How would I make a 50mm hole through a 10 inch layer of bricks?

MarcLister

MarcLister

MarcLister

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I've got a brick arrangement in my basement that mirrors where the fireplaces are on the ground and first floor. There is no fireplace in my room nor a flue. To give me more options to run network and HDMI cables around the room I've been thinking about the possiblity of making a 50mm circular hole through both the sides of the brick arrangement. Each side of the brick arrangement is about 10 inches thick. I currently store my DVD collection within the arrangement. There is 33 inches between each side of the brick arrangement hence the need to make 2 holes of about 10 inches deep. My plan is to make the hole as close to the floor and the back of the brickwork as possible.

Not being a DIY-er in any way is such a thing possible? I guess I'd need a decent drill and an accessory that would go through brick and give me a 50mm circular hole? Can anyone recommend such a drill and accessory to do this? No ideas on budget for this yet. Would it be worth just hiring a drill and the necessory accessories rather than buying a drill for what is effectively a one-off job?

I realise I may not have given all the details needed to help answer my query so please feel free to ask if you need more information to come up with a solution. :)
 
Depends how neat you want it, 50mm is too big for an SDS drill and to make a lovely job of it you could need to diamond drill it with a core bit. Problem you have will be the drill you'll need and the kit you'll have to buy.

You can hire a diamond drilling firm. They may do it as a pop in for a few quid.
 
Cheers for the reply maccapacca. :) Thought it would be a complicated idea I've come up with. Any ideas what kind of cost a diamond drilling firm might charge? £100 or so?

The nice thing about doing it myself is that I can move the furniture around as I need it. Getting a firm in would mean having to move loads of stuff.
 
Why does it need to be 50mm?

If you're just wanting to run cables then a couple of 25-30mm holes should be adequate and much easier to achieve using more basic tools.
 
why dont you just pop down your local tool hire shop and see what they got would be cheaper to hire and do it over a weekend say at your convenience,or google national tool hire as they start hire from 25 pound a day or 33 pound for a weekend
 
A 20mm hole is sufficient for a terminated hdmi cable (i ran hdmi everywhere here) and achievable with a regular sds drill
 
At that size you would be using a hole saw, I used a 105mm one for my tumbledrier vent when I first moved into my house. Any ads drill will fit just don't buy anything branded challenge from Argos as it will burst into flames before you manage 4 inches of brick. My dad bought me the hole saw from boyes for 15 quid.
 
theone8181 said:
At that size you would be using a hole saw, I used a 105mm one for my tumbledrier vent when I first moved into my house. Any ads drill will fit just don't buy anything branded challenge from Argos as it will burst into flames before you manage 4 inches of brick. My dad bought me the hole saw from boyes for 15 quid.
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I disagree, i have a chsllenge extreme SDS Plus drill and it has drilled about 8 163mm cores through very tough brick and block, knocked down walls, drilled hundreds of holes in concrete for anchors, drilled 25mm holes through double brick walls, dug up floors and is still going strong. Been an absolute workhorse!

Even if it does, take it back and get it replaced. Argos are excellent at that.
 
My only complaint is this is 2015.

INCHES ARE NO LONGER USED

Hang your head in shame and sacrifice a pet.
 
Inches are still used all over, sometimes its hidden but its still an imperial size.

America still use imperial, I work on drawings every day that have the likes of features 9.525 diameter on 38.1 pcd and just shrug and get on with it.

Metric has never really taken hold, we've only just started to use KG, good example would be how many KPG does your car do? ;)
 
SPG said:
My only complaint is this is 2015.

INCHES ARE NO LONGER USED

Hang your head in shame and sacrifice a pet.
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Never understand this notion that Metric is somehow "newer" than Imperial and as such Imperial is old fashioned. Its just a different measuring system, both are equally valid and both are ancient systems from hundreds of years ago.
 
SPG said:
My only complaint is this is 2015.

INCHES ARE NO LONGER USED

Hang your head in shame and sacrifice a pet.
Click to expand...

Do you drive in the UK?

Majority of things driving-based is measured in imperial apart from the measurements of fuel units we purchase.
 
Remember that if you put a few cables through the hole gets smaller
i.e. after 3-4 cables if you want to put a cable with a plug on the end say hdmi,dvi etc it may well not go through

another option is to use a smaller SDS bit and make a larger hole with a lot of smaller holes in a circle :)
 
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Is 50mm going to be wide enough? I'm guessing that you're going to need to put a pipe in there to connect the two holes, else cables could get lost in the space between the walls.
 
andicole0 said:
Google a Rolson 24921 50mm Core Drill Bit .

Andi.
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The description of that drill bit says:

A core drill bit can be used to enlarge an existing hole. The name comes from its first use, for drilling out the hole left by a foundry core, a cylinder placed in a mould for a casting that leaves an irregular hole in the product. A core drill bit is similar to a reamer as they don’t have a cutting point or means of starting a hole. They have 3 or 4 flutes which enhances the finish of the hole and ensures the bits cut evenly.

Would it still drill through brick?
 
Pabl0 said:
Just go to your local hire centre and ask for a core drill and core set with extension, really simple.
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Yep, agreed. Alternatively, buy one for about £20 for a good one. You'll need to water the drill as it's going in and take it slow, no hammering. When you get to the end pull the rill out and chisel the middle out so you can go deeper (oooh errr) and start again until you're all the way through.
 
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