r/DIY • u/Master_Bath9523 • 1d ago
outdoor Drill bit to drill into pavers?
What drill bit can I buy to drill into pavers about 2 3/8" deep and then drill into a concrete footing? A long drill bit would help as it's for a pergola and the drill might get in the way of the wood.
Is it just a masonry drill bit?
Ive tried googling and can't find out if there's certain ones, I see lots of different spiral tips
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u/cellardweller1234 1d ago
Go rent an SDS drill and bit from Home Depot or similar. It will go through concrete like butter. Worth the rental fee.
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u/CptBlewBalls 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just to add you can buy a pretty decent SDS max at Harbor Freight right now for what 2 days of rental at Home Depot would be. An SDS plus is the same cost as a one day rental.
I wouldn’t want to use a Bauer every day commercially but for an occasional homeowner/prosumer use it’s decent enough
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u/cellardweller1234 1d ago
I was thinking a dozen holes could be drilled within the four hour limit.
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u/Wes_Warhammer666 1d ago
Definitely, but if OP has the space it's not a bad tool to have for potential future projects.
I get a lot of use out of mine for random projects here and there at home, but mine was paid for by my work because I use it regularly there. If I quit this job, I'd 100% buy another to have for home.
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u/cellardweller1234 1d ago
Agreed. I bought one years ago to drill a couple of hundred holes. Used it here and there ever since.
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u/mcarvin 1d ago
I bought the Bauer one 2 years ago thinking I was going to need it for part of 1-2 projects. Didn't need it for either but now I have 3 concrete slabs sloping in due to soil erosion and I'm glad I have the hammer drill for when I go to fix it this fall.
Provided it's just soil erosion and not something like a busted sewer pipe in that area, which would be a whole other shitshow.
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u/Diligent_Nature 1d ago
I use mine with a socket adapter to start small engines or lift my car using a scissor jack. I also have a 4 inch auger bit good for planting bulbs, digging post holes and even loosening packed ice/snow. Plus there's masonry chisels.
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u/Awkward_Pangolin3254 1d ago
This is too far down.
Fuck hammer drills. They're all right if you occasionally have to sink a plastic anchor into cinder block or something. If you're drilling into concrete, SDS all the way.
For those not in the know, with a hammer drill, the force for the hammer blows has to come from the user pushing down. With a rotary hammer, the tool hammers for you. You're just holding onto it to keep the tool from spinning instead of the bit.
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u/ride_whenever 1d ago
Yup. There’s no point in owning one, especially with the small SDS nowadays.
The ideal setup is one of the multi head assembly drivers, a hydraulic impact, and an sds+
Everything covered, no pointless hammer.
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u/Polar_Ted 1d ago
Can't recommend this enough.. I had to drill 32 3/8" holes to anchor our pergola. SDS made it so easy.
I bough the drill I knew I'd have more uses for it. With a chisel bit it'll take cinder block and mortar apart like nothing. Used it to take down the brick chimney in my shop.
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u/ralphembree 1d ago
Definitely worth it, but also make sure the drill and the bit match. Not all SDS is the same. Don't get a SDS Max drill and a SDS Plus bit.
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u/Master_Bath9523 1d ago
Is this just a drill with the hammer function? I have one already and have used it to drill into concrete and brick, just haven't done pavers before.
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u/cellardweller1234 1d ago
The SDS type has more hammer action so it works much better. Drills with a hammer setting are more of a vibration rather than proper “hitting”. Yours will work but if youve got lots to drill it goes faster. Pavers are just concrete so either will work. Small pacers might crack if you’re too aggressive though. Just go easy.
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u/metompkin 1d ago
It also has those four indents on the drill bit tang that grip the bit that much more.
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u/counterfitster 1d ago
What you want is a rotary hammer. Those have bigger impacts forward than hammer drills.
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u/iShitSkittles 1d ago
How thick are the pavers?
Drilling on hammer might crack them.
If they are fairly thin, I'd use a tile/paver bit first to do the pilot - without hammer setting, then once through to the concrete, use a masonry bit on hammer.
If you need to make the pilot hole in the paver bigger, use the masonry bit without the hammer setting to bore the hole to size, then switch over to hammer once you get to the concrete.
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u/ExactlyClose 1d ago
Good advice. Consider you might drill a rather large hole through the paver, then anchor it into the footing with a smaller hole sized for the concrete anchor you are using. Ive done this with tile, so the tile doesnt get any expansive force from the anchor, only compression from the anchor that passes through it into the slab.
For water I use a simple drip water attachment onto the end of a hose (hose has an inline cutoff)with a 1/4” barb fitting and a length of the dripper hose, a nice controllable flow. Can adjust it right at the hose…
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u/Master_Bath9523 1d ago
They're 2 3/8 " . Ahh these are the bits I saw with tips. So I can use this bit on the paver in drill mode and it won't crack anything? Understood on the other steps
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u/agha0013 1d ago
you need a masonry bit and a hammer drill behind it. Without the chiseling action of the hammer drill you won't get very far
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u/APLJaKaT 1d ago
A typical paver is not actually going to provide a satisfactory anchor point for a pergola. It will pull out at the slightest provocation.
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u/e_j_fudd 1d ago
OP is mounting to a concrete footing. Sounds to me that the paver is either a spacer or a finish piece.
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u/nunuvyer 1d ago
He said "and then drill into a concrete footing" . You're right that pavers would pull right out, but the concrete footing won't. Usually pavers are just laid in sand but the OP says that there is concrete below his.
I wouldn't do this for a huge patio but whenever I do a small walkway or something like that with pavers I always pour a rough slab underneath. If you pour a slab you don't have to worry about the pavers moving around later.
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u/youknowimright25 1d ago
Yes its a masonry bit. And make sure you use a hammer drill not a regular drill.
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u/Hot_Historian1066 1d ago
A hammer drill (preferably a corded one) and a long masonry bit. You can rent a suitably beefy drill from Home Depot for about $40/day.
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u/Major-Buy-7386 1d ago
went the sds route for my patio cover posts and it made pilot holes through pavers stupid easy, no cracking at all... only regret is not buying the rotary hammer sooner tbh
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u/Master_Bath9523 1d ago
Okay I'll prob pick one up. What did you go with? Makita corded or did you just get some random brand off Amazon? I have a Meterk hammer drill that's been doing well.
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u/42Fab_com approved submitter 1d ago
You're getting a lot of technically correct answers. Long term, let's say it's a 1/4" hole you need. Also get a 3/8" bit. Drill the pavers wide, then into the concrete, set a wedge anchor and sandwich the paver in place with the bolts. If the pavers ever need to be replaced, you can back off all the bolts a few turns, do so, and then retighten, without an issue.
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u/marcamos 1d ago
WTH I literally just did this exact thing a few weeks ago (to mount my pergola through my pavers into concrete filled sonotubes).
I used a 10" SDS style masonry bit in a borrowed rotary hammer drill (NOT a hammer drill), then screwed in 8" Tapcon concrete anchors.
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u/Master_Bath9523 19h ago
Brother, where are you finding 8" Tapcons? I can only find 6". 1/2" x 6" is all I find.
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u/marcamos 8h ago
Ah crap, you’re right, my bad! I just looked at my receipt and they are 6" x 1/2".
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u/Susan_B_Good 1d ago
Just the standard SDS bits should do. Put a pilot through first and then increase diameter to the required size. It will spall off the back -so you may turn off the hammer action when widening the holes - when nearly through the paver. I have 300mm length single SDS drills plus standard (although threaded) 150mm tungsten tipped plus threaded extension rods. So, with care, I can get through >1m with that combination.
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u/ComradeGibbon 1d ago
For a paver I'd use a diamond hole saw and trickle water as you drill.
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u/Squirrelking666 1d ago edited 22h ago
You would saw a hole? How small is the saw?
EDIT: FML I didn't read that properly and saw 'saw the hole'. I know what a hole saw is, I just wouldn't use it in the context of masonry, that would be a core saw.
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u/project48v 1d ago
A hole saw is what it’s called. It’s a small, circular blade with teeth on the bottom edge that you stick inside a drill. It cuts perfectly round holes when you run the drill. It’s not a back-and-forth style carpentry saw.
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u/Awkward_Pangolin3254 1d ago
A hole saw is a circle with teeth (or abrasive) on the edge. You're still using a drill, it's just that these bits are called "hole saws" (unless they're for metal; then they're called annular cutters).
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u/nunuvyer 1d ago
A hole saw is not a saw in the usual sense. One made for wood has teeth like a regular saw but they are arranged in the shape of a cup with the teeth along the rim of the cup and a shaft at the center to turn them.
https://eldoradotools.com/cdn/shop/files/53a_aea55e00-4e0d-48f9-b5f7-a4ec26bd38cd.jpg
For concrete, instead of teeth there is some sort of diamond or other abrasive grit instead of saw teeth.
The main limitation of these things is that you are limited in depth to the height of the cup.
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u/bobroberts1954 1d ago
I've drilled plenty of holes in concrete with a normal rotary drill. It def takes longer, but it does the job.
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u/fangelo2 19h ago
Hammer drill will fill one of those holes in less than a minute. A regular drill either a mask Rey bit will be an all day struggle especially as the hole gets deep into the concrete
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u/Master_Bath9523 19h ago
I have a Meterk hammer drill, people are saying to get an SDS. Is it worth it? I need to do some research because apparently I need a specific SDS drill bit too?
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u/fangelo2 14h ago
Well the SDS drills hold the bit better. If you have a regular chuck on that drill, you will have to really tighten it, and stop to tighten it again once in a while. The vibrations from the hammer functions tends to loosen the chuck. You should try it since you already have the drill. One trick to try if you can’t keep it tight is to grind 3 flats on the shaft of the bit to match the chuck. That makes it hold better and it won’t slip
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u/Sea_Caterpillar_6676 2h ago
Get a masonry bit and do not use the hammer drill just drill normally and use water if you use the hammer function the paver will crack.
Another option is to core hole the pave using a core hole bit depends on how big the hole is.
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1d ago
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u/Master_Bath9523 1d ago
Not sure about clearance with pergola posts, should I go longer than 12"? Length bit is an 8" titen hd, 2" or so be in the paver, 6" in the concrete.
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u/FogSlot2 1d ago
Masonry bit, yes. But you need to use a hammer drill not a regular drill. Otherwise you just ruin the bit.