# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Core Drilling into a Masonary or Brick Retaining Wall

## DaleBlack

Hi 
I need to drill about 3, 60mm wide by 100mm long holes in a retaining wall that runs along my driveway. So its a horizontal drilling position not vertically into the ground. I am putting step lights into the wall. They have a 69*69mm  square face plate. 
I can borrow for free a Tyrolit DME20 core drill and will hire a 60 or 64mm bit. 
I don't have a rig it will be handheld, however I was warned they have extreme torque well beyond the std hammer drills (SDS) that I am used to and if they catch can break your wrist. 
The manual talks about_"touching the surface with the core bit in a slight angle of about 30degrees to the axe. After the bit has word its way into the object for about 1/8 of the circle circumference turn the core drill up into a right angled position_"   
or_ " use a drilling start aid which helps it to keep track for the first few mm, can be a wooden plate with a recess in it in the shape of a triangle through which the core bit can be guided" _ Maybe a wooden template like this   
in relation to the starting at a angle, see this video at about 42seconds he uses an angle to bit in and then straightens up.    
Has anyone had experience in using core drills manually.

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## Gaza

Yea few tricks to it 
but cost of hire is total over top 
Better to find local bloke to do job or get but that fits in sds on eBay    
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## Pulse

aldi had some a while ago, I bought done on eBay in the end, run them on an ozito rotary hammer, without hammer. Take it slow with lots of water. My set has a pilot drill, I agree, start at slight angle to get a groove then staring then up. An ozito won't break your wrists hopefully   
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## phild01

I have found doing approx 80mm holes in sandstone, tough on the rotary when you get down deep, even with lots of water.
(using a segmented tungsten hole cutter).
Without a pilot, the angled start is necessary to be on centre.

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## Pulse

I've done 110mm through 40yo concrete, horizontal 150mm long, motor melted with second bit of Reo though, second drill finished the job using diamond bits  
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## Pulse

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/262047879716 
much like this set  
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## intertd6

A plywood template is the go, make it big enough so you can nail into the mortar joints to hold it to the wall.
inter

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## DaleBlack

> A plywood template is the go, make it big enough so you can nail into the mortar joints to hold it to the wall.
> inter

  Hi, will post again re my attempt. 
When the holes are bored at 63mm my light unit at 60mm will be slightly loose in the hole, what is best to affix it into place in the middle of the hole? just silastic?

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## intertd6

> Hi, will post again re my attempt. 
> When the holes are bored at 63mm my light unit at 60mm will be slightly loose in the hole, what is best to affix it into place in the middle of the hole? just silastic?

  just bore through the plywood on the ground with the core cutter, start it off between your boots. Whala perfectly sized template hole.
inter

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## havabeer

i used a core drill to put a 60mm hole through a single brick wall to run some PVC pipe. 
went through it like butter and i don't remember it kicking or bucking, it was also in a horizontal position. 
was a hired one, and cost about $90 to drill one hole, but i'd rather pay that and do the job in 5min then piss fart around with other alternatives

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## DaleBlack

Hi all 
Drilled the first hole last night. 
Used the core drill bit to drill into the pine 4x2, (lots of smoke!) . 
Fixed the pine 4x2 template up against the wall with a clamp and one drilled in 5.5MM hole with a Tapcon masonry anchor. 
Connected water and set the gear to 2, despite the machine saying >60mm should be on gear 1 (most torque), only because i was worried about the kickback if something went wrong. 
It drilled no problems, no quite like butter, I had to put a little pressure on it, but mostly you seem to have to simply wait for it to go through - maybe 2 mins to go in about 130mm. 
see images below   
The only issue I have is the bit was sold as OD of 63MM but the vernier guage says 65mm when I place it on the diamond cutting teeth which is a little annoying. The hole itself came out at almost 68mm. 
Though that was the render section, and it was moving around alot at the start of the drilling (probably using a stand would have stopped this), i think the hole in the brickwork further in would be closer to 65mm 
The square aluminium faceplate you can see in the images above is only 69*69 so only just covers the hole. 
See below,  
Q1
what is a good method/materials to ensure the 60mm OD plastic tube can be centered in the larger hole its sitting in? 
I assume the lights are meant to be able to be pulled out for service, so whilst i can glue the round black tube in, the light fitting itself willl normally just hold itself in via its spring brackets. 
Q2 
Separate to fixing the round black plastic tube in place, if i also need to glue the back of the aluminium faceplate to the brick to position it exactly and cover the gaps, what can I use that still allows me to pry it back off in the future? 
thanks

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