Drilling for a ground anchor - can I do it?

[Mrs Pingu]

I'll need some ground anchors installing in our new garage. Last time I got our local security firm to do it, but this time I'm wondering if I might be able to get it done sooner after moving if I DIM.
I've got a noname mains powered non hammer drill, so assuming the floor will be concrete and not solid granite should the drilling of holes for the anchor be something I can achieve myself without big swears? Or should I GAMI?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Depends if there is steel reinforcement in the concrete. Most concrete drill bits have problems with reo.

[Feanor]

For drilling concrete, a non-hammer drill won't even look at it.
A hammer drill might make a wee dent in it, if you swear enough.

You need an SDS drill for this job.

I have one with a selection of the more commonly used bit sizes (for mounting sleeve anchors and the like) if you want to borrow it...

(And yes, reinforcement might throw a curveball.)

[Tim Hall]

For concrete a hammer drill of some sort is the way to go. SDS is better than a vanilla hammer drill (which aren't very hammer-y). Suitable masonry bit is a must.

In your situation I'd probably try to DIM then GAMI if it doesn't work. What diameter and depth of hole?


(X post with Feanor)

[Little Jim]

And if the drill does not have a hammer action it might take quite a while.  It is possibly cheaper to buy a SDS drill than GAMI (Axminster Tools have a Bosch one for £105 and you could get a Chinese Special for less than that I expect).  If the concrete is reinforced it will probably be just a top and bottom mesh so think 200mm or so centres for the bars, but if you do hit one you will not make any progress, but if it is just a standard garage at the side of the house there may not be any mesh in it at all.

[Mrs Pingu]

Hmm sounds like GAMI might be less stress (I'm good at starting things thinking they were easy and then wishing I hadn't). 16mm x 90mm holes.

[Little Jim]

16mm needs a SDS drill, or an awful lot of patience.

[Feanor]

The other thing to think about is what kind of anchors you are going to use.

Regular sleeve anchors can just be un-screwed by a miscreant.
You'd want to look at security anchors, which have a one-way cam pattern on their heads, along with a corresponding tool to tighten them up.

[hatler]

I did exactly this recently myself.

Hired an SDS drill from the local tool hire place (£20 I think) and had the four holes drilled in about 20 minutes.

I'd previously drilled two ground anchor holes in the same slab with a straight hammer drill (before I knew there was such a thing as an SDS drill), and it took me bloomin' hours, and much swearing.

SDS drill went through the slab like butter in comparison. The principal concern was going too deep too quickly.

[De Sisti]

The other thing to think about is what kind of anchors you are going to use.

Regular sleeve anchors can just be un-screwed by a miscreant.

Hammer in a ball bearing to prevent unscrewing.

[robgul]

No question you need an SDS drill (I bought a Bauker one from Toolstation recently, with a range of drill bits and chisels included - about £70 - does the job) 

Special bolts work work for anchors, and fixing with resin seems to make them pretty permanant too (to the point that you have to grind them off to remove)

You could look here   https://securityforbikes.com/  for some useful info and supplies, and Steve is very helpful.  [If you read the About section you'll see the connection to yacf - if you didn't already know]

[Paul]

… [If you read the About section you'll see the connection to yacf - if you didn't already know]

Aw, blimey. If you furtle deep enough, there are some pics from a forum ride in 2006 which will make some of us misty-eyed.

Thanks, Rob (and Doc and Mr Squid).

[Mrs Pingu]

The other thing to think about is what kind of anchors you are going to use.

Regular sleeve anchors can just be un-screwed by a miscreant.

Hammer in a ball bearing to prevent unscrewing.

Yes, I think many of the kits you buy come with these, at least when I looked up the Abus model we currently have in the bike suite it does.

[MattH]

SDS drill is definitely the way to go. I bought a Titan from Screwfix for chiselling up our kitchen floor tiles. Since then it's been used for drilling into concrete for security stuff and holes through walls. It eats anything you put in front of it.
More money will get you nicer quality, but mine is more than adequate for occasional DIY. If I did anything more than occasional SDS use my house would be reduced to a pile of dust. For the cost of GAMI you could get one of those and the right size SDS bit (unless it already comes in the kit) and it'll take you minutes to do it. Having an SDS drill around is useful when you need to do other things on the new place.

[hatler]

The other thing to think about is what kind of anchors you are going to use.

Regular sleeve anchors can just be un-screwed by a miscreant.

Hammer in a ball bearing to prevent unscrewing.

Yes, I think many of the kits you buy come with these, at least when I looked up the Abus model we currently have in the bike suite it does.

This one certainly does (come with balls).

[Mrs Pingu]

That is exactly the model we currently have.

[Gattopardo]

Don't buy an oxford ground anchor.  They are useless.

[Basil]

Aw, blimey. If you furtle deep enough, there are some pics from a forum ride in 2006 which will make some of us misty-eyed.

Ooh gosh.  There I am. Several times. Happy memories.

[mzjo]

SDS drill is definitely the way to go. I bought a Titan from Screwfix for chiselling up our kitchen floor tiles. Since then it's been used for drilling into concrete for security stuff and holes through walls. It eats anything you put in front of it.
More money will get you nicer quality, but mine is more than adequate for occasional DIY. If I did anything more than occasional SDS use my house would be reduced to a pile of dust. For the cost of GAMI you could get one of those and the right size SDS bit (unless it already comes in the kit) and it'll take you minutes to do it. Having an SDS drill around is useful when you need to do other things on the new place.

What the french call a perforateur. When we moved in, nearly 20 years ago I bought a cheap 650w one to chisel the backfill out of the basement. It has handled 20mm holes through 60cm (600mm for the pedants) granite walls easily as well as chiselling off 20 sq m of tiling on the kitchen floor. It is the go to tool for drilling small holes for wall plugs amongst other things. I have since inherited a 1700w monster from my parents but that doesn't do any more than the little one; it's just a bit faster when gravity is helping!
The thing about rebar is that if you end up with your hole just alongside or less than half on the drill bit will wind itself in on the wire. If you're a bit lucky you can use reverse to back out of the hole. If not you end up wriggling the drill around enlarging the hole in the process, which doesn't help you. A lot of the anchor bolts need accurately drilled holes to grip properly. Hilti used to be bad for this (needed the Hilti drill and bits to avoid trouble - but that was 4o years ago). Holes need to be deep enough but not too deep. Don't test your hole with the anchor bolt, use a long screwdriver or similar to gauge the depth.

[nuttycyclist]

As everybody else says, SDS drill is what you need.

I went to do some DIY when I moved in, hammer drill wouldn't touch it, so I immediately bought an SDS.  About £50 from local hardware shop.  I don't regret it.   It's had a decade of use, from putting in holes for shelves/curtain poles (window lintels are too hard for a hammer drill), breaking up concrete for replacement gate posts, and even chiselling out holes for new mains sockets when I extended the mains loom to put more than one single socket in the lounge to save having extension leads trailed everywhere.

[mzjo]

I think these days they are SDS+. There is also a baby SDS which is a proprietary Bosch fitting for cordless drills and SDS Max, for which you would need a second mortgage. Don't mistake the drill bits (a most unlikely event), there's no interchangeability. I am fairly certain there is between the original SDS and SDS+.

[nuttycyclist]

Checked mine, and it is a Silverline  SDS+  .

A google search shows a used version of mine on ebay @ £30, a different brand at £50 with free delivery, and other silverline ones of a newer model ranging up to £80.

It's one of the many tools I've had to buy in the past for a single job, and which have been in use and abuse for many years.

[FifeingEejit]

Faither put an Abus ground anchor in his garage where I used to keep my bikes at my request.
On the basis that
a) He did it without much pressing
b) He did it and didn't moan like fuck for a week afterwards and use it as a reason for me to help bleed all of the car brakes
c) He said "I fitted your floor anchor this weekend" abnormally cheerily.

I suspect it's not too difficult a task with an SDS Hammer Drill.
He's been moaning like fuck about needing to change brake caliper bolts on my car if that gives an idea of difficulty.

[Kim]

If the concrete is reinforced it will probably be just a top and bottom mesh so think 200mm or so centres for the bars

That sounds like the sort of thing you could locate with one of those metal detector things.

[De Sisti]

My ancient Black and Decker drill has a hammer action, which I used in conjunction with extra-hardened drill bits to drill through the concrete floor of my shed, securing the ground anchor.
 
I also used a Torc Mega ground anchor and Almax motorbike chains.
 
I have an Oxford Brute Force anchor for the bike secured to the wall of shed.