How To Drill Into Concrete With A Regular Drill (3 Step Guide)

Before we get into the details please have a read of the table below.

What You Need To Know About How To Drill Into Concrete With A Regular Drill

Concrete or masonry is very hard material. To be honest, there are special hammer drills that are designed to drill into hard materials like concrete. However this can still be done with a normal drill, a bit of patience and a some masonry bits.

Below I will detail some considerations you should consider when thinking about drilling into concrete with a regular drill.

Use Masonry Bits

Masonry drill bits are designed to drill through hard material such as concrete. Therefore by using a masonry drill bit you should be able to perform this task with your regular drill, making it a lot easier than if you used a regular drill bit.

One thing to consider is that most hammer drills (The drills designed for drilling into concrete) are SDS type. These SDS type drill bits often do not fit or work with your regular drill. Be sure to check the compatibility of the drill bit’s shank with your drill.

Also ensure that you use carbide tip masonry bits. These are designed to drill into harder materials and will last longer. They are also an overall better investment, than your typical standard masonry bits when working and drilling into concrete.

Beware of overheating your regular drill

When drilling into concrete with a regular drill, be sure to check that your drill does not overheat. Overheating in drills is a function of overload. Overload occurs when your drill bit jams because of opposing forces caused by the tough material such as concrete.

All drills experience this opposing force. However it is pronounced when trying to drilling into hard materials with a regular drill

One way to mitigate this is to ensure that you drill slowly through the concrete. Do not rush the job as the faster you try to create a hole, the quicker your drill will heat up.

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Safety

One thing that often get’s forgotten when performing a drill into hard material using a regular drill is the safety element.

You will often find that when doing such a job drill bits can break. Excessive debris from the drill hole can shoot out in different directions. The high pitched noise can also be detrimental to your overall hearing.

Therefore before undertaking the task of drilling into concrete using a regular drill please ensure that at the minimum you equip yourself with workman gloves.

Eye protection for any debris, such as masonry that could fly through the air as you drill and ear protection in the form of ear muffs for the high pitched 90 dB of noise (Which is higher that the safe limit of 70 -75 dB for humans).

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Equipment You’ll Need To Learn How To Drill Into Concrete With A Regular Drill

To drill a hole successfully via the use of a regular drill does not require a lot. Please see the list of equipment you will require to perform this task below.

• Regular drill (usually typical cordless drill)
• Set of carbide tip masonry drill bits
• Water

3 Steps Guide On How To Drill Into Hard Material With A Regular Drill

Step 1: Mark your hole and create a pilot

This step is vitally important, before going onto actually drilling your hole through the masonry or cement. Be sure to mark out your holes accurately and use a small masonry bit to create a pilot hole.

What this pilot hole will do is ensure that as you increase the diameter of your masonry bit in preparation for full drill, there will be adequate traction.

This will avoid the all to common error of slippage. You will not believe how often even experienced DIYers forget to implement this simple step.

As the old adage goes “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. Do not skip this step as trivial.

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Step 2: Drill Step wise

Once your pilot holes have been drilled, it is now time to create the hole through the concrete with your regular drill in accordance with the diameter you want.

The best way to do this is to break it up into a 3 step process as per the image below.

The first step is creating the pilot hole.

The second step involves using an “intermediate” sized drill bit and creating a slightly larger hole. This secondary hole so to speak will make drilling the final hole with your masonry bit much easier.

You will experience less overheating and resistance from the tough concrete material.

The final step. This involves drilling into the concrete little by little with the masonry bit that has the same diameter as the hole you intend on creating.

To reduce the effects of hardness around the surface. Feel free to spray water into the hole. This should make drilling into the concrete with your regular drill a lot easier.

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Step 3: Take your time

Using a regular drill is not ideal for drilling into concrete. To mitigate this please ensure that you take your time whilst drilling the hole. This will avoid microcracking around the edges and it will also ensure you do not overheat your drill.

To do this you will be required to apply a consistent force into the drill hole. Go in and back out a couple of times to prevent the regular drill from operating at full load.

If you come across a hard patch of concrete or find it extremely difficult to keep drilling. Hold off for a little, increase the masonry drill bit size and add some water.

Repeat this until you create a hole of adequate depth through the concrete with your regular drill. That is it.

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Final Thoughts On How To Drill Into Concrete With A Regular Drill

As you can see drilling into concrete with a regular drill is indeed possible. You will just need to be aware of overheating and overstressing your drill bits. Take your time and do not rush, and you will have your hole in no time without the need of a hammer drill.