There Must Be Something Out There That Will Drill My Walls!

[saint12661]

Ok, my first post on what having spent an amount of time going through other posts, appears to be an excellent forum!

My problem is this, our mid terraced house is of a construction whereby the adjoining walls are filled with what was referred to me as poured in aggregate/pebble.

Over the years both myself and neighbours have a;ll experienced major problems in trying to drill and achieve a fixing in these walls as no hammer drill seems to be up to the job, generally leaving you with craters instead of holes!

For a period of time I tried using a "Raw Plug" jumper after having already drilled a pilot hole and this did result in a number of successful attempts, but once again with no guarantee of success at the outset.

My existing Bosch SDS hammer drill has now finally died and i am once again on the lookout for a new purchase that hopefully will be up to the task of drilling our walls!

There appears to be an amount of confusion when you ask people for a recommendation on a new purchase, as each offers a different "essential" criteria for a new drill, ranging from wattage to hammer spec etc.

I was looking at the Bosch GSB22-2RE unit as this has a wattage of 1050 but do you think this will suitable for my needs and solve the problem that we have?

Could I go cordless and achieve the same overall specifications?

I tend to favour Bosch & Dewalt but should I also look at other manufacturers?

Apologies for such a long 1st post, but I am sure there is someone on this forum that can offer a solution so felt it worth the while.

 

[gregers]

i use a bosch gbh(blue)drill purely because my last one lasted me years and they tend to be really robust,think theres another post about drills not so long ago.

 

[EddyP]

The makita SDS drills seem to be very good, I bought a dewalt to replace it, as I wanted a chisel action, the dewalt burnt out within a month.
Just bought a second hand Bosch pro one to replace the makita, as again it has the chisel action.
The makitas go quite cheap on ebay too, less than £50 generally.

 

[The Weegie]

I think it really all depends on how often you are going to use it.

Bosch in my opinion are the best. I have not heard anything bad about the make.

If you are not going to use it on sites then I would always go for a corded drill. Remember to always use decent Drill bits this also helps when drilling.

Good luck on your purchase.

 

[saint12661]

Thanks for the replies to date.

My main area of confusion at the moment is determining what is the imprtant criteria that I need to look at before making the purchase, ie wattage, as stated in my original post.

I feel sure that when I do make a decision it will without doubt be one of the usual suspects ie, Bosch Dewalt etc, although I have read many positive reviews on this site for the Ryobi brand.

 

[neds]

If I didn't have my Makita 2450 (which is excellent by the way) Then I'd buy a Bosch, there was a deal on screwfix for £55 with no rotary stop though.

 

[seaangler]

I was looking at the Bosch GSB22-2RE unit as this has a wattage of 1050 but do you think this will suitable for my needs and solve the problem that we have?
no it wont as it isnt a SDS drill - look for the GBH range

Could I go cordless and achieve the same overall specifications?
yes - the bosch 36v - but a hell of a site more money
.

 

[saint12661]

Having now read loads of posts on the forum and viewed many sites that sell tools, I think I am virtually there on what I am going to buy.

For the SDS side of things it is going to be the Bosch GBH2-26DRE

For the cordless drill/driver I am thinking of the Dewalt DC759KB that Screwfix are currently doing for £149.99 complete with 2 x 2.6Ah Ni-MH batteries.

My reason for deciding on this one, despite friends trying to steer me towards Makita or Hitachi over Dewalt, is the Ah of the batteries and also the fact that they are Ni-MH and not Ni-CD.

Views appreciated.

 

[dav]

The Bosch SDS drill is a cracker and will do what it says - will serve you well. Personally I would still go Makita on the cordless front over Dewalt but thats my opinion for what its worth. Blue Bosch second and then Dewalt third.

 

[saint12661]

Thanks for the reply Dav.

The only thing with the Makita in this price range is that I only get 1.3Ah Ni-Cd batteries, how much of a difference I would notice in use compared to the higher powered Dewalt batteries I'm not sure.

 

[dav]

In theory the 2.6ah would last you longer not sure about the power, you'd need to look at the torque ratings etc for each drill. From my experience and that of others I know (carpenters) Makita generally make pretty robust and reliable drills, whereas Dewalt feedback I have heard is variable i.e. some good some not so good. If this is for heavy DIY work then either will probably be suitable for trade I'd go Makita. look on this page http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/products.php?cat=Cordless Combi 14.4V from a company called Hislawson.

Theres a 14.4v Bosch with 2.0ah Nicad's with a free radio for £140 odd! or the MXT makita with 3.0 ah Ni-MH for £192 cracking top of the line drill and you won't get cheaper than this worth scretching the xtra £40 imo if you want a top drill

 

[ChrisR]

Big tip for b@5tard walls is to start with the smallest drill bit you can find, and keep them sharp. A 4mm SDS will go into just about anything, and makes making say a 6mm hole so much easier and more accurate.
4mm can be hard to find, but I expect screwfix do them and they're a godsend.


edit - had a look there and no sign, but 4mm by 160mm SDS are on ebay.

 

[saint12661]

Thanks for that tip Chris.

 

[OvertonPlumber]

the material your house is made out of is bloody hard stuff. Reinforced poured concrete. Normally the mortgage companies wont let you secure on these as there a danger however remote of the reinforcing rotting yah like thats gonna happen. Anyhow my bosch gbv24 would drill holes into it well sort off the sds bit kept getting so hot the crabide tips were melting off.
Makes me think that a kit designed for drilling tiles might be a better solution. like a 7mm diamond bit with a water spray at low revs attack it another way.

 

[Stivino]

I always understood that stuff was called "no fines concrete".