[stec00]

This is basically a post to invite lots of people to tell me I'm being stupid!

I'm considering buying a vented tumble drier to put in the garage.

[Seems the Internet's a bit of a minefield on this with pretty much 50% of people saying condenser driers are better and the other half saying vented are far superior... depends on the location, what's important to you e.g. economy, faster drying etc. and also the make/model - have already changed my mind on this a couple of times but am now erring on the vented site, one of the main reasons being several people have said condenser pipes freezing could be a problem.]

Anyway, back to the point - if I go through with it I'll need a hole in the single skin garage wall. I'm not at home right now but think the walls are made out of large concrete blocks similar to breeze blocks - I've drilled small holes into them before and wouldn't say they are particularly hard.

So I'm just wondering what the most cost-effective way of drilling said big hole would be. Seems most people are saying "hire a core drill". I did look into this and it looks like around £45 minimum in the local tool hire places + extra if the bit gets worn (may be cos of having to pay a premium for living in Bath).

Don't really fancy the other suggested option of lots of holes in a circle followed by chiselling - sounds messy. So looking at the cheap (and nasty) options there are various budget core drill ends on eBay, the dirt cheapest being this - http ://www .ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-110MM-SDS-TCT-TUNGSTEN-CORE-DRILL-HOLE-CUTTER-/230565441958?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash= item35aec571a6#ht_1513wt_954. Probably complete rubbish at that price I know but I'm thinking if it will do the job eventually even if it takes a fair bit of struggling, slightly mangled end and a few swear words I might give it a go...

Now here's the bit where you can all tell me I'm an idiot. I don't have a proper core drill with a clutch but do have a very nice and pretty powerful Worx drill. It's not SDS so first question, (which I think I know the answer to) is is there any chance of putting an SDS cutter like the one above into this, tightening it up hard and giving it a go. Having never tried such a thing I've no idea what the forces involved are but am guessing the answer will be no way - it'll get stuck and break your wrist. Would that really be a big risk? Even if I take my time go slow (the drill is quite torquey) and keep pulling it out at intervals? Guessing this still isn't an option but as mentioned I'm really just posting here really to be told for sure... Thanks for any replies :-)

[petej]

The core drills we used to use 30 years ago were large powerful drills without clutches, they had long bar screwed into the side handle thread to give you more leverage when the drill did snatch (but it still took you by surprise)

You could put a SDS bit into a chuck but if it slipped it would chew up the bit.

I would buy a 8 or 10mm masonry bit and carefully stitch drill the wall avoiding breaking through to fast and then chip the block out carefully with a hammer and chistle.
The vent kit will tidy up and slight raggedness of the hole.

I could have done the job faster than typing this

Pete

[Gemma Bush]

Hire a core drill from your local hire shop with 5" cutter. buy a kit from local hardware shop. drill through a thin bit of wood with the cutter first. then use that bit of wood o hold core drill in place. fit kit to ensure that moisture does not get in the cavity.