When starting repairs in an apartment, many are faced with the fact that they have to drill holes in the walls. This work is one of the most difficult among other repair cases. After it, it is necessary to eliminate construction dust and debris for a long time. Drilling holes in the wall must be carried out in accordance with safety regulations. It's easy for a beginner to get hurt in the process. You can cause serious damage to neighbors by accidentally hitting communications.
What is meant by drilling safety?
Drilling holes in a concrete wall must follow certain rules:
- Before starting work, you need to take care of your own protection, purchase a respirator, as well as goggles. It must be remembered that during this process it is easy to ruin clothes or get hurt, so the use of special protective ammunition is recommended.
- It is necessary to get people away from the area where the repair will take place. Do not forget that there can also be residents on the other side of the wall. If you are going to drill the outer wall, then you need to leave a person on the street who will warn passers-by about the start of work.
- It is unacceptable to work with a hammer drill at a height. Such types of work include lifting above 1.5 meters without special devices. Usually, a ladder is purchased for this type of work. It is best not to use a ladder as there is a high risk of injury.
- Work with power tools should start smoothly, gradually increasing speed. When choosing a tool, it is worth choosing a two-handed one.
How to drill walls through plaster?
To get a neat hole, you need:
- View the plan of all communications, study how they go. If in doubt about their location, it is best to consult a gas and electrician.
- Before drilling, you need to remove the plaster. To do this, use a chisel, as well as a metalwork hammer.
- Do not start drilling walls on decorative coatings. It is difficult to detect wiring under them, usually even a special tool does not detect wiring.
- If the house is built of blocks, you can not make holes through the seams. Usually gas pipes or electric wires are hidden there.
- Some houses hide gas wiring. In this case, during the repair, turn off the supplygas.
What tool should be?
Drilling holes in the wall can be done with various tools. It all depends on the thickness of the wall and what it consists of.
Drilling holes in a brick wall is easier than in a concrete wall. To do this, you need a two-handed drill. It must be percussive. The power of this tool is better to choose from 350 watts. It is better to choose with a self-tightening chuck.
When 2-2.5 cm of the wall has been covered, holes can be drilled with a three-jaw chuck.
Drilling holes in a concrete wall is best done with a tool that has a collet chuck. You can make several holes, and then switch to a drill that has an SDS plus chuck. This tool has a shank diameter of 10 millimeters. It is better to choose a two-handed drill. It should be percussive.
If you have to work with M400 concrete and monoliths for a long time, then it is better to choose an SDS drill max. The shank diameter will be 18 millimeters. The most commonly used is a universal perforator for any designs and materials. It does a great job of drilling and also chiseling.
Diamond drilling holes in the wall is often used. It is carried out using a drill.
In order to drill a hole in the wall, diamond drilling is most suitable. Small holes come out neat, but it takes practice.
In the case where you need to drill a large hole, the diameter of which will be up to 250millimeters, an excellent option is to use a motor drill. It must be powerful, not less than 8 kW. There is a nuance in the work - it cannot be included in a single-phase network, which is most often at home.
How to drill concrete?
When starting work, the tip is pressed to the center of the future hole, a hole is selected. To do this, the chuck is rotated manually. Turn on the tool, slightly moving it to the side. Drilling starts with an increase in RPM as well as feed.
Professionals most often use a carbide hole saw. It is pressed against the wall, the tool is launched abruptly, although this is unacceptable according to technology. It turns out an additional gap, where moisture can then accumulate.
Drilling technique may differ for each individual case. When working, it is important to have a special small metal detector that will help determine where the reinforcement passes. It can be bought at a hardware store. It is inexpensive and runs on batteries. The key to successful work is the right tool and safety precautions. If you understand the technique of work, then the work will be easier than it seems at first glance.
How to make ventilation holes?
Drilling holes in the wall for ventilation is most often carried out using the diamond non-impact method. The main advantage of this method is that you can drill at an angle and through brick, as well as process other materials. It is easy to learn how to drill holes in the wall like thison one's own. It is important to follow the instructions above.
Pros of diamond drilling
Today it is the most progressive method. It has a number of advantages:
- Getting the perfect hole shape.
- Does not make major scratches and chips. No need to re-pass the work surface with the tool.
- The working bit is strongly cooled in the process, due to this the channel is formed faster, the speed of work increases.
- The exact coordinates are set, the work takes place only in the initially specified area.
- Minimum noise level, virtually no tool vibration.
- After work, there is no large layer of dust and debris.
- Large range of channels. The largest diameter is 0.5 meters.
- In the process of work, cracks will not appear on the walls. They happen when working with percussion instruments.
One of the important advantages of this method is the drilling of recesses up to one meter deep. Due to uninterrupted operation, time is significantly saved.
Disadvantages of diamond drilling
Drilling holes in the wall with the diamond method has a number of disadvantages:
- Diamond nozzle cools down, the floor is contaminated with a special compound.
- To work with such a tool usually increases the cost.
- It is better to involve concrete specialists, they are specially trained before work.
- The intensity of work is affected by the efforts thatapplied to the instrument.
- Crowns fail quickly. They need to be changed periodically, and this is an additional expense.
Scope of application
Drilling holes in the wall is used for various tasks. Here are the most popular destinations:
- Channels are made in concrete walls.
- Electrical lines are carried out, and drilling is also used when laying water pipes. Not without drilling in the construction of gas pipelines.
- Garbage chutes and heating systems are being installed.
- Widely used in the installation of sockets, switches.
- For laying engineering networks, holes are drilled in reinforced concrete surfaces.
- When installing ventilation systems, this method is also widely used.
- Fire-fighting equipment is connected at various sites with the help of drilling.
- Used when dismantling walls or interior floors.
- A recess is made in the wall for lighting fixtures or built-in furniture.
- Doorways of various sizes are being prepared. Drilling is required when installing windows.
Drilling holes in walls and ceilings using various nozzles and methods allows you to work quickly and efficiently.
Conclusion
So, we figured out how to make holes in the wall. As you can see, this work can be done independently. But, as a rule, skill and dexterity are required.
