DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Masonry drilling

7K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  orenawilliam 
#1 ·
Hi,
Probably a dumb question but I am trying to put up curtains in my kid's room using a masonry drill bit and have got stuck about 1.5cms into the wall - there is a stone in the concrete or something - it keeps blunting my drill bit so what do I do to break through?
 
#2 ·
There is a possibility that you hit piece of steel 're-bar' imbedded in the concrete.

Only other option is to move the anchoring location up or down in order to avoid the rebar and hit a concrete-only area.

That has been my experience when my masonry bit does what, you say yours is doing.

Good luck
 
#6 ·
stenton -

Do you know what material the wall is made of?

Possibilities are:
Poured in place concrete (in situ)
Precast concrete
Concrete block
Clay tile

If it is precast concrete, the steel re-bar could be closer to the surface than poured in place concrete because of the standards for interior walls and the greater accuracy possible in European factory settings.

If it is a steel rebar (usually 8mm to 14mm) you should try about 25 or 30 mm to the side. If that is not good, try a spot about 25 or 30 mm above or below.

It is very highly unlikely, but you may have precast concrete panels with embedded steel weld plates for connecting panels. This type of construction usually plastered for a fine finish. - What country are you in? Eastern Europe possibly?

************
 
#7 ·
Possibility of rebar, but I doubt it. Sounds like you have just encountered a rock in the concrete.They will eat up typical hardware store masonry bits, especially if you are using a regular drill or a hammer drill, which drills more than hammers. If you can borrow or rent a small rotary hammer, the much stronger hammer action, coupled with the "precussion" rated bit will usually make short work of the rock.
 
#9 ·
KUPORNG -

Wood construction is in the minoity.

Most residential construction in the developed world is
NOT wood. Wood is the most common residential building material in North America and many undeveloped tropical areas. In the devloped tropical areas, concrete (precast and poured in place) and masonry (brick, concrete and AAC) are used.

************
 
#11 ·
I did not say North America was undeveloped. I just pointed out that it was a part of the developed world that uses wood for residential construction. In North America, they had to cut down trees just to build. they tradition continued because there were no brick or concrete plants for quite some time.

much of Europe prefers non-wood construction because of fire resistance, sound, rigidity and permanence. China prefers concrete/masonry over wood because of because of image, fire, and permanence. Russia/Siberia uses concrete (mainly precast) in towns and cities, but wood where you are far from town of over 200,00- or so. The economic concrete/masonry advantage is a no-brainer in countries where they consider a longer life in a building. Their sophisicated thermal anaysis shows the advantage of heavyweight construction over the "advertising-oriented" lightweight construction materials like fiberglass and gypsum, but they do use some extruded polystyrene foam.

The warm climates have an abundance of wood for the outlying areas, but concrete or masonry in the cities because of the type of construction. You are right about the climate since places like the Carribbean, Spain, Turkey, Greece, the Middle East and India prefer the benefits of mass for temperature moderation, which decreases energy use.

We are not underdeveloped in design and construction, but just have different needs and standards. There are some very advanced areas such as Brazil where they routinely build 15 to 20 story apartments out of 6" thick block wall with no steel or concrete columns. They essentially use our standards, but know how to use them better.

What has to do with drilling? - I was trying to find out what kind of wall construction the person had. Not everyone on the forum is from the U.S., so we all have different problems.

************
 
#12 ·
Thank you for the detail information.... I do like the nature feeling of wood though... as I have a feeling wood may look not as strong as concrete, may be that is true for the first hundred years, but after hundred years, things may start to change, it in fact, may last longer... a wood built temple in China built hundreds/thousands years ago may still stand there rigidly... but concrete built building generally require a lot of maintenance over time due to cracks and fall out pieces......
 
#13 ·
KUIPORNG

Ever heard of the Great Wall of China? There is was little maintenance done, but I would think a temple would get looked after.

I showed a group of Russia/Siberian engineers through a $650,000 log model home. - They asked why somebody would build out of "firewood". That is just the way they look at things and don't worry about hanging pictures.

You have to hunt to find a fire truck in much of Russia. - Not to many concrete ready-mix trucks either since most concrete is precast (including footings).

************
 
#16 ·
willy o az



hey no sweat a light powered hammerdrill,but has the potential to create a bigger problem just move the clams up or down you are probably drilling into what they call a lentil which is a steel plate running the span of the room try heavy duty steal bits high rpm drill oh that lentil can be 3/8" thick!!! Good luck
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top