Can't drill through wall

[AlgernonSourgravy]

Hi, any help appreciated for this complete novice.

I want to fit some shelves in my son's bedroom, but I'm struggling to drill deep enough into the wall. The drill goes no more than 1-2cms into the masonry, then it comes up against something pretty hard and goes no further.

Meanwhile, the 1-2cms of the wall that I CAN drill through is very crumbly, and each time I put the drill in, the wall seems to break away, leaving an unsightly mess.

So, in a nutshell, the first 1-2cms of the wall is too weak and crumbly, and the bit behind that is so tough that the drill won't go through it. I'm not sure what to do.

I've tried to drill holes at various points on the wall, and it happens every time.

I'm using a hammer drill (Black & Decker KR50CRE). And, no, it's not on 'reverse'!

The house is an ordinary brick-built 1930s house, if that helps!

 

[Blagard]

It sounds like you are drilling through a sand and cement undercoat to the plaster skim before hitting the brick itself. Some bricks can be very hard and slow to almost no progress with a cheap drill bit. I find occasionally drilling a smaller hole to start with helps.

Also use good quality masonry bits - I favour the Dewalt extreme as they seem to get through pretty hard brick better than others I have tried.
(I use a 4.5mm bit if I need to get a small hole in first)

 

[Steve]

Hmmm, I'd never go back to corded drills for everyday use, and I'd NEVER buy anything from Black and Decker. They make toys for DIYers (and this is coming from a DIYer). I'd strongly recommend a decent cordless drill from the likes of DeWalt or Makita for drilling into walls. Get a Lithium Ion battery model too, nicad batteries have no power.

If you have a lot of masonry holes to do in this brick, get a cheap SDS drill - these are what they use to drill channels in walls to run cables and pipes, and to "core out" round holes for soil pipes and boiler flues - they have a lot more "hammer" than a normal hammer drill.

Anyway, check your current drill is actually on "hammer" mode (I think there's a switch on the top and it will make more noise in this mode), and get a decent drill bit. If yours has a blunt, dull end it won't go through the type of brick I think you have. My mum's house was built around the same time and I'm sure its built from engineering bricks or something.

And when you get your new drill bit, gentle pressure is the order, don't put all your weight against it and bring it out regularly to cool off or you'll blunt it.

 

[paulc2]

Hmmm, I'd never go back to corded drills for everyday use, and I'd NEVER buy anything from Black and Decker. They make toys for DIYers (and this is coming from a DIYer). I'd strongly recommend a decent cordless drill from the likes of DeWalt or Makita for drilling into walls. Get a Lithium Ion battery model too, nicad batteries have no power.

To balance things out, I've found Black and Decker to be excellent and long-lasting tools. And also, not all hammer actions are the same. I have a similar B&D corded drill and it can do masonry (in hammer action mode) 10 times faster than a decent 18V cordless combi drill. The problem with DeWalt and Makita are the 'budget'/DIY end of their ranges aren't as good as one might expect, they are trading on their brand image more than actual performance of the drill. Their higher end gear is good though - but too costly for a DIYer unless they have a massive project or two to do (or a lot of spare money).

 

[paulc2]

I agree that once you're used to cordless, then finding an extension lead, plugging in a corded drill etc is a bit of a faff, but its worth it. Also, many tools kinda need to be corded, the cordless variants are too underpowered. I'd always go for a corded jigsaw, mitre saw, etc.

 

[tony1851]

Hmmm, I'd never go back to corded drills for everyday use, and I'd NEVER buy anything from Black and Decker.

Can't agree with that; cordless are too underpowered for sustained drilling in masonry - corded (hammer drill) much better.

Agree about B & D, though - you get better results with Fischer Price toys.

 

[Gazman16]

Is it definatly a masonry bit and not a wood or steel bit?

 

[catlad]

Ouch thats a bit below the belt!

 

[Gazman16]

Pretty much everything else was covered and I felt like contributing

 

[Ricardus]

I'd go with a cheap corded SDS drill.

Recently I had to drill a 7mm hole in engineering bricks. 18v Makita with Bosch 3mm masonry bit as a pilot hole stopped dead. Black&Decker 750w corded same bit same result.

£50 Erbauer SDS from Screwfix with cheap 7mm bit went in like a hot knife through warm butter.
Same drill with a 25mm x 900mm long bit from Aldi (4 long bits for a tenner) went through the side of my house for a conduit for outside socket no trouble.

 

[Architexeter]

This reminds me of the day I discovered SDS

 

[OwainDIYer]

yeah, the number of extra windows I've ended up with after I only meant to sink a socket box!

 

[jh3141]

Had a similar problem in my house. For some reason known only to the original builders they decided to build all the internal walls out of engineering bricks. And the outer face of the external wall. Been causing me no end of problems.

 

[Nozzle]

I agree that once you're used to cordless, then finding an extension lead, plugging in a corded drill etc is a bit of a faff, but its worth it. Also, many tools kinda need to be corded, the cordless variants are too underpowered. I'd always go for a corded jigsaw, mitre saw, etc.

This is why you need to take your drill to pieces and replaced the shamelessly short cord with something much longer, and make sure it has a suitable fuse in it too.

Nozzle

 

[AFD]

It sounds like you are drilling through a sand and cement undercoat to the plaster skim before hitting the brick itself. Some bricks can be very hard and slow to almost no progress with a cheap drill bit. I find occasionally drilling a smaller hole to start with helps.

Also use good quality masonry bits - I favour the Dewalt extreme as they seem to get through pretty hard brick better than others I have tried.
(I use a 4.5mm bit if I need to get a small hole in first)

Obviously this is a pretty old article, but using a smaller bit is always the best idea to overcome this issue, I had the same situation with a 6mm bit and it seemed to be impossible with the hammer drill but it worked with the 5mm bit.