Concrete drilling

[MarineScott]

I drilled a hole using a cordless drill in my garage floor with no problem. Drilling the second hole was more difficult, because I hit a stone and it diverted the bit to the side. Would using a hammer drill be the answer to drilling a straight hole even with stones in the way?? Thanks

 

[ratdoggy]

A real hammer drill like a Hilti would make your life better. It should go right through the stone. Rent one if you don't want to buy one. Don't buy a harbor freight one

 

[SteveCh]

That works for me. I have a Bosch, never have had a problem since switching from a regular drill to this. I use the Bosch bits, too, though perhaps others work, haven't tried any others since purchasing the rotary hammer drill.

 

[n20junkie]

A cordless hammer drill will go through cured concrete, but it's work and probably won't go through a hard rock.

A corded hammer drill is much easier and will go through a rock.


I can't afford the proper tool (hilti)

 

[6PTsocket]

I drilled a hole using a cordless drill in my garage floor with no problem. Drilling the second hole was more difficult, because I hit a stone and it diverted the bit to the side. Would using a hammer drill be the answer to drilling a straight hole even with stones in the way?? Thanks

I have an old corded Milwaukee pistol grip hammer drill. It usually breaks up the stones but once in a great while I run up against a stone that is too big or too hard and a whack with a star drill ( a cross bladed chisel for stone) and a hand sledge gets me going again. There are bigger, more powerful hammer drills but for the rare time I get hung up, it does me fine.

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[rburke65]

Like most things there are good, better and best. A good hammer drill would make your chore easier.

 

[n20junkie]

I have an old corded Milwaukee pistol grip hammer drill. It usually breaks up the stones but once in a great while I run up against a stone that is too big or too hard and a whack with a star drill ( a cross bladed chisel for stone) and a hand sledge gets me going again. There are bigger, more powerful hammer drills but for the rare time I get hung up, it does me fine.

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Your not supposed to open up holes, but I find running a 1/2" bit or so puts a nice hole in a rock and then I continue on with the 1" bit in my pistol ridgid drill.

Granted usually this scenario playes out when drilling a foundation for a water line and not so much when drilling for a lift. The vertical drilling and shorter bit make drilling for anchors much easier.

 

[ItsNemo]

I've never found a hammer drill to be all that impressive...you need to step up to an SDS drill to really have an easy time in concrete.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

You need a rotary hammer not a hammer drill. Rotary hammer with a good bit cuts through concrete like butter...larger holes like 1 inch or better you need a sds max...smaller than an inch a sds plus will work

You can rent rotary hammers from any tool rental place including Home Depot, the one by me has a ton of them for rent

Hammer drills are pretty much useless and annoying. All they do is vibrate and they work if you are drilling into soft bricks or cinder block, but thats it


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[Diesel Dan]

What size hole are you drilling?

Depending on size I have my 18V Milwaukee hammer drill or B&D spline drive rotary hammer.
<1/4" for the cordless, 3/8"+ for the rotary hammer however in the case of hollow core cement block the cordless doesn't blow out the back side as bad as the rotary hammer.

 

[MarineScott]

What size hole are you drilling?

Depending on size I have my 18V Milwaukee hammer drill or B&D spline drive rotary hammer.
<1/4" for the cordless, 3/8"+ for the rotary hammer however in the case of hollow core cement block the cordless doesn't blow out the back side as bad as the rotary hammer.

I am drilling a 5/8 in. hole X 3

 

[Diesel Dan]

For only 3 if all I had was a cordless I'd try it.
Start with a small bit, like a TapCon bit, to get location and then step up to the 5/8".

Life would be easier with a rotary hammer but sometimes you have to use what's on hand.

 

[MushCreek]

Hmmm- I bought a Harbor Freight rotary hammer and SDS bits, and it flies through concrete. My house is ICF, so I've had to drill a number of holes. The first one I bought died after three holes, but the replacement under warranty has been fine. Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chances...

 

[cj7jeep81]

I'd rent one if I was you. When I drilled the holes for my lift, I bought a nice new 3/4" concrete drill for about $20, and used my dad's corded milwaukee hammer drill. Was really having a tough time getting through the concrete, and took forever on the first two holes. Went to the local ace hardware, and rented a much bigger SDS drill, and the proper size bit, for about $25 for the day. Drilled the remaining 8 or 9 holes in the time it took to do the first one.

 

[BentBierz]

That works for me. I have a Bosch, never have had a problem since switching from a regular drill to this. I use the Bosch bits, too, though perhaps others work, haven't tried any others since purchasing the rotary hammer drill.

Several months ago I bought a Bosch RH328VC rotary hammer and it is effortless to drill in concrete. I have had three or four 1/2" hammer drills in my life and, although they worked, there was some time and effort involved. With my Bosch, I literally pull the trigger and let the weight of the drill do the work...no pushing, no frustration, etc. Admittedly, they are expensive but I had a lot of holes to drill on my steel building internal framing job so made the investment. I will have no need to use my hammer drill again when it is just as easy to pull out my Bosch.

 

[dogdog]

OP. It all dependents what exactly you are drilling and how much drilling you are going to do.... and you time and $$$ you want to spend.
a good bosche concrete bit will get you through with regular drills / hammer drills if you just have few holes to drill, and don't want to invest in sds / sds max bits and drills..... SDS stuff over Hilti is because some hilti stuff are priority so ........ I could be wrong...


The trick is to don't run the bit too hot, usually gunning it to top speed., it will dull out very easily.... and use water a lot to cool, pull out occasionally to clear dusts and debris, and a constant forward / downward pressure.... I have good success rate... but still will dull out bits if drill is not made for concrete hole drilling... even with sds max stuff with 4 cutters, I still dulls them out due to materials it is drilling.

 

[dogdog]

Hmmm- I bought a Harbor Freight rotary hammer and SDS bits, and it flies through concrete. My house is ICF, so I've had to drill a number of holes. The first one I bought died after three holes, but the replacement under warranty has been fine. Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chances...

those HF sds plus in a brown-ish or brown-ish red-ish plastic bag is ****... ok for softer bricks but will never cut it in stone or anything harder... I do have a set... It's almost junk in most situations. Bosche, hilti , hitachi , dewalt those bits are nice. but probably double or triple the price of those bits , and it will last 10x longer.... one of those times I would say Don't buy HF bits... it's junk.

 

[enieleni]

Purchased one of these HF SDS Rotary Hammers and bought a Hilti bit for it. Went through foundation like it was absolutely nothing. I would have preferred to borrow or rent, but I know I'm going to have a few more jobs coming up and $75 was worth the chance: https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-sds-variable-speed-pro-rotary-hammer-kit-63433.html

 

[bcradio]

Purchased one of these HF SDS Rotary Hammers and bought a Hilti bit for it. Went through foundation like it was absolutely nothing. I would have preferred to borrow or rent, but I know I'm going to have a few more jobs coming up and $75 was worth the chance: https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-sds-variable-speed-pro-rotary-hammer-kit-63433.html

This is the way to go here for concrete

 

[MushCreek]

I bought the cheap HF bits as well, and haven't damaged one yet. Our concrete (or rather, the aggregate) is really hard; Tap-Cons are a *****. But the rotary hammer and SDS bits fly through it.

 

[holdover]

I bought a Bosch SDS hammer drill on ebay after using a friends. Typically I use 3/4" bits to set concrete fasteners, but have used it with many other drill sizes. Nothing stops it..Most transit mix concrete has stones it it, with the Bosch, no problem.. Good luck.

 

[bjcouche]

I bought a Harbor Freight SDS rotary hammer, and I use the Bosch bits you can get at Home depot. I've done all the 3/4" holes for my vehile lift as well as countless holes for tapcons all around my shop. The rotary hammer with the bosch bits goes through the concrete almost as easily as a hammer drill goes through wood. I don't think HF carries the model I bought anymore, but it's lasted through so many holes and drilled them so effortlessly, it was well worth the investment. I'm sort of surprised it lasted so long.
Brian

 

[63spyder]

I bought a HF rotary hammer drill about 4 years ago , still going strong. I use it more than I thought I would. Also bought the bits , also still going strong except I wore out the 3/4 bit

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I've never found a corded hammer drill to be much better than a cordless one other than for brick or hollow block. For concrete, you really want and SDS rotary hammer. I've got the $200 Bosch Bulldog with Bosch Xtreme bits and never had a problem. Good quality without breaking the bank, Hilti is overkill for DIY use. I've heard decent things about the sub-$100 Harbor Freight SDS, never tried one myself though.

 

[mmb617]

I'll echo what some others have said. When I needed to drill the holes for my lift I knew I didn't have a drill that was up to the job. The local rental place wanted something like $60 to rent a SDS drill. I went to Harbor Freight and bought one like this:


https://www.harborfreight.com/1-18-in-sds-variable-speed-pro-rotary-hammer-kit-63434.html


The bits that come with it are **** so I bought a good bit, I think it was a Borsch, and drilled the holes easily.

It's not a tool I'll use often so I couldn't justify the expense of a brand name like Hilti, and it got the job done for not much more than it would have cost me to rent.

 

[Falcon67]

I bought a HF rotary hammer drill about 4 years ago , still going strong. I use it more than I thought I would. Also bought the bits , also still going strong except I wore out the 3/4 bit

Same drill here, bought a Bosch 3/4 bit to use for the lift and chunked the HF bits. When through 3500 psi floor like a TiN coated bit through balsa wood.