Choosing a tool for drilling holes in concrete for sockets and switches

Having the correct drilling tool is essential when installing sockets and switches in concrete walls. Because concrete is a tough material, a simple task can become a frustrating challenge if the wrong tools are used.

It’s important to know the different options available and the tasks that each tool is intended to perform in order to select the appropriate tool for the job. Every tool, including core drills and rotary hammers, has unique characteristics that allow it to be used for a variety of concrete tasks.

The best tools for drilling holes in concrete will be discussed in this article, with an emphasis on their advantages and uses. By the end, you’ll know more clearly which tool will simplify and expedite your work.

Tool Description
Hammer Drill Ideal for drilling into concrete. It combines rotation and hammering actions to break through tough materials.
Rotary Hammer More powerful than a hammer drill, suitable for larger holes and tougher concrete. It provides both rotary and hammering action.
Concrete Drill Bit Specially designed bit with a hardened tip to handle concrete. Use it with a hammer drill or rotary hammer.
Core Drill Used for making larger holes. It drills through concrete with a cylindrical bit and is perfect for sockets or switches needing more space.

What you need to know before starting work?

Two things you should know before beginning work are what kind of drill to use and how to drill a hole without hurting yourself or other people. While we will address safety in more detail later on, for now, let’s concentrate on the tool. This place offers a plethora of options. Everything is dependent upon the material of your walls. A standard drill or hammer drill will be more than sufficient if the walls are no thicker than 30 cm. You can also omit it if the hole needs to be punctured in the inner, non-carrier wall (between the kitchen and the bathroom, for example).

You will require a more sophisticated tool if the walls are composed of sand-lime brick or monolithic concrete and are thicker than thirty centimeters. For this use, a 1 kW hammer drill with a set of carbide or diamond attachments works well. It’s a dirty, time-consuming, and lengthy task, but it is doable. However, in the event that all goes wrong and you have to drill reinforced concrete or extremely hard concrete, you will require a motor drill drilling rig. With a power of 5-8 kW, this concrete hole-drilling tool can penetrate any material.

Crucial: However, there is a caveat: Attempting to connect it to a single- or two-phase home network will cause the wiring to melt. Either that, or it will instantly blow the fuses. In daily life, a motor drill is not utilized. A 380 volt network is needed for such a noble instrument. Nonetheless, these sockets are widely available at industrial facilities (where it is most frequently used), so labor-intensive operation is not required.

Choosing the appropriate tool is essential for accuracy and efficiency when drilling holes in concrete for switches and sockets. Whether you’re a professional or a do-it-yourself enthusiast, knowing the various drill bit and types that are available and how they work on concrete surfaces will make the installation process go more smoothly. You can minimize effort and potential damage to the concrete while still achieving precise results by selecting the right tool.

Types of holes for connection devices

Here it all depends on what exactly will be installed. If it is a regular socket, then make a round hole. It is easiest to do because one operation is needed – install a drill with a concrete crown, drill and that"s it. Fast, convenient, technologically advanced and minimum dust. If you need to make a recessed socket, you will have to tinker and make a square recess on top of a round one. This will look much more aesthetically pleasing. And if you need to install a block of several sockets or mount equipment (USB sockets, etc.).d), then it is easier to cut a rectangular recess in the wall with a grinder. Or, for example, if there is no tool. Except for the grinder.

In a strict sense, the hole’s shape is not that significant. The most important factor is that the socket’s diameter of 72 millimeters, or the size of the socket box’s glass, must fit into the concrete socket hole. The extra space can then be filled in using putty, plaster, alabaster, or, in the worst case scenario, cement.

There’s another subtlety with regard to the wall material. Everything works perfectly if the material is plasterboard or wood. Any size or shape of hole can be drilled. Everything is fine if it’s cinder block. You’ll need to work with brick or concrete. However, if the tile is prone to splitting and has a poor vibration tolerance. Using a crown and diamond cutting would be the ideal solution.

Drilling holes in concrete using a hammer drill

Using a hammer drill, there are multiple methods for drilling a hole in the wall for a socket. The decision is based on the concrete’s density and the availability of certain tools. Let’s begin with the easiest and shortest and conclude with the labor-intensive and lengthy one.

Using a crown for socket boxes

If this is your first time drilling a passage in a wall, determine the dimensions first, then visit a hardware store and ask the seller to provide you with a crown for wall boxes that fit the specified diameter. If you are planning a major renovation, it would be better to buy a set right away because you will need a lot of different holes in the walls for switches and sockets, as practice and the humble servant’s personal experience demonstrate. The set will also include a carbide drill and unique extensions in addition to the crowns.

The crown is a piece of pipe that has a flange on one side for screwing onto an included pin and a cutting edge on the other. The pin is then secured in the hammer drill’s chuck. The shank’s diameter typically ranges from 68 to 80 millimeters. On the crown’s edge are installed cutting elements. These can be basic teeth with a single-sided sharpening or carbide inserts with a diamond coating. The drill can be fixed via a passageway inside the crown. The purpose of this component is to position the crown in relation to the upcoming hole. It’s not necessary, but the outcome won’t be predictable.

Important: Attach the chuck key to your hammer drill or drill by taping it to the power cord next to the plug if you frequently misplace it. This way, you will have it with you at all times and, more importantly, you will be safe from harm in the unlikely event that you need to replace the drill or attachment on the spur of the moment and the tool happens to be plugged in and accidentally operated.

Crowns come in a very reasonable price range, and if all you need to do is move or add sockets, you don’t really need to get an expensive one with a diamond coating. A crown is also very useful for making holes in tables (to accommodate office equipment wires) or kitchen sets (to install a mixer over the sink). It’s not just for walls though. Using the tools mentioned above, you must follow these steps in order to drill a hole:

  1. First, you need to mark the wall where the new socket will be.
  2. Then determine the center of the marked circle.
  3. Then direct the drill (together with the hammer drill) to the center and drill.
  4. Then put the crown on the hammer drill, not forgetting to screw in the drill and continue drilling until you get a passage of the desired depth. As a rule, for sockets it is enough when the crown is recessed into the wall by 2/3.

As you can see, it’s not that complicated. The most important thing is to move slowly and, if at all possible, to make the recess in one fluid motion.

Using a crown and a drill

No worries if you followed the instructions in the preceding paragraph exactly and nothing helped. Most likely, all you have is a wall composed of either sand-lime brick or dense concrete. However, this does not preclude you from drilling a hole in it. All it will take is a little more time and work on your part.

First, give up on trying to break the wall. Nothing positive will come of it; either the drill motor will burn out or the crown will be ground down. Examine your hands’ work after that. In any case, you make a tiny incision and assume the markings are already there.

Take the hammer drill’s crown off, put in a carbide drill, and begin drilling holes in the circle that will become your socket. Though lengthy, the process is worthwhile. After drilling roughly twenty to twenty-five holes (it’s more important to drill consistently than how many), replace the crown and "continue the exercise." Without a doubt, things will go more enjoyable.

A hammer drill without a crown

One way to get by without a crown is to use a single hammer drill if the crown is absent, far away, or there is nowhere to flee to (it’s nighttime and you’re in the village building a dacha with your father-in-law). But this "pleasure" is not for the weak of heart, particularly if you have a regular drill without an impact mode in place of a hammer drill.

Like with a crown, we mark the circle, drill in the middle, and follow the hole’s markings while simultaneously telling the father-in-law to get a hammer and chisel from the garage. Drill as many holes as you can inside the future socket after the circle. Following all of the adjustments and a brief rest, we start using a chisel and hammer to carve out the opening. Although the process is lengthy, it’s a good choice, particularly if you don’t have a lot of tools or time to complete repairs.

A hole for a socket using a grinder

The cruelest and riskiest approach. I will state up front that it is best not to take it on if you lack confidence in your skills. If you have already done so, cover your entire face, or at least wear thicker clothing and eye protection. Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep a first aid kit and multiple extra grinding wheels on hand.

Start by sketching the future hole’s shape. All you need for this is a basic pencil or marker. Next, put on gloves, a respirator, a cap, and safety glasses. If you don’t have a respirator, cover your mouth and nose with wet gauze that has been dipped in water. Next, turn on the grinder, and if you haven’t changed your mind, start cutting at the markings’ extreme points.

Crucial! When cutting, never shift the grinder’s plane in relation to the wall. This could cause the disc to catch a wedge, shatter, and the pieces to fly happily and amicably straight at you. Consequently, make every effort to proceed cautiously, avoid taking off the protective cover, and position the grinder’s handle so that the disk spins "away from you."

Next, we proceed as we did in the preceding method, using a hammer, chisel, and so forth. You’ll just waste more time drilling holes because you can’t drill inside. But everything will work out as it should in the end.

How to make a hole in a tile for a socket?

"How to make a hole for a socket?" is a question that is frequently asked. This is most likely the hardest construction process to complete, requiring extra planning and specialized knowledge. Because tiles are such an erratic material, a standard concrete drill is insufficient in this situation. Pressing too hard or too little will cause the crack to penetrate through the tile. After that, the only way to remove it is if you have an extra fragment. Furthermore, the tile is extremely hard and slippery, particularly when it’s glossy, so the drill keeps trying to bounce off or begins to "walk" on the surface, scratching it.

It is best to drill holes before you begin gluing it to the wall in order to prevent this. You can manually make a few cuts; this can be done in a fairly easy and affordable manner.

A diamond string (or a tungsten one as a more budget option) is bought in a building materials store, after which a neat small hole is made in the tile. To prevent the drill from wandering, you can drill from the inside, the main thing is to do this at low speeds so that the glaze does not crack. Then pass the string through the passage, take a hacksaw for metal, remove the blade and fix the string instead. Then make a cut with a diamond string to the contour and begin to carefully cut holes for the socket in the concrete. This will not take much time, but the risk of cracks and splitting of expensive facing material is completely eliminated.

Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to take a few precautions if the tiles have already been glued and the socket holes still need to be drilled:

  • Buy a diamond crown. Yes, it is expensive, but it is better than changing the entire tile later if it suddenly turns out that there are no spare fragments, and the type itself has been discontinued. In addition, if it is a panel or a painting, there will be even more problems. A diamond crown affects the material more evenly, so vibration is reduced.
  • Before drilling, cover the drilling site with construction tape or adhesive plaster. This will prevent the drill from slipping when marking the centering hole.
  • Wet the tile. This will go faster, and there will be significantly less dust.
  • It is best to make the cut with a drill at low speeds. A hammer drill has a strong vibration, which causes chips and cracks along the edges of the cut.

In general, especially if wet, if everything is done carefully, the tile won’t crack. But it’s better to be prepared with an extra tile.

Safety rules

First of all, you should know that concrete dust (like asbestos) is very harmful to the respiratory system. If you drill without personal protective equipment, you can get respiratory diseases, and in a very severe form. Protection is also needed for the eyes, since dust getting under the conjunctiva and on the cornea causes very painful inflammation, after which you can easily lose your sight. Therefore, when working, be sure to remember to use glasses, a respirator, special clothing and, if possible, a helmet. It is also worth buying a protective face shield. The thing is very convenient, and it can be used together with glasses, and strong enough so that nothing extra flies in.

When carrying out this kind of work, according to safety regulations, there should be no strangers without personal protective equipment within a radius of 2.5 meters from the object. Also, to work at a height of more than 1.5 meters with a hammer drill, a solid foundation is required – scaffolding or trestles. A stepladder or ladder is not an option. Before starting work, carefully study the diagram of electrical and gas communications. Pay special attention to whether there is reinforcement in the wall. To make sure, “ring” the wall. However, no device gives a 100% guarantee that there are no wires in the wall, especially under the decorative trim. Therefore, if you are not sure, do not drill.

Important: Drilling in these areas is highly undesirable and dangerous because wire is frequently run along the seams and joints in block houses by the builders. Make sure you wear dielectric gloves, comfortable shoes with rubber soles, and a second handle when drilling. You will know as soon as you bump into something and will be able to stop in time to avoid cutting the wire and receiving an electric shock if you increase the speed steadily and without jerking.

For accurate and clean results when drilling holes in concrete, selecting the appropriate tool is essential. You can easily drill holes for sockets and switches without causing any damage to the surrounding area if you have the correct drill and accessories. Make sure to take into account the concrete’s hardness as well as the hole’s required size and shape.

A masonry bit on a hammer drill will work well for most tasks. Because these tools are made to withstand the hardness of concrete, you can cut cleanly without using too much effort. A core drill may be more suitable for larger holes, but it does cost more money and requires more skill.

Always remember to wear safety gear and follow proper drilling techniques to prevent accidents. With the right tool and approach, you can complete your project efficiently and effectively, achieving professional-quality results.

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Marina Petrova

Candidate of Technical Sciences and teacher of the Faculty of Construction. In my articles, I talk about the latest scientific discoveries and innovations in the field of cement and concrete technologies.

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