Concrete is a great building material that is cool on the eyes and strong and durable. In fact, it is the density and durability that most people love about it. However, these selling points can also become an obstacle in some situations when the homeowner wants to mount something on the concrete or drill a hole in it for a reason. Drilling concrete, if not done right, could ruin the concrete. The process of drilling concrete is usually more difficult for the older concrete, which is much denser and almost impossible to be drilled with a rotary drill. Whether you are planning to drill into concrete after reading this article or in the next two years, here are the things you should know about concrete drilling.
Tools
Generally, if you are planning to drill into concrete, you will need the following materials and equipment:
-Ruler
-Pencil
-Goggles
-Masking tape
-Large masonry nail
-Vacuum
-Hammer
-Compressed air in a can, etc.
It should be noted that you may not need all these tools and materials, depending on the scope of what you are drilling. But once you have the essential tools, the drilling can start.
Step 1:
The first stage of drilling into concrete is to mark the places you want to drill with a pencil on the concrete surface. This stage is the planning stage, and you should determine the depth of each hole. Once you know the depth, you can set your drill stop bar (if it has one) to the depth level. If the drill doesn’t have a stop bar, you can wrap masking tape on the depth where you want the drill to stop.
Step 2:
This is the stage where you wear the protective gear for your eyes and insert the carbide masonry drill bit appropriate for the hole size you want into the drill. It is advisable to hold the drill with both hands and control it not to miss the right spot when it started working.
Step 3:
You should ensure that the first hole you drill is a guide hole, which should be about a quarter of half a quarter of an inch deep. Generally, drills have two levels of speed, and it is best to use the slower speed so you will be able to control it easily. Once you have the guide hole, you can make the drill go faster because it becomes easier to operate. However, it is best to alternate between the speed levels and always keep your grip on the drill.
Step 4:
You may encounter an obstruction in the drilling process. You shouldn’t force the drill to go further to avoid damaging it. Instead, remove the drill and use a hammer and masonry nail to break the obstruction before resuming your drilling gently. You should bring out the drill heroically to brush off any concrete dust that is on it.
Step 5:
Once you’ve drilled to the right depth, use the compressed air to blow the dust in the hole and then vacuum all the debris around. You can now repeat the procedure for all the holes you want to drill.