what type of drill bit do i use to drill through concrete (UPDATED)

vexingv

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2002
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no hardware wiz here. but i'm trying to mount some lights in my ceiling (which i believe is concrete). im not having much success in getting in deep. granted i only have a simple 12V black and decker, ive gotten to ~1 in. in one hole and 1.25 in another. and i need to get to about 2 in (or i may give up and just buy shorter screws).
i'm confused about what type of bit i should be using. ive got these black ones which i guess are the carbide tipped ones. and shiny silver ones with a slightly larger head, which i think are masonry bits. ive googled concrete bits and the ones shown look just like the ones i have. can anyone clarify or offer tips on drilling into a concrete ceiling?

UPDATE:
i was tired from drilling so i got shorter screws. i got a small pack of 1/4" 1-1/4" concrete screws from tapcon. i picked the 1/4" b/c ive been drilling with a 3/16" drill bit. tried screwing them into the drilled holes. no go. all the threading came off. i thought these concrete screws were designed to cut through?

new screw and attempted screw for comparison[/L]
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Should use masonary bits. They have a wider head, the carbide tip, than is the rest of the bit. usually silver, although some bosch ones for percussion/hammer drills are black oxide finished.

A hammer drill would drill much faster.
 

Jassi

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2004
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Masonry and be very careful. A friend of mine snapped a masonry bit but he was extremely lucky. I would love to give advice but I forgot what another friend told us (very angrily) after this happened.
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: Jassi
Masonry and be very careful. A friend of mine snapped a masonry bit but he was extremely lucky. I would love to give advice but I forgot what another friend told us (very angrily) after this happened.

wear safety goggles, seriously, esp when drilling through concrete, or using rather thin bits.
 

vexingv

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2002
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o...ok. i was confusing the dark colored ones for carbide tipped. i guess they're just black oxide. i guess i'll stick to using the silver masonry bits. though i remember at home depot the bits they had labelled for concrete were dark colored.
 

vexingv

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2002
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Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: Jassi
Masonry and be very careful. A friend of mine snapped a masonry bit but he was extremely lucky. I would love to give advice but I forgot what another friend told us (very angrily) after this happened.

wear safety goggles, seriously, esp when drilling through concrete, or using rather thin bits.

i actually wear a mask so that i dont breathe in the dust but removed my safety googles b/c of the fogging due to the mask pushing the vapor into the goggles. guess i'll put the goggles back on
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: vexingv
o...ok. i was confusing the dark colored ones for carbide tipped. i guess they're just black oxide. i guess i'll stick to using the silver masonry bits. though i remember at home depot the bits they had labelled for concrete were dark colored.

bosch are the only bits i currently know of that are black finished for [some of] their masonary bits.
 

vexingv

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2002
1,163
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Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: vexingv
o...ok. i was confusing the dark colored ones for carbide tipped. i guess they're just black oxide. i guess i'll stick to using the silver masonry bits. though i remember at home depot the bits they had labelled for concrete were dark colored.

bosch are the only bits i currently know of that are black finished for [some of] their masonary bits.

but in general is there such thing as a "concrete" specific bit or are they all really just masonry bits? i'm just really frustrated with this since its so tiring since i have to heave my body upwards and the drilling is getting nowhere, which is why i was thinking maybe some special concrete bit would solve my problem
 

Mo0o

Lifer
Jul 31, 2001
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Are you just holding a drill up w/ your arms and pushing up or is there a more elegant way to do it...
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: vexingv
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: vexingv
o...ok. i was confusing the dark colored ones for carbide tipped. i guess they're just black oxide. i guess i'll stick to using the silver masonry bits. though i remember at home depot the bits they had labelled for concrete were dark colored.

bosch are the only bits i currently know of that are black finished for [some of] their masonary bits.

but in general is there such thing as a "concrete" specific bit or are they all really just masonry bits? i'm just really frustrated with this since its so tiring since i have to heave my body upwards and the drilling is getting nowhere, which is why i was thinking maybe some special concrete bit would solve my problem

As far as I know, there are masonary bits, and percussion masonary bits, which are pretty much one and the same, except the percussion bits are hardned more so on the tip to take the blows from a hammer drill.

In your case, using a hammer drill would be about the only way to make the drilling faster.

How many holes are you drilling?
 

vexingv

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2002
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just 2 holes (thank god, though last year i had to mount 3 holes for a track light, that project took about 5 days to do simply b/c of the drilling). i knew it was going to be hard to drill up so i actually drilled on the side, but i didnt like the light falling down that way very much...
i'm putting up a flourescent fixture over my work desk so my eyes dont crap out this semester when i'm up late doing reading. i was previously using a small task/desk flourescent lamp but my desk area is too large for the lamps coverage. not to mention b/c of the close proximity of the lamp head i was getting a lot of glare off of the pages that i was reading.
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: nmcglennon
masonry bit... diamond tipped are better.

There are no diamond tipped masonary drill bits; as far as I know, masonary drill bits are 99% of the time tungsten carbide tipped, and ground/cut with diamonds.
 

Calin

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2001
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A masonry drill would work very poorly in concrete, unless it is propelled by a hammer drill. Even hammer drills would work poorly in some types of high strength concrete (as used in construction for pilon-based buildings).
However, using a normal drill bit (the one for wood) would be the worst possible choice, as the drill bit would loose its edge in short time.

The fluorescent lamps are a poor choice for lighting a computer monitor. You might prefer a spot light, the incandescent light is more pleasant for the eye (at least for my eyes)

Calin
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: Calin

The fluorescent lamps are a poor choice for lighting a computer monitor. You might prefer a spot light, the incandescent light is more pleasant for the eye (at least for my eyes)

Not to mention how they screw up the monitor if they're too close.
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: Calin

The fluorescent lamps are a poor choice for lighting a computer monitor. You might prefer a spot light, the incandescent light is more pleasant for the eye (at least for my eyes)

Not to mention how they screw up the monitor if they're too close.

electronic ballasted fluorescents even do that?
 

bunker

Lifer
Apr 23, 2001
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I bought a Tapcon masonry bit from home depot that went through concrete very nicely with a regular drill.
 
Nov 5, 2001
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yes, go to Home Depot, look for blue Tapcon screws and the special drill bit that goes with them. Use those. Drill bits are not any particular color based on use. You must learn to tell the difference between wood bits, metal bits, concrete/masonry bits, etc....

And a hammer drill is a must. Your Home Depot (assuming you have one) will rent you one for probably about $5 for 4 hours.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
PSA: Drill + concrete ceiling = concrete dust in your eyes = REALLY REALLY bad

Wear Safety Goggles!!