in the battle mode and knock out what we drilled and you can safely smash the box or boxes, depending on how many holes you drilled. How to drill in this way, see the rollers below.

It is possible to facilitate the work of the crown if this option is slightly modernized. We do everything as written above, we begin to drill a hole with a crown, and drill to a depth of 5-7 mm, a groove is obtained. Then we insert a drill with a diameter of 8 mm into the honey agaric perforator and drill holes to a depth of 50 mm along the entire furrow in a circle. We drill holes as close to each other as possible.

Next, insert the crown into the punch and continue drilling. With drilled holes, the crown will go like clockwork. After drilling, using the chisel nozzle, knock out the unnecessary. Drilling holes in concrete is a serious undertaking, the crown can behave in different ways, it can wedge, run into the reinforcement and so that the hammer drill does not snatch out of your hands, hold it firmly.

Although the job may seem harmless at first glance, you should still wear glasses and headphones. It is advisable to use a vacuum cleaner when drilling, since you cannot do without dust. In this version, a perforator crown with victorious teeth was used.

For drilling in concrete, you can also use a powerful drill and a diamond core bit, and in this version, the hole is simply drilled without using an impact mechanism, the process also takes several minutes.

When there is no powerful hammer drill and expensive crowns, you can also use an angle grinder, you will still need it to cut the cut.

The process is certainly laborious, dusty and noisy, but also an option. This is how it is drilling holes in concrete, choose which is practical and affordable for you. Happy drilling.