Two tips: 1) SDS power is measured by the impact energy, but I don't think most people understand what this means.. it's how hard the hammer hits on each strike. As you probably know from chiselling concrete by hand, if you don't hit the hammer hard enough, it doesn't matter how many times you hit it, the concrete won't budge. Your battery Makita has a 2.0J (joule) impact energy, which is a bit low. Around 3J is the minimum I find gives a good result on the materials we use in the UK homes. 2) If the fixing is a little loose, put a nylon cable tie tail or two in the hole.
It's the torque which is causing the issue with clearing the hole, though. His mains unit is 2.7J - fairly midrange corded. 2-2.2J is normal for entry corded and compact cordless units, and will handle most materials fine in smaller hole sizes. As low as 1J isn't uncommon for a long day of 5.5mm holes for plugs. Don't know what Makita are offering these days, Bosch offer a 5.4J SDS+, which must be a wild ride.
@@hugov392 thank you, save me explaining. I love my 18v matkia SDS. Any thing over 6mm I pilot once twice or more. Big holes need power then it's mains.
@@GosforthHandyman nah, torque is an illusion - with enough impact energy it'll break free. Even the enormous SDS Max drills have relatively little torque, less than much smaller drill/drivers.
Hi Andy, be mindful of enlarging the pilot hole(s) by repetitively drilling/re-drilling. The relatively shallow depth of thread depends on an accurate pilot hole diameter to be effective.
Great video as ever, you are a natural communicator. You can fit a wooden batten onto even quite soft concrete block if you drill the pilot hole 1/2 mm smaller than the screw size, then screw slowly on speed 1 of a combi drill, and not with an impact driver
Hi I've just discovered you're channel and I'm now watching loads. AS a useless DIY'ER who can just about do the very basic jobs and even then not very well I'm finding you're channel as one of the best especially the stuff you put out for this useless person. You are very honest with NO B××××××T and I am learning a lot thanks to you.
Your videos are very helpful for people naturally not into this stuff You explain things well, and the more information people can have on things they are not used too, the easier they can understand things There can never be too much information, and you explain things very well
It's just something I've always done when drilling any masonry, I drill, withdraw, drill, withdraw, drill, withdraw about three times for each hole, and the dust releases in stages. Worth a try.
You reminded me of my decision to get two cordless drill plus a mains powered drill for concrete and brick. Yes, there are battery drills that can cope with harder masonry materials, but mains power does it so much better. I also nearly broke my wrist when a bit jammed in the hole the first time I used one of the cordless drills. Lesson learned, use two hands!
Hi Andy, Good review on concrete screws, as for fixing down decking my self it's a must, last year I was at my brothers house my brother and me were fitting decking at the back of his house and we did fix the decking down. 24 posts on the ground I would say 16 to 18 of the posts were fixed down using a mix of concrete screws and anchor bolts and since spring last year it's still a solid fixing. As always I value your opinion great video Take care
Great vid mate… try 2x wraps of tape round bit and then double over end to create a flap. Better visual of depth when drilling and much easier to remove tape afterwards.
In respect of Makita power tools, I have a Makita grinder. Cost just over £200 with a battery, if Im lucky the battery will last 10 to 15 minutes. Needless to say I no longer use it prefering instead to use a mains powered grinder. Very interesting video, thanks.
I've got a Ryobi mains hammer and a Ryobi cordless hammer. Both about the same build quality and not trade quality. Mains one has a little more get up and go. Battery one is much better than what i saw with your Makita and I have 11 year old 4AH batteries. I was drilling 25mm holes into a rock easier than what you did into concrete. I had concerns i was going to overheat the drill so i backed off but it never stalled through lack of power unless the battery's flat. Fresh charge is always the order of the day with these power hungry tools like hammer and impact wrenches. Great video and I've learnt to be careful with a jammed up drill.
I believe that yes, strong wind could fairly easily lift the deck. The stream of air blowing along its top has a reduced pressure compared to the air underneath. This pressure differential can be enough. It's like the reverse of ground effect in racing cars.
Just a thought, for getting the dust out of the hole you’ve drilled, hash up a small bore plastic pipe - say 300mm long - to a bit of surplus waste pipe that fits the nozzle of your vac. I find gaffer or masking tape works well. That way you’re sucking the dust out rather than blowing it in. Love the channel 👍
Yes, a plastic straw (a paper straw may collapse on itself) duct-taped to a small shop-vac nozzle I find Much better than trying to "blow" dust out of a hole - especially when holes are more than an inch deep.
I wouldn't be so worried about the decking getting blown away by the wind but it can "walk" over time if not fixed. Vibration from people walking on it can make it go in one direction and then back in the opposite direction by the tiniest of amounts. What can happen though is that it can develop resistance to going back in the direction of the house since stones can get wedged down there so over lots of use it can walk out 1cm or more. Best to avoid any potential movement by fixing, eve just a couple will give it the required resistance to this.
Thanks for this. I have the same mains Makita and a slightly lesser Makita battery drill. Yep, same issues...the battery one is not up to heavy jobs but great at everything else. I'm not a structural engineer either but view an unfixed patio as a massive parachute. Would bolt it down every time. Paul
Your spinning drill gave me flashbacks to when I nearly broke my wrist reaming holes in an MFT when I accidentally started the drill with the reamer inserted in the hole, but not perfectly straight - caught on the hole sides and spun the drill. Sore wrist for the next 3-4 months!!
Andy I have the dhr242z that you posted the screenshot of, with a 5ah battery and never had any issues, even into hard concrete. I think you're just using it passed it's limits. And yeah the 242 is very well balanced, would recommend
I'm in the process of fitting a suspended floor (timbers fixed to block walls, then joist hangers to support joists across the room). Used a titan TTB631 (absolute bargain at £56 as a 'refurb' from SF) to drill the holes, blew out the dust with a nozzle on the mini compressor from my air nailer and fitted concrete bolts. I wound the bolts in by hand using a socket and ratchet to avoid over tightening and stripping the holes. I could have used a torque wrench, but doing it by feel was fine. All seems very solid and the bolts are inexpensive from both SF and TS.
I used 3"/75mm concrete screws into brick to hang solid wood kitchen wall cabinets (no chipboard, MDF or plywood for me) & despite the load I put in those hanging cupboards, none have shifted. I did strip one hole but filled with epoxy, redrilled then covered the screw in more epoxy before tightening & it's held just fine.
Fastening the decking down will stop the wood moving as it will if you let it. I need to take the boards up to fasten one post that has lifted by a few millimetres because I didn't secure it.
Have you looked into different types of drill bit? The spiral / flute is worth lloking at. In situations where you need to remove a lot of material to prevent jams, consider a compact / fast spiral. All the decent brands offer a range of different spirals. Another option are the hollow drills with integration suction at the head, available from several big names. Like you, I've had enough of dust clogging up my bits. Option 3 - sds plus - sds max adapter, use a big boy tool to loosen your stuck bits!
Thanks Andy, useful to see both the demonstration and the practical application along with some practical tips too ! Kudos to you for having the honesty to show your errors too, which of course just add to the entertainment value of the video and give people something more to comment on ! I haven't bothered buying a cordless SDS yet, still using my trusty 20 y/o Dewalt mains model, as you say cordless are handy in certain circumstances and are getting better all the time but for my frequency and application corded is fine ! There are still a number of tool types where cordless is a distinct compromise so not worth it for DIYers on a budget !
When I SDS-drill deep holes in concrete (> 1.5 inches), I don't try to drill the whole hole at one go. Everytime I drill down about 1-1.5", I pull the drill bit out while the SDS drill is still turning - that's to pull out as much of the concrete dust as much as possible. And the deeper the hole, I will even stop and vacuum out the hole occasionally to prevent accidentally packing and compressing the concrete dust down into the bottom of the hole.
You saved me the money buying the SDS that would have been the one I got. Will stick with the mains titan for now. It might be heavy but it's a beast. Thanks
DeWalt Snake fixings are a good alternative to expansion bolts. They also cut their own thread in the concrete or brick, and take a M8, M10 or M12 bolt or threaded rod.
Just a small point. I would have tried my wet & dry vac to clear holes. I might even turn up a special tip for it in the lathe. Blowing down a deep hole seems a bit counterproductive. I only have a mains SDS & it's not that powerful. Have you ever tried resin fixings?
Hi Andy. Another very informative and clear video. I picked up your point that the substrate needs to be consistent, and this precludes their use into Thermalite blocks, but will they work in brick? Oops, You've now answered my question. Thanks!
That jammed bit is why these drills usually have a clutch (or electronic limiter). However, the clutch requires the use of the foregrip - and holding it the right way (rotate into palm, not away from palm), or it'll still get away from you. Not a fun experience up a ladder! Drilling down is the main reason your little SDS is struggling here, I'd imagine. They do make meatier ones, but most of the compact ones are just made for plugs in soft block. Many would have a literal meltdown faced with say, a 20x450mm bit.
I would 100% agree with you about anchoring the decking to the ground or you will have sleepless nights. Winds can do enormous damage which is why roofs are anchored down.
First time I used through bolts made me learn never use them - I just drilled a hole and drive bolt with gentle hammer taps but it still hit something and it mechanism it expanded and I was then still unable to remove the bolt out for redrill so then I had to put all rage max and hammer that down :D
Drills for drilling, Drivers for driving. And the bit will fit directly into an impact driver. You don't need the attachment. All bit patterns come with shanks to fit drivers.
Yo Bro’, hi from down under. I’m usually using the ‘anchor bolts’ or anchor screws to affix benches or workstands in the concrete floor of the workshop. An infrequent job, I use a cheap shop vacuum cleaner (held by trusty mate) as I drill = no prob. Except when there was a problem Lol. We then switched to vacuum assist while drilling, some sort of “dust off” pressure pack to blow out the remainder of the dust & keep the vacuum running during the “blow out”. Concrete dust is really wicked sh*t in your lungs. Stay well.
Well winds have been strong enough to lift a roof off so bolting the decking down would be worthwhile for me unless the decking was completely sheltered.
Having been in engineering since the mid 70's I have used every type of concrete anchor starting with Rawlbolts back then, trouble with those is the amount of expansion possible, I have seen walls tipped over by someone using Rawlbolts to fix railings, My prefered by far fixing is chemfast. Used that for fixing fire escapes, balcony's, hand rails even crash barriers on multistory car parks, in fact chemfast was specified for that by the structural engineers.
Good instructional and review. Building screws in SS are A2, A4 is much better, at a cost. My guys would not clear the dust, like they wouldn't use a vacuum cleaner... that's for the girls. Macho men! You must anchor the decking. 60mph gusts or more would have it in next doors' garden. I've seen this. Makita drills have no clutch or snatch prevention. Heavy work can damage your wrist. They are available and a bigger drill (36v) is preferred. The little battery blower is great for these jobs.
For this situation, I would have used concrete joist supports. The joists float on the support. No fasteners needed. It is good practice though to use an embedded or screwed down support every 8-10'. This depends on your likelihood for high winds.
Jaysus 16 quid a piece for those fittings. I got a box of similar fitting from Screwfix for about €20. I was a bit pissed off having to buy a box of 50 because I only need 4 screws for a job I was doing at home. I can do ye a deal £450 quid for the 46 screws I have left lying in me shed ( I'll even pay the postage for ye 🙂 )
Watching the vertical drilling into the concrete, I did not see you lifting the drill out at frequent intervals to pull out the dust, not doing so will jam the drill quickly on deep holes.
We have an old bosch 36v sds and a new bosch 18v sds plus, guy doing the decking ended up using the our bosch and then bought the new version himself. He had a makita 18v but the bigger stubby version compeared too your one. Myself as I have dewalt I get dewalt to keep it simple battery wise, did have mikita when roofing but found when i changed to doing concrete it didnt cut the mustard and dewalt was ahead of the pack before milwakee came though so were talking a good few years ago but they still hold up. Waiting for the new powerstack batterys as always theres issues with gen 1 stuff so kept my xr 5ah batteries. Looking to upgrade though but now the company will pay for my tools so will eventually go for new dewalt line. Not sure about the atomic 1/2" though as i would have no need for it 😂
I assume the decking gap is related to bridging the dpc or something ? I have a set of brick steps outside my patio almost level with the floor of the lounge with a 20-30mm gap between the cavity wall & steps underneath the threshold. The person who built it with me agreed that it should not be physically attached to the house for 3 reasons : 1. There's no need to 2. Prevention of damp problems 3. If the steps drift or gradually move a few mm over the course a couple of decades, we dont want it pulling the house with it. 😆
12:52 If you leave a stopped drill bending back and forth sideways, you have just bent and destroyed an expensive sds concrete bit. I can see your chuck vibrate later. This will create a wider hole and a non gripping screw.
Probably not the most helpful if you are on a different battery platform but i haven't had any issues with the Bosch 18v sds "wimping out". Also the Bosch 18v blower has a really handy attachment for cleaning narrow holes without blowing dust in your face. I have had reasonable luck clearing stuck bits by turning off the rotation and giving it a quick hammer.
And if the concrete is a bit marginal holding, add some gorilla foaming poly glue in the hole as well 😉 also have an air duster can hand to blow the hole out.
From my heavy engineering days late 70s and before clutch drills were a thing it was "air" tools. Anyone seen using electric drills were sternly talked to about potential wrist snapping. Air stops dead on release, electric not so.
If you have super light blocks like my house drilling a hole collapses the hole . compression doesn't work as block splits. Drill hole v carefully maybe not use hammer action. Then fill hole with no nails, then after 10 mins use screw. It still won't take anything heavy so sorry you will have to build up from floor. This is where I had brainwave - panneled walling.
Not sure you drilled the hole deep enough in the second example. You used the batten to work out how much of the concrete screw would be in the block, which probably meant you didn't drill deep enough. You should have just measured the screw length and then added on your inch.....because you were drilling through the batten (simulating a door frame).
Yeah, i am not a fan of SDS drills and bits myself, happy to stick with standard masonry drill bits in a hammer drill. Maybe if you drilled holes in masonry for a living, but for the home handy man they are an expensive specialist tool you dont need.
A leaf blower really gets like 5% of the powder out. That is still fine only because the drilled hole is deep enough to accommodate the left over powder. If just using leaf blower save the effort and dont even bother to use it.😂. That pump however gets 95% of the powder out.
Ive always had the concern when you drill a hole and you push and pull the drill (to clear the dust out of the hole) your making the hole diameter slightly larger 🤔any thoughts anyone
Cheers! The brackets are stainless but I couldn't justify the cost of stainless concrete screws (other than the freebie Fischer ones I used which are nearly £7 each). The Fischers are in the most critical area, towards the front of the deck. 👍
@@GosforthHandyman You should not mix stainless and zinc plated. The zinc will be corroded. If it was going to be dry you could use plastic top hat washers to separate. But these fixings will be wet for extend periods of time.
He's pointing at the bigger ones by mistake, his appear to be the 8x90, which are 'merely' £6.93 each (including the dreaded). But yeah, they're incredibly expensive. Hardened stainless steel. Very, very high end fixing for very serious structural applications.
Oops well spotted @Monkeh161! For whatever reason Rawlplug base the size on the outer diameter but Fischer base it on the inner. So yes those ones are just £346.25 per pack. 😂👍
Wait what? Fischer concrete screws….is that right? Purportedly £1461 with VAT (before discount) for what…FIFTY units. That’s £28 per 4” screw. The supplier is extortionate…even after discount and without VAT for Tradies that is still 14 quid PER SCREW. CRAZY!!! I’d want them gold plated for that.
Silica dust causes health problems, even outside you should wear a mask and definitely never use such overkill methods such as a leaf-blower (which you can see causes a plume of dust that blew straight towards you.) a paint brush is adequate in that situation.
**SAFE DRILLING** 🦺🤕 Hi Andy, I recently found this helpful video: "Bosch Professional Safe Drilling Techniques" - th-cam.com/video/psvLw1TdAlU/w-d-xo.html Always use the extra handle on SDS and bigger more powerful drills, with it kicking INTO the palm so you can catch it 👍
17:58 You’re using 4Ah 18V batteries in your drill and blower. The energy contained in such a battery is 4x18=72Wh. Motor size in these tools is probably around 500W so the maximum duration would be ~8.5 minutes! Buy bigger batteries!!
Two tips: 1) SDS power is measured by the impact energy, but I don't think most people understand what this means.. it's how hard the hammer hits on each strike. As you probably know from chiselling concrete by hand, if you don't hit the hammer hard enough, it doesn't matter how many times you hit it, the concrete won't budge. Your battery Makita has a 2.0J (joule) impact energy, which is a bit low. Around 3J is the minimum I find gives a good result on the materials we use in the UK homes. 2) If the fixing is a little loose, put a nylon cable tie tail or two in the hole.
It's the torque which is causing the issue with clearing the hole, though. His mains unit is 2.7J - fairly midrange corded. 2-2.2J is normal for entry corded and compact cordless units, and will handle most materials fine in smaller hole sizes. As low as 1J isn't uncommon for a long day of 5.5mm holes for plugs.
Don't know what Makita are offering these days, Bosch offer a 5.4J SDS+, which must be a wild ride.
@@hugov392 thank you, save me explaining. I love my 18v matkia SDS. Any thing over 6mm I pilot once twice or more. Big holes need power then it's mains.
Ps dust kills bit remove as much as you can drilling then blow away.
Yeah torque seems to be the main issue here - and battery life. But good info! 👍
@@GosforthHandyman nah, torque is an illusion - with enough impact energy it'll break free. Even the enormous SDS Max drills have relatively little torque, less than much smaller drill/drivers.
Hi Andy, be mindful of enlarging the pilot hole(s) by repetitively drilling/re-drilling. The relatively shallow depth of thread depends on an accurate pilot hole diameter to be effective.
Great video as ever, you are a natural communicator. You can fit a wooden batten onto even quite soft concrete block if you drill the pilot hole 1/2 mm smaller than the screw size, then screw slowly on speed 1 of a combi drill, and not with an impact driver
Securing the deck is a good way to go. Nature is very good at moving things around.
Hi I've just discovered you're channel and I'm now watching loads. AS a useless DIY'ER who can just about do the very basic jobs and even then not very well I'm finding you're channel as one of the best especially the stuff you put out for this useless person. You are very honest with NO B××××××T and I am learning a lot thanks to you.
Your videos are very helpful for people naturally not into this stuff
You explain things well, and the more information people can have on things they are not used too, the easier they can understand things
There can never be too much information, and you explain things very well
It's just something I've always done when drilling any masonry, I drill, withdraw, drill, withdraw, drill, withdraw about three times for each hole, and the dust releases in stages. Worth a try.
lol
and how many kids you have now?
@@TheBalrogwillpass None. It works every time! 🤣
@@KendalSmithy hehe, made me choke on my tea!
You reminded me of my decision to get two cordless drill plus a mains powered drill for concrete and brick. Yes, there are battery drills that can cope with harder masonry materials, but mains power does it so much better. I also nearly broke my wrist when a bit jammed in the hole the first time I used one of the cordless drills. Lesson learned, use two hands!
Hi Andy, Good review on concrete screws, as for fixing down decking my self it's a must, last year I was at my brothers house my brother and me were fitting decking at the back of his house and we did fix the decking down. 24 posts on the ground I would say 16 to 18 of the posts were fixed down using a mix of concrete screws and anchor bolts and since spring last year it's still a solid fixing. As always I value your opinion great video Take care
I use an old vacuum cleaner and a Ramset Hole cleaning brush to remove the dust out of the holes before setting resin or anchor bolts.
Great vid mate… try 2x wraps of tape round bit and then double over end to create a flap. Better visual of depth when drilling and much easier to remove tape afterwards.
👍👍
……..and the flap clears the dust as you get close to depth 👍
Thanks for that. I always learn something watching your videos. It is the tips which are so helpful and make so much difference🙂
Drill hole, blow out dust, fill with chem fix, insert threaded bar, or a thunder bolt, wait 5 mins, wind down locking nut or thunder bolt. Job done !
forgot to say , max tighten after 2 hours.
Ive used these before in brick better than I expected - must use right hole size !
Andy, you've just captured my history of DIY with that "bit"sequence.
Me too.
The cordless is great when you are off grid not close to a mains source, but mains tools are still King when stability and power is required.
In respect of Makita power tools, I have a Makita grinder. Cost just over £200 with a battery, if Im lucky the battery will last 10 to 15 minutes. Needless to say I no longer use it prefering instead to use a mains powered grinder. Very interesting video, thanks.
@@oilburner225 it will probably help getting a bigger battery
What a great and honest demonstration,I love it to bits, keep posting please
I've got a Ryobi mains hammer and a Ryobi cordless hammer. Both about the same build quality and not trade quality. Mains one has a little more get up and go. Battery one is much better than what i saw with your Makita and I have 11 year old 4AH batteries. I was drilling 25mm holes into a rock easier than what you did into concrete. I had concerns i was going to overheat the drill so i backed off but it never stalled through lack of power unless the battery's flat. Fresh charge is always the order of the day with these power hungry tools like hammer and impact wrenches. Great video and I've learnt to be careful with a jammed up drill.
I believe that yes, strong wind could fairly easily lift the deck. The stream of air blowing along its top has a reduced pressure compared to the air underneath. This pressure differential can be enough. It's like the reverse of ground effect in racing cars.
Well done,,to get the dust etc out the drilled hole I use a HENRY small hoover with a taped on small plastic tube JOB DONE
Just a thought, for getting the dust out of the hole you’ve drilled, hash up a small bore plastic pipe - say 300mm long - to a bit of surplus waste pipe that fits the nozzle of your vac. I find gaffer or masking tape works well. That way you’re sucking the dust out rather than blowing it in. Love the channel 👍
Yes, a plastic straw (a paper straw may collapse on itself) duct-taped to a small shop-vac nozzle I find Much better than trying to "blow" dust out of a hole - especially when holes are more than an inch deep.
I wouldn't be so worried about the decking getting blown away by the wind but it can "walk" over time if not fixed. Vibration from people walking on it can make it go in one direction and then back in the opposite direction by the tiniest of amounts. What can happen though is that it can develop resistance to going back in the direction of the house since stones can get wedged down there so over lots of use it can walk out 1cm or more. Best to avoid any potential movement by fixing, eve just a couple will give it the required resistance to this.
Thanks for this. I have the same mains Makita and a slightly lesser Makita battery drill. Yep, same issues...the battery one is not up to heavy jobs but great at everything else. I'm not a structural engineer either but view an unfixed patio as a massive parachute. Would bolt it down every time.
Paul
Your spinning drill gave me flashbacks to when I nearly broke my wrist reaming holes in an MFT when I accidentally started the drill with the reamer inserted in the hole, but not perfectly straight - caught on the hole sides and spun the drill. Sore wrist for the next 3-4 months!!
Oh no! Hope you recovered! Scary when it happens.
This is why you should not remove the auxiliary handle whenever possible. Just leave it on and use it.
Andy I have the dhr242z that you posted the screenshot of, with a 5ah battery and never had any issues, even into hard concrete. I think you're just using it passed it's limits. And yeah the 242 is very well balanced, would recommend
I'm in the process of fitting a suspended floor (timbers fixed to block walls, then joist hangers to support joists across the room). Used a titan TTB631 (absolute bargain at £56 as a 'refurb' from SF) to drill the holes, blew out the dust with a nozzle on the mini compressor from my air nailer and fitted concrete bolts. I wound the bolts in by hand using a socket and ratchet to avoid over tightening and stripping the holes. I could have used a torque wrench, but doing it by feel was fine. All seems very solid and the bolts are inexpensive from both SF and TS.
Thanks Andy, very informative and timely as I'll be using some of these soon.
No worries!
Great video, I also watched your deck videos, for tips on building a low level deck, very helpful. Look forward to more of your videos!
I used 3"/75mm concrete screws into brick to hang solid wood kitchen wall cabinets (no chipboard, MDF or plywood for me) & despite the load I put in those hanging cupboards, none have shifted.
I did strip one hole but filled with epoxy, redrilled then covered the screw in more epoxy before tightening & it's held just fine.
Fastening the decking down will stop the wood moving as it will if you let it. I need to take the boards up to fasten one post that has lifted by a few millimetres because I didn't secure it.
Have you looked into different types of drill bit? The spiral / flute is worth lloking at. In situations where you need to remove a lot of material to prevent jams, consider a compact / fast spiral. All the decent brands offer a range of different spirals. Another option are the hollow drills with integration suction at the head, available from several big names. Like you, I've had enough of dust clogging up my bits. Option 3 - sds plus - sds max adapter, use a big boy tool to loosen your stuck bits!
Thanks Andy, useful to see both the demonstration and the practical application along with some practical tips too ! Kudos to you for having the honesty to show your errors too, which of course just add to the entertainment value of the video and give people something more to comment on !
I haven't bothered buying a cordless SDS yet, still using my trusty 20 y/o Dewalt mains model, as you say cordless are handy in certain circumstances and are getting better all the time but for my frequency and application corded is fine ! There are still a number of tool types where cordless is a distinct compromise so not worth it for DIYers on a budget !
When I SDS-drill deep holes in concrete (> 1.5 inches), I don't try to drill the whole hole at one go.
Everytime I drill down about 1-1.5", I pull the drill bit out while the SDS drill is still turning - that's to pull out as much of the concrete dust as much as possible. And the deeper the hole, I will even stop and vacuum out the hole occasionally to prevent accidentally packing and compressing the concrete dust down into the bottom of the hole.
Could you put those heavy duty ones (10 or 12mm) in manually with a spanner?
Yes.
You saved me the money buying the SDS that would have been the one I got. Will stick with the mains titan for now. It might be heavy but it's a beast. Thanks
DeWalt Snake fixings are a good alternative to expansion bolts. They also cut their own thread in the concrete or brick, and take a M8, M10 or M12 bolt or threaded rod.
👍👍
Are these the ones that need a strong tool?
@@FoghornWashington Yes, they need an impact driver to install them.
@@tlangdon12 sorry, autocorrect. I meant to say “setting tool”.
Just a small point. I would have tried my wet & dry vac to clear holes. I might even turn up a special tip for it in the lathe. Blowing down a deep hole seems a bit counterproductive.
I only have a mains SDS & it's not that powerful. Have you ever tried resin fixings?
Cracking video as always! Can these be used to attach restraint straps to brickwork 9:04
I find using the 4 wing sds bits produce a rounder, more useable hole for screw bolts and find myself using the 2 wingers for general small fixings.
If you ever get a SDS bit jammed again try putting it in chisel mode for a few seconds
Not a bad idea - didn't think of that! 👍
Hi Andy. Another very informative and clear video.
I picked up your point that the substrate needs to be consistent, and this precludes their use into Thermalite blocks, but will they work in brick? Oops, You've now answered my question. Thanks!
No worries! Yes, I've used them in brick fine. 👍
That jammed bit is why these drills usually have a clutch (or electronic limiter). However, the clutch requires the use of the foregrip - and holding it the right way (rotate into palm, not away from palm), or it'll still get away from you. Not a fun experience up a ladder!
Drilling down is the main reason your little SDS is struggling here, I'd imagine. They do make meatier ones, but most of the compact ones are just made for plugs in soft block. Many would have a literal meltdown faced with say, a 20x450mm bit.
Yup! I've had a similar experience with a big core drill - they can be scary. 😂😬
I use a camera cleaning air puffer for removing dust from the hole. The have an extended tube which usually can get right in the hole. Cost £ 3-4.
Would truly love a video on thermalite and attaching stuff to it.
Support comment here from Thailand.
I would 100% agree with you about anchoring the decking to the ground or you will have sleepless nights. Winds can do enormous damage which is why roofs are anchored down.
First time I used through bolts made me learn never use them - I just drilled a hole and drive bolt with gentle hammer taps but it still hit something and it mechanism it expanded and I was then still unable to remove the bolt out for redrill so then I had to put all rage max and hammer that down :D
Drills for drilling,
Drivers for driving.
And the bit will fit directly into an impact driver. You don't need the attachment.
All bit patterns come with shanks to fit drivers.
Yo Bro’, hi from down under. I’m usually using the ‘anchor bolts’ or anchor screws to affix benches or workstands in the concrete floor of the workshop. An infrequent job, I use a cheap shop vacuum cleaner (held by trusty mate) as I drill = no prob. Except when there was a problem Lol. We then switched to vacuum assist while drilling, some sort of “dust off” pressure pack to blow out the remainder of the dust & keep the vacuum running during the “blow out”. Concrete dust is really wicked sh*t in your lungs. Stay well.
@22:33 If the winds are blowing so hard that it's lifting the deck like a sail, then that'll be the least of your worries!
😂
Well winds have been strong enough to lift a roof off so bolting the decking down would be worthwhile for me unless the decking was completely sheltered.
Having been in engineering since the mid 70's I have used every type of concrete anchor starting with Rawlbolts back then, trouble with those is the amount of expansion possible, I have seen walls tipped over by someone using Rawlbolts to fix railings, My prefered by far fixing is chemfast. Used that for fixing fire escapes, balcony's, hand rails even crash barriers on multistory car parks, in fact chemfast was specified for that by the structural engineers.
@@Equiluxe1 ? What is 'chem-fast'?
@@Tom-gv2eo A resin based fixing material, it is a brand name but in the industry I am it is used as a generic name whatever the brand being used.
The DeWalt DCH133N cordless sds is very good and powerful. might be worth checking out.
Looks good! Although again in-line motor and I think the vertical motor would be a bit more comfortable in long term use? 👍
@@GosforthHandyman dunno, I bought one a year ago and it goes through everything I’ve used it for like butter. It’s also great value
I echo that. Bought one a while ago and drills 16mm holes as deep as you wanted. Not bothered about the motor alignment but there you go.
👍👍👍 Great info. Thanks Andy
Great timing Andy, just been researching these.
Cool - best of luck with them! 👍
Good instructional and review. Building screws in SS are A2, A4 is much better, at a cost. My guys would not clear the dust, like they wouldn't use a vacuum cleaner... that's for the girls. Macho men! You must anchor the decking. 60mph gusts or more would have it in next doors' garden. I've seen this. Makita drills have no clutch or snatch prevention. Heavy work can damage your wrist. They are available and a bigger drill (36v) is preferred. The little battery blower is great for these jobs.
A2 = ss304 = rust A4 = ss316 = no rust
Create a wooden skirting around the edge of the decking, which will stop wind getting under it and creating lift.
For this situation, I would have used concrete joist supports. The joists float on the support. No fasteners needed. It is good practice though to use an embedded or screwed down support every 8-10'. This depends on your likelihood for high winds.
Would these work for putting rubber ramps on a tarmac road
As a structural engineer, I would absolutely fix it down to the ground. Wind uplift is a real issue.
I live in tornado country in Texas. Which of those screws would you recommend to hold down a shed or deck? thanks
Never had that problem with my cordless DeWalt SDS
Jaysus 16 quid a piece for those fittings. I got a box of similar fitting from Screwfix for about €20. I was a bit pissed off having to buy a box of 50 because I only need 4 screws for a job I was doing at home. I can do ye a deal £450 quid for the 46 screws I have left lying in me shed ( I'll even pay the postage for ye 🙂 )
Watching the vertical drilling into the concrete, I did not see you lifting the drill out at frequent intervals to pull out the dust, not doing so will jam the drill quickly on deep holes.
After drilling, I use vacuum cleaner to suck the debris out of the drilled hole so that the concrete screw goes to the bottom every time.
Always found battery life very good on Makita LXT, but don't have an SDS - maybe it's the exception.
We have an old bosch 36v sds and a new bosch 18v sds plus, guy doing the decking ended up using the our bosch and then bought the new version himself. He had a makita 18v but the bigger stubby version compeared too your one. Myself as I have dewalt I get dewalt to keep it simple battery wise, did have mikita when roofing but found when i changed to doing concrete it didnt cut the mustard and dewalt was ahead of the pack before milwakee came though so were talking a good few years ago but they still hold up. Waiting for the new powerstack batterys as always theres issues with gen 1 stuff so kept my xr 5ah batteries. Looking to upgrade though but now the company will pay for my tools so will eventually go for new dewalt line. Not sure about the atomic 1/2" though as i would have no need for it 😂
I assume the decking gap is related to bridging the dpc or something ?
I have a set of brick steps outside my patio almost level with the floor of the lounge with a 20-30mm gap between the cavity wall & steps underneath the threshold. The person who built it with me agreed that it should not be physically attached to the house for 3 reasons :
1. There's no need to
2. Prevention of damp problems
3. If the steps drift or gradually move a few mm over the course a couple of decades, we dont want it pulling the house with it.
😆
12:52 If you leave a stopped drill bending back and forth sideways, you have just bent and destroyed an expensive sds concrete bit. I can see your chuck vibrate later. This will create a wider hole and a non gripping screw.
Probably not the most helpful if you are on a different battery platform but i haven't had any issues with the Bosch 18v sds "wimping out". Also the Bosch 18v blower has a really handy attachment for cleaning narrow holes without blowing dust in your face.
I have had reasonable luck clearing stuck bits by turning off the rotation and giving it a quick hammer.
Interesting! I wish they'd quote the rotational torque on the specs! 👍👍
I always prefer corded once. Makita 2630 is just great hammer drill.
Excellent video - but why did you put all your fittings off centre? Is it becuase you wanted it as far away from the decking for easier access?
And if the concrete is a bit marginal holding, add some gorilla foaming poly glue in the hole as well 😉 also have an air duster can hand to blow the hole out.
Great video, thank you. ❤
No worries!
36v Makita hammer drill 💪
From my heavy engineering days late 70s and before clutch drills were a thing it was "air" tools. Anyone seen using electric drills were sternly talked to about potential wrist snapping. Air stops dead on release, electric not so.
Those smaller pan head ones would be good for attaching sheet metal to the wall, maybe some form of brackets
Also fireproof fixings for electrical equipment and cable containment.. (okay, this is basically sheet metal)
Yup! 👍👍
My Ryobi battery SDS is generally for DIY jobs but anything heavy duty and the mains SDS come out
If you have super light blocks like my house drilling a hole collapses the hole . compression doesn't work as block splits. Drill hole v carefully maybe not use hammer action. Then fill hole with no nails, then after 10 mins use screw. It still won't take anything heavy so sorry you will have to build up from floor. This is where I had brainwave - panneled walling.
It’s like looking at myself, always running into unexpected problems. 😅😅
Do you use A2 or A4 stainless screws?
I find the heads on A2 are more prone to camming out but they are half the price...
Not sure you drilled the hole deep enough in the second example. You used the batten to work out how much of the concrete screw would be in the block, which probably meant you didn't drill deep enough. You should have just measured the screw length and then added on your inch.....because you were drilling through the batten (simulating a door frame).
Nice vid
Yeah, i am not a fan of SDS drills and bits myself, happy to stick with standard masonry drill bits in a hammer drill. Maybe if you drilled holes in masonry for a living, but for the home handy man they are an expensive specialist tool you dont need.
Not true when the walls are made of concrete blocks: an SDS is essential because a standard hammer drill will not work!
A leaf blower really gets like 5% of the powder out. That is still fine only because the drilled hole is deep enough to accommodate the left over powder. If just using leaf blower save the effort and dont even bother to use it.😂.
That pump however gets 95% of the powder out.
I think bosch have the upper hand in sds drills
Ive always had the concern when you drill a hole and you push and pull the drill (to clear the dust out of the hole) your making the hole diameter slightly larger 🤔any thoughts anyone
Good video. Why use stainless screws when all the other parts , bracket and concrete screw, are a plated steel?
Cheers! The brackets are stainless but I couldn't justify the cost of stainless concrete screws (other than the freebie Fischer ones I used which are nearly £7 each). The Fischers are in the most critical area, towards the front of the deck. 👍
@@GosforthHandyman You should not mix stainless and zinc plated. The zinc will be corroded. If it was going to be dry you could use plastic top hat washers to separate. But these fixings will be wet for extend periods of time.
Every tried a side handle - for the sake of your wrist?
At 5:20 I saw where you should have put the marking tape but then you put the tape nearly an inch further away. No wonder it bottomed out.
Yeah - usual case of camera on, brain off. 😂
Is that right??? Those 10mm Fischer fixings work out at £13.54 each!!!!!!?????🤔
Plus VAT = £16.26!!
He's pointing at the bigger ones by mistake, his appear to be the 8x90, which are 'merely' £6.93 each (including the dreaded). But yeah, they're incredibly expensive. Hardened stainless steel. Very, very high end fixing for very serious structural applications.
Oops well spotted @Monkeh161! For whatever reason Rawlplug base the size on the outer diameter but Fischer base it on the inner. So yes those ones are just £346.25 per pack. 😂👍
@@GosforthHandyman Still a lot!
Wait what? Fischer concrete screws….is that right? Purportedly £1461 with VAT (before discount) for what…FIFTY units. That’s £28 per 4” screw. The supplier is extortionate…even after discount and without VAT for Tradies that is still 14 quid PER SCREW. CRAZY!!! I’d want them gold plated for that.
Silica dust causes health problems, even outside you should wear a mask and definitely never use such overkill methods such as a leaf-blower (which you can see causes a plume of dust that blew straight towards you.) a paint brush is adequate in that situation.
For TV and looks easy but I look like a mortar concrete in the real world concrete screws always give you trouble
9:11 £16.26 for each screw! Wow!!!
I got the wrong ones - these are just £6.93 each. 😂
Dunno man, they just seem so much hassle with a lot of variables. Surely hammer fixings or plugs are better?
Different loading class. These can probably handle 5-10x the load. 👍
Good video but I don't think you can go wrong with drill and plug
**SAFE DRILLING** 🦺🤕
Hi Andy, I recently found this helpful video: "Bosch Professional Safe Drilling Techniques" - th-cam.com/video/psvLw1TdAlU/w-d-xo.html
Always use the extra handle on SDS and bigger more powerful drills, with it kicking INTO the palm so you can catch it 👍
Do they work in asbestos?
I wouldn't recommend it. 🤔
@@GosforthHandyman I'm renovating my nuclear waste containment site, do you think concrete screws would prevent cracking?
Use a vacuum to clean out the holes! And those holes are barely holding screws. Give away all your tools today!
17:58 You’re using 4Ah 18V batteries in your drill and blower. The energy contained in such a battery is 4x18=72Wh. Motor size in these tools is probably around 500W so the maximum duration would be ~8.5 minutes! Buy bigger batteries!!
Sounds about right! The brushless one would probably be an improvement too. 👍