I need to install a shelf in my flat and I'm struggling to drill through the wall. It is above two doorways and I think there is a concrete lintel above them. The background is that I've had a set of sockets and my broadband connection box installed above the doorways (the reason for this is too long a story to tell). The sockets were specifically put there so that the router had a power source, with the plan to put shelving there afterwards for the router (and other paraphernalia that needs to plug into it) to sit on.
The sparky mentioned that he'd made a bit of a mess of the wall because he hit concrete and he knew the job of making it good was up to me (to be fair, it wasn't any worse than when sockets were done elsewhere in the flat). However, he got the backbox for the sockets in, so I assumed the concrete hadn't beaten him, but now I'm not so sure.
I'm using a Bosch Professional SDS drill in hammer drill mode, which I bought a few years ago when I came across other walls in the flat that my cordless B&D hammer drill couldn't manage. This is the first wall it's not been able to get through. I've tried upgrading my drill bit to the following Bosch Expert one, having read advice on the issue:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-expert-sds-plus-shank-masonry-drill-bit-12mm-x-215mm/395pf
That didn't do any better. I've checked the drill is not in reverse (as I know that'll be the first question!) and I've tried just persisting for ages, but I'm not getting any further into the wall. I also tried about 8 inches higher up (as this is closer to the height of the socket and I thought maybe the concrete doesn't go all the way up) and same problem.
Any suggestions?
It's taken me months of arguing with various broadband suppliers to find somewhere suitable to put the broadband socket and I really didn't think that the putting up of a shelf would be the undoing of it all!
I should all that it's a 1960s build, ex-local authority - from back when they built them really solidly...there is quite a bit of concrete involved!
The sparky mentioned that he'd made a bit of a mess of the wall because he hit concrete and he knew the job of making it good was up to me (to be fair, it wasn't any worse than when sockets were done elsewhere in the flat). However, he got the backbox for the sockets in, so I assumed the concrete hadn't beaten him, but now I'm not so sure.
I'm using a Bosch Professional SDS drill in hammer drill mode, which I bought a few years ago when I came across other walls in the flat that my cordless B&D hammer drill couldn't manage. This is the first wall it's not been able to get through. I've tried upgrading my drill bit to the following Bosch Expert one, having read advice on the issue:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-expert-sds-plus-shank-masonry-drill-bit-12mm-x-215mm/395pf
That didn't do any better. I've checked the drill is not in reverse (as I know that'll be the first question!) and I've tried just persisting for ages, but I'm not getting any further into the wall. I also tried about 8 inches higher up (as this is closer to the height of the socket and I thought maybe the concrete doesn't go all the way up) and same problem.
Any suggestions?
It's taken me months of arguing with various broadband suppliers to find somewhere suitable to put the broadband socket and I really didn't think that the putting up of a shelf would be the undoing of it all!
I should all that it's a 1960s build, ex-local authority - from back when they built them really solidly...there is quite a bit of concrete involved!