Whats the easiest way to drill a 4 inch hole thru double brick wall ??

[dutchman]

Whats the easiest way to drill a 4 inch hole thru double brick wall (no cavity but hard bricks) and costs involved ??.

1 - A ring of small holes and then hammer and chisel

2 - TCT core drill - would this last

3 - Diamond core drill (wet) - can I use normal hand drill

4 - Diamond core drill (dry) - can I use normal hand drill

[Andrew Gabriel]

Depends how hard the bricks are, and what access you have.

There's also:

5 - Take out whole bricks (drill out mortar) so you can slide a 4" pipe through, and then cut and refit bricks around the pipe.

[Icky Thwacket]

I have used technique. Took about 2 hours. Cost - depends on what you have.

I used :- 1/2 inch 18 inch long TCT masonry bit (about a tenner), hammer drill, hammer, chisel, bucket and a ladder to put an extraction vent in for our ensuite upstairs.

Put a pilot hole through from inside to outside first, at the circle centre, so you can work from both sides.

[Roger Mills]

You don't state the altitude of this hole. I certainly wouldn't want to use a core drill if standing on a ladder!

Unless it's essential to drill a very neat hole, the best bet is a ring of small holes, and then a chissel. As someone else has said, drill a pilot hole right through the middle first, then mark out your circle on both sides of the wall and drill the small holes from both sides.

It's best to use an SDS drill if you have access to one. It can also do the chisselling if it has a rotation stop. If you're careful you should end up with a reasonably neat hole - with any irregularities being covered up by the flange of an extractor flap or whatever.

[John Rumm]

Cheap but will take a while

It might

Depends on your hand drill. Something with 800W (ish) or more might manage if you take it easily. You really need something with a safety clutch though.

5 - go hire a proper core drill and a machine to turn it. If it is at height, then drill from the inside.

[Jim Alexander]

and if drilling from inside to ouside on hammer action watch out for surface spalling on breakthrough.

Jim A

[Ed Sirett]

The easiest is probably the wet diamond, but as with all things there one (ease of use) more than one factor at stake.

1. requires least kit, will have the scruffiest result.

2-4. Require a good mains drill (not necessarily SDS), with torque limiting clutch.

1. is Noisiest, and likely dustiest, and the bits don't last more than few holes.
2. Will be by far the messiest.

Is noisy and requires the a mains drill with a