Drilling through a masonry wall for a s***w fixing. is there a skill ?

Question

I use the right(?) masonry drill but but the area crumbles and the drill seems to follow lines away from where I started. Then I reach a section hard to drill through but still it moves and crumbles. Is this avoidable ? I'm presuming its a reasonably thick layer of plaster. Of course the plug then doesn't fit snugly and all I'm left with is a wall with holes in it.

Answer 1

Your drill should have a switch, regular and "hammer."  Use the "hammer" setting. You should also be using a masonry bit(different from a regular bit.) If you are doing this and the material still crumbles then you need to use a regular bit and the normal settings on the drill.

Answer 2

when drilling thru concrete you should have a hammer drill but you can do without.first take a punch and give yourself a starter point. you will find that you do not move as much from your starting point. next, when you come to the point where you think you are hitting thick plaster, you are realialy hitting a stone in the cement. that will make your hole sloppy. the way to aviod this is to get i punch or a mason nail, put it in your hole and give it a couple of shots with a hammer that will help break the stone and drilling will be easier.

Answer 3

Using a masonary bit with a rotary drill is problematical at best . You need to use a hammerdrill and start your hole with a masonary punch. Run at high speed. Without the hammer effect the drill bit will wander. Good luck,you can do it.

Answer 4

to keep the drill bit from drifting, create a small indentation in the masonry by gently tapping a nail set, or even a nail that will allow the tip of the bit to bite. Run the drill slowly until the bit starts to cut, then speed it up. I'm a little confused by the rest of your question,"reasonbly thick layer of plaster". If it is plaster, the masonry bit would tear it up pretty good. If you are just trying to insert a s***w into masonry without using a masonry anchor, a Tapcon masonry s***w should s***w directly into the masonry without pre-drilling.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Drilling masonry can be a bit of an art. If the masonry is really hard,i.e. concrete, then use a sharp masonry drill and use the hammer setting. If the masonry is soft and crumbly use a really sharp or new masonry drill bit and switch the hammer setting off as this will tend to crumble the masonry even more.Keep the spiral flutes on the drill bit clear of dust by withdrawing the drill bit from the hole, this will stop the drill bit jamming up.