Best Concrete Drill for the Home
A concrete drill can have many purposes in the home and it is important that you do some research and invest in a drill that will be right for you. The normal electric rotary drill you may have in your home is not suitable for drilling into masonry and concrete. This guide gives a broad outline of the different types of concrete drills available and will help you decide which is the best concrete drill for the home.
Cost in Relation to Purpose
If you are purchasing a concrete drill you should weigh how much you wish to spend depending on how often you will use it and what you will be drilling. If you are planning to use it solely to put up one set of shelves, you may wish to purchase an inexpensive model. These usually start at around $10. You may even consider renting a drill. However, if you are doing heavy-duty jobs, a cheaper model will break easily or need replacing sooner.
If you are using the drill frequently, you may find that investing in a more expensive, and hopefully better quality, model will be worth it.
Hammer Drill
A hammer drill has a rotary action but also a small hammer action which is applied at the same time to drill into harder surfaces. The motor sizes start at around 600w. They are good for small jobs around the home as they generally will let you drill with a bit up to 16mm.
SDS Drill
The Special Direct System drill, or SDS drill, has a slightly different mechanism than a hammer drill. The drill bits don’t need any tightening as they are held in place by the special type chuck until they are released. You can still get a hammer action with an SDS drill although this happens within the chuck rather than having the whole chuck move like a hammer drill.
SDS drills are generally only available in 10 and 18mm but can withstand hammers of over 5kg. If you are using an SDS drill, you will need to be careful as they do not have a safety clutch that will stop the drill from spinning if the drill bit gets jammed. This can cause wrist damage.
Demolition Drills
This is actually a hammer used for breaking concrete. This type of drill is needed if you are doing very heavy concrete work, for instance breaking up driveways. They can be expensive to purchase, so you will need to be sure if this is the right kind of concrete drill for you if you are looking to complete a job.
Best Concrete Drill?
Unless you are completing very heavy concrete work on a regular basis, a hammer drill is probably best for use within the home. You should, however, consider the make and model of your drill carefully before making a purchase depending on whether or not the drill will get regular use. You should also think about whether a cordless drill would be better for you, although these can be slightly more expensive.
