Concrete is one of the most versatile and useful building supplies on the planet. Concrete can be difficult to work with. With its cold, hard exterior, its easy to see how the average home handyman may get intimidated by the prospect of learning how to drill into concrete.
Fortunately, drilling into concrete isnt as hard as it looks, and the tips youll find in this guide will put you on the right path to drilling concrete for your next project. So, whether youre mounting a piece of art or television on an interior wall, setting a fence post at the edge of the driveway, or virtually anything else, these tips should have you feeling confident to tackle your next project.
What Youll Need
This project is easy to complete with the right tools. Modern concrete is a bit easier to drill into than older concrete from the mid-20th century or earlier. So, youll probably be able to get away with using your regular rotary drill for this project if youre working on newer concrete.
But, if youre drilling into older, more difficult to work with concrete, a hammer drill will be necessary. Here’s how to drill into concrete:
- Hammer drill or Rotary drill
- Tungsten carbide masonry bits
- Masonry nail
- Carpenters pencil
- Safety goggles
Step I: Preparing For Drill
You will first need to mark the exact location where you’ll be drilling. Depending on the project youre working on this may be as simple as marking the area with your pencil.
But, if youre drilling multiple holes for a project like mounting a television, youll want to reach for a ruler and level during this step to ensure that the positions your marking are perfectly straight and level.
Step II: Making A Guide Hole
Concrete is not the most easy surface to work with. The drill will walk when you begin your hole. This can cause concrete to crack and ruin your project’s polished look.
To prevent this from happening, were going to drill a pilot hole.
Make sure you have the right safety gear before you start. Grab your drill and stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Some drills have a handle for your free hand that provides additional control. If your drill has one, make sure to use it to provide extra control. If not, place your free hand on the back of the drill for more control.
If your drill has multiple speeds, go with the slowest speed you have when drilling the guide hole. If not, youll want to use a few short bursts to start your guide hole.
You must ensure you have complete control of the drill so it doesn’t skim across your surface. Once youve reached a depth of around – your guide hole is complete.
Step III: Drilling The Hole
Once you have your guide hole, you will be able to better control the drill when you are done drilling.
It is a good idea to adjust the stop bar on your drill to the correct depth. You can wrap a piece of tape around the drill bit to ensure that you don’t drill deeper than necessary.
With your feet planted shoulder-width apart, place yourself in front the hole that you will be drilling. If your drill is variable speed, turn it on high. Press the drills trigger and begin to drill further into the surface of the concrete. Apply light pressure to the drill as it makes its way through the concrete.
When working with concrete, keep in mind that youre likely going to hit pockets of air, or areas where the material is less dense. These areas can make it harder to control your drill. These areas can make it more difficult to control the drill. It is best to be alert and prepared for any situation that may arise.
You also may end up hitting areas of greater resistance as you drill, and its important that if you hit one of these passages you stop drilling, instead of trying to force the drill through.
If you hit one of these areas, remove the drill and insert your masonry nail into the hole. Give the nail a few healthy taps with your hammer. You can now drill again by removing any concrete obstructions.
You can resume drilling by slowing down until you are certain you have cleared the obstruction. Once youve reached the appropriate depth, your hole is complete, and you can remove the drill.
Step IV: Clean Up
With your hole complete, youll want to use a shop vac to clean the hole up and remove any chipped concrete or concrete dust from inside the hole. If you don’t have a shop vacuum, you can use compressed air to clean the hole. Now you can install fasteners by cleaning out the hole.
Wrap It Up
Uninitiated can find drilling concrete difficult. With just a few tools, and the tips provided in this guide, it is possible to become a concrete drill pro in no time. Be sure to work slowly and safely and in just a few short minutes, your hole will be drilled, and youll be ready to get on with your project.
