Drilling through a wall!

[silentalarm]

I'm not very DIY just wondered if drilling through a wall of a house is easy or not. I take it you need a hammer a drill. What size bit would be needed?

Second question what is the best co-ax cable? is it ct100?


Thanks in advance for any replies.

[BGonaSTICK]

CT100 certainly isn't the best, but it's probably the best general-use digital satellite coax at the standard (thin) diameter. Beyond that, they start getting thicker, with larger diameter F connectors etc. as well.

As for a drill, I take it you mean for drilling right through a wall from inside to out, as opposed to using one for mounting a dish on the outside etc?

I think the diameter markings have worn off mine now, but the hole will come up slightly larger than the drill, so just go for one that's the same size as the coax. It's the length that's more important (ooh err!).

You need one that's longer than the thickness of your wall. It needs to be a masonry bit too. If it becomes dull and stops cutting mid-way through, stop and get it sharpened. A decent drill should cut through the brick like a knife through butter.

And yes, you'll need a hammer drill. Don't push too hard, or you'll damage the tip by overheating it, and they ain't cheap.

Now I'm not an installer, but you need to take a lot of care when you do this. I think the professionals claim to drill from both the inside and the outside (meeting in the middle) after carefully measuring up (sounds bloody impossible to me) but the guys I've watched have gone from inside to outside, so that's what I do.

Yes, you can get a bit of break-though and some of the outer brick facing coming off, but you just have to try and minimise the damage by taking it easy towards the end. It's better than coming through in the wrong place indoors!

You must obviously check for wires and pipes using a locater before you start drilling too.

I drill mine through the skirting board (near the top) and angle the drill downwards slightly to stop water running along the coax and into my house.

LOL, there are probably professional installers reading this and wetting themselves

[Mship]

The best type of drill for going through a wall are the 'SDS' type. I put a 22mm hole through my wall with one of these and it only took 5 or 10 Min's. If you can get hold of one of these then it will make the job much easier for you .

A standard hammer drill vibrates to much and is not really made for drilling big holes through walls.

The size of drill really depends on how many cables you are wanting to put through it.10mm would probably do for a single coax size cable and 300mm or so long should be long enough for all but the thickest of walls.

And as Stick says always try and drill from the inside out and slightly down to stop any possible water ingress.

Another tip is to try and vacuum up any dust as you drill, this makes the job of cleaning up afterwards much easier


Kev

[Analoguesat]

And if you live in a stone built farm cottage like I do you go through the window frame instead as theres not a chance in hell of getting a neat hole through our stone walls!

:roflmao:

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL, yes - I can believe it... path of least resistance and all that

Yes, SDS rocks. I can even get my SDS+ bit to stay in my regular drill chuck long enough for a couple of walls

[barr6868]

I tend to drill the opposite way.
Simple reason that if you make a mess of the inside wall, it's easier to sort than the outside wall IMO.
A bit of ready made pollifilla and some paint usually does the trick
A lot easier than mixing up cement or mortar.
I always squeeze some silicon sealant into the hole (after you've fed the cable thru )
Lidle sells it now and again for about a quid. (I got some grey stuff last week as that is the colour of my outside wall)

[BGonaSTICK]

Originally Posted by barr6868

I tend to drill the opposite way.

LOL, this one could run and run

Both ways definitely have their merit, which is why it's ideal to do both and meet in the middle, but I sure don't have the skill to do that!

[barr6868]

Originally Posted by BGonaSTICK

I sure don't have the skill to do that!

I'm sure we've discovered a thing called a measuring tape

[BGonaSTICK]

I've just been reading a few websites about this actually, and the 'professionals' seem to get it wrong all the time, tape measure or not - by anything up to three feet! :roflmao:

If you're bored, this thread makes hilarious reading:

_http://www.thesecurityinstaller.co.uk/community/index.php?showtopic=6419

[barr6868]

:roflmao:

I liked the one about the guy drilling a hole in the bottle of whisky. 8)
I usually just open it and throw the top away.