Heater vent pipe through cinder block. Anyone have any experience?

[Mtriple]

I'm going to try and tackle my garage heater install this weekend on my lower garage which is directly underneath my upper/primary garage. The walls are all cinder block and the ceiling is span-crete; so my only option is to drill through the exterior block wall. I've had a few estimates in the neighborhood of $300 for a company to do it and I've even looked at buying a bit for right around $150. I have a heavy duty Milwaukee drill that could handle it but I'm a little nervous about taking this on.

Anyone have any words of advice or experience?

Thanks!

 

[Shocker]

I have never done it myself, but I did watch a show on DIY Network where they did that exact thing.

What they did was mark the size of the hole and drilled small holes around that pattern. But they did it on both sides and not directly through the entire block. Then knock it out from both sides.

 

[D.J.]

Good Luck and be sure to take plenty of pictures and make a how to thread for the rest of us who didn't get to see the DIY program. Hope you mean your Milwaukee drill is a hammerdrill. Be sure to drill and pull out and blow off religiously, just my $.02.
________
LovelyWendie

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I have never done it myself, but I did watch a show on DIY Network where they did that exact thing.

What they did was mark the size of the hole and drilled small holes around that pattern. But they did it on both sides and not directly through the entire block. Then knock it out from both sides.

Agree. That's how I would do it.

When you bring your flue through the wall and turn it back up, make sure you SECURE IT VERY WELL with brackets, etc.

Several years ago I happended to pull in behind a bible bookstore in order to turn my truck around. I noted their flue had inverted, swinging on the 90-degree elbow coming through the wall...so that it was facing straight down instead of up.

I parked my truck, went inside and happened to find a woman running the store who I knew but hadn't seen in 10 years. I said to her, "Martha, do you have a headache?" She looked at me puzzled and said, "Yes I do".

The old furnace in there looked to be about 150,000 BTU's and it was just chugging away, pumping CO into the building. If it was better insulated, it might have been worse.

I have never needed to turn around in that parking lot before or since. Sometimes the Lord does work in mysterious ways. Word.

Phil

 

[bimmer1980]

I just bored a few holes in the blocks at home for my electrical and sewer and water....

I just used a small air chisel to blow the holes in. I bored out a 6" by 8" hole in about ten minutes. then I ran the air hose thru the wall, and finished chiselling out the inside.

The plumber had a large rotary hammer, so that made short work of the holes for the water and sewer. He had a 2" core bit, so that made it easy to get a nice hole.

My air chisel did a very nice job. Then I just used some mortar to patch up both sides.

 

[OccupantRJ]

What others have suggested +1. If you have a 4-1/2" angle grinder, you can buy an inexpensive diamond blade from somewhere like Harbor Fright, then after the hole is punched out, use it to dress the hole more precicely as needed. Just wear a dust mask for sure.

 

[s_ontario]

I've went through cinder block before just break out half a block stick in a piece of stove pipe and fill space around stove pipe with mortar slide in your heater pipe with collers

 

[TRDon]

I am a big fan of renting a core drill and bit form a rental shop. I did it in a poured insulated wall and makes a clean hole all for about 60 bux to rent for 4 hours.

 

[70Chevy]

I have never done it myself, but I did watch a show on DIY Network where they did that exact thing.

What they did was mark the size of the hole and drilled small holes around that pattern. But they did it on both sides and not directly through the entire block. Then knock it out from both sides.

This is exactly what I did - worked perfectly and did it in no time. As mentioned, much easier with a hammer-drill. Block is almost soft compared to other concrete I've drilled into.
Good luck.