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Things to think about when drilling in concrete

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Concrete drilling is a procedure most homeowners will have to do from time to time to hang things on concrete walls or attach structures to already existing concrete structures. Concrete drilling can be a difficult procedure, but it you have a proper drill made for drilling in concrete and if you use the right screws, you don't have to hire a professional to do it for you. There are, however, things that can go wrong when concrete drilling and screwing, but instead of giving up, there are a few things you can do to make sure your concrete drilling goes according to plan.

Depth of drilling

Before you drill, you should make sure that you are aware of how deep you should drill. Don't drill further than the length of the screw you're using, as this creates an unnecessary void in the material where the concrete will be weakened. You should make sure that you're not drilling too deep by measuring the length of the screw and then marking that length on the bit you're using to drill with. If the bit is longer than the screw, you should put a piece of masking tape or thread on the bit where the length of the screw you're using ends.

Screw that sticks in the hole

A common problem when drilling concrete is having the screw stick when you're trying to screw it into the hole you've drilled. To fix this problem, you should first try drilling the hole once again and make sure that you drill it deep enough. If that's not the problem, then you might need to use a nail or a thin brush that you can use to clean debris out of the hole. If neither of these things works, you might want to try to use a thinner screw. You could also drill a new hole a little bit away from the malfunctioning hole if you don't wish to use different sized screws.

Screw not gripping

You might also find that you are having trouble with getting the screw to stick in the hole, meaning it only spins around without getting a grip in the concrete. If this is the issue, then the concrete you're working with might be too soft or porous. In these cases, you can try using a larger screw or change the place. However, you might also want to have your concrete wall or structure looked at by a professional, as soft and porous concrete might be a sign of a bigger issue that affects the entire structure and can cause it to break or crumble. An effective way to further investigate an issue like this is to do some concrete sawing to saw off a piece that you can examine more closely and possibly bring to a professional. 


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