Drilling through brickwork

[john10001]

Can anyone tell me what type of drill bit I need for drilling through brickwork and masonry etc? The drill I have just came with bits that I think are mainly designed for woodwork.

I need to drill through some brickwork though so I can connect the cables for the Satellite Dish up so I'm gonna need a bit that is quite long and quite thick too.

I also just wondered what kind of stuff you would use to fill this in afterwards on either side?

Cheers

John

 

[kevplumb]

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A337789&ts=52064&id=17627

 

[^woody^]

.... drilling through brickwork and masonry etc?

A masonry bit?

It has a tip welded into the end of it, to tell it apart from other bits. But most bits longer than 7" are masonry anyway and designed especially for drilling through walls

Use one a couple of mm bigger than the cable, and fill after with some [clear] silicone on the outside, and polyfilla on the inside

Drill from the outside in or you will blow a big chunk of brick off from around the hole.

In fact, you can tell where a professional cable or sky installer has been as you see these chunks missing from holes which they have drilled from the inside. Some weasel policy clause prevents them drilling from the outside in , apparently.

 

[Thermo]

no its alright, they have these big square plastic things they stick oover the hole, held on by a whole tube of silicone. looks great on the outside of your house, until thy fall off

 

[Scrit]

Some weasel policy clause prevents them drilling from the outside in , apparently.

It's the Working at Heights Directive....... It doesn't matter, they were just the same before that vcame in and they generally also break the rules in terraced streets by affixing the dishes low down on walls above pavements - a fact which will lead to lots of insurance claims in years to come when these eyesores fall off!

Scrit

 

[^woody^]

I don't think it is the WHD.

Amongst others I know of, the guy would not drill into my garage conversion - just above the DPC.

I stayed in especially to make sure he did not drill from the inside out and mess my brickwork up. He said it was in case there were any cables on the inside. I said "I've just bloody built it, there are no cables" He said "Well, I don't know that, and if I damage any you may claim against us"

I grabbed the drill and said " I will F#^*ing do it" and he said hold on just sign this disclaimer first!

Also, I know of several people who wanted sky dishes in an unobtrusive place, and all the installer needed to do was walk across a flat roof. "Oh no can't walk on that, in case we damage it" is the reply.

Then 1 idiot struggled off a ladder and put the dish in the most ackward place on the house. And another idiot wanted to put one up on the chimney instead. Well derr!

 

[JohnD]

If you are poking cables through a wall, it is preferable to poke a piece of conduit through first to prevent the cable chafing on the sharp brickwork.