Can the average hammerdrill (Bosch, Porter Cable, etc.) Drill one inch holes in concrete (say 4" or more deep) ? I've always rented a Bosch rotary/hammer drill. It works great but it's massive and not easy to use in tight places.
Bosch massive? What model did you rent? Bosch has some smaller ones that are about the size of a hole shooter. Try a Hilti TE-72 or a Milwaukee for something big.
Personally I like the Hilti line for roto hammers
For 1" holes of that depth, I would recommend a rotohammer. Just about like a hammer drill, and they make smaller ones. Quite a lot less work involved in drilling holes of that size.
If you are considering buying one, get the one with SDS bits. Hilti is a nice unit, but the bits will cost you an arm and a leg. VERRRRRRRRY spendy. I had a Milwaukee that I really liked, and I believe it was about $185 new. Not that much bigger than a big hammer drill, and went through concrete like it was butter.
STeve
Try Harbor Freight or Homier Tools. Both are easy to locate on the web. HF has retail stores, mail order, and Internet ordering. Homier has mobile tools sales plus Internet ordering.
Both sell economical SDS drills and economical drill bits. Homier sells an SDS drill for $19.99 which cuts 1" holes through concrete. I suppose its bearings might start to give out after you've drilled a thousand 1" holes. Until then, it is a great bargain.
I've got the cheap Homier drill plus a somewhat more expensive H.F. drill (About $65), and a lot of H.F. SDS bits. I'm very happy with all of those purchases.
These SDS drills are somewhat massive compared to your "standard" homeowner's 1/2" hammer drill. We don't really know what your definition of "massive" is.
If you already own a hammer drill and a variety of bits, then I'd feel fairly confident that you could work your way up starting with very small diameter concrete bits. Once again, we don't know how many holes you want to drill and how patient you are.
Good luck, Gideon
The one I rented is at:
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