How to drill into brick, block and concrete — choosing the right drill and bit, when hammer mode is wrong, and picking a fixing that will actually hold.
Drilling into masonry is straightforward once you have the right tool. Most of the frustration people have — bits that will not bite, holes that wander, fixings that pull straight out — comes from three things: the wrong drill, the wrong bit, or the wrong wall type assumption.
But before any of that, there is one step that genuinely matters more than technique.
Check what is behind the wall. Electrical cables and water pipes run through walls in predictable places, and a masonry bit goes through both without slowing down. A detector costs less than an electrician’s call-out and considerably less than a flood.
This guide covers the checking, the tool choice, the technique, and how to pick a fixing that holds. ⚠️
Alt text: “SDS rotary hammer drilling into brick with a vacuum nozzle catching the dust beside the bit”
- Check what is behind the wall
- Know your wall type
- Hammer drill vs SDS rotary hammer
- Masonry bits
- When hammer mode is wrong
- Silica dust
- Step by step
- Choosing a fixing that holds
- Brick or mortar?
- Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
- Pro tips worth knowing
- The bits I recommend
- Frequently asked questions
- Your final checklist
Check What Is Behind the Wall
This comes first because it is the only step where getting it wrong is expensive or dangerous.
Cables and pipes follow predictable routes. In most homes they run vertically or horizontally from sockets, switches and outlets, and along the top of walls. So the zone directly above, below or beside any electrical fitting is high risk.
What to do:
- Use a detector. A multi-scanner finds live cables, metal pipes and sometimes studs. Sweep the area in both directions and mark what it finds.
- Avoid the obvious zones — directly above and below sockets and switches, and horizontal bands level with them.
- Be extra careful in kitchens and bathrooms, where pipework is dense.
- Detectors are not infallible. They can miss cables at depth, plastic pipes and unusual routing. Treat a clear reading as encouraging rather than a guarantee.
- Start shallow and increase depth gradually rather than driving straight in.
Know Your Wall Type
What the wall is made of determines the drill, the bit and — most importantly — the fixing.
| Wall type | How to tell | Drill needed | Fixing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid brick | Dense, red or buff dust | Hammer drill or SDS | ✅ Plastic plug and screw |
| Concrete | ⚠️ Very hard, grey dust | ✅ SDS strongly preferred | Plug, or concrete screw |
| Dense block | Grey, fairly hard | Hammer drill or SDS | Plug and screw |
| Aerated block (thermalite) | ⚠️ Light, drills very easily | Rotary only, no hammer | ⚠️ Special aerated fixings |
| Hollow block | Bit breaks into a void | Rotary or light hammer | ⚠️ Toggle or sleeve anchor |
| Plasterboard over studs | Sounds hollow, easy to drill | ❌ No hammer | Cavity fixing or hit the stud |
| Tiles over masonry | Ceramic surface | ⚠️ No hammer through tile | Plug once through |
How to identify quickly: tap the wall. A solid, dull sound means masonry; a hollow drum means plasterboard or a hollow block. The colour of the dust tells you the rest — red for brick, grey for concrete or block, white and very fine for plaster.
Aerated blocks catch people out. They drill so easily that people assume they are soft brick, then fit a standard plug — which pulls straight out under load, because the material crumbles around it. They need dedicated aerated-concrete fixings.
Hammer Drill vs SDS Rotary Hammer
| Combi / hammer drill | SDS rotary hammer | |
|---|---|---|
| How it hammers | Two ridged plates click together | ✅ Piston drives the bit directly |
| Impact energy | Low | ✅ Much higher |
| Brick | ✅ Fine | ✅ Effortless |
| Concrete | ⚠️ Slow and tiring | ✅ Easy |
| Chuck | Standard keyless | SDS-Plus, slots in |
| Also drills wood and metal | ✅ Yes | Only with an adapter |
| Best for | Occasional holes in brick | ✅ Concrete, frequent masonry work |
A combi drill’s hammer action works by two ridged plates rubbing past each other, producing many small, low-energy taps. It is fine for brick and mortar. On concrete it is slow, hard work, and it wears the mechanism.
An SDS rotary hammer uses a piston to strike the back of the bit directly, delivering far more energy per blow. The difference on concrete is dramatic — a hole that takes minutes of struggle with a combi drill takes seconds with an SDS.
The SDS chuck is different too: the bit slots in and locks with a twist, no chuck key or tightening. Bits cannot slip, which they routinely do in a standard chuck under hammer action.
A combi drill taps the masonry thousands of times a minute. An SDS punches it. That is why one struggles through concrete and the other walks through it — the difference is energy per blow, not speed.
Which should you buy? If your masonry work is occasional holes in brick for shelves and brackets, a combi drill is enough — and it doubles as your general drill. If you are drilling concrete, lots of holes, or anything structural, an SDS transforms the job.
Masonry Bits
Masonry bits have a carbide tip brazed onto a steel body. The carbide does not really cut — it crushes the material under the hammer blows, while the flutes carry the dust out.
- Standard masonry bits fit a normal chuck. Fine for brick and block.
- SDS-Plus bits have slots in the shank that lock into an SDS chuck. The most common SDS size for home use.
- SDS-Max is a larger professional format for heavy work.
- Multi-material bits will handle brick, wood and metal reasonably — convenient, not exceptional at anything.
Size matters for the fixing, not the screw. The hole diameter must match the plug, and the plug packaging states which drill size to use. A common error is drilling to match the screw diameter, which makes the hole too small.
Bits blunt and overheat. If a bit stops making progress and the tip is glowing or discoloured, it is dull — pushing harder just destroys it faster. Withdraw periodically to let it cool and to clear dust from the hole.
When Hammer Mode Is Wrong
Hammer action is the default assumption for masonry and it is genuinely wrong in several common situations.
- Tiles. Hammer action cracks ceramic and porcelain instantly. Drill tiles on rotary only with a tile or diamond bit, then switch to hammer once you are through into the masonry behind.
- Aerated blocks. So soft that hammering blows out an oversized, crumbly hole that no fixing will grip. Rotary only.
- Hollow blocks. Hammering shatters the thin webs inside.
- Plasterboard. No hammer, and often no drill at all — many cavity fixings are self-drilling.
- Close to an edge or a mortar joint. Hammering near the edge of a brick can split it. Move the hole, or start rotary-only.
- Old, soft or lime-mortared brickwork. Hammering can shatter soft historic brick. Go gently.
Silica Dust
Brick, block, concrete and mortar all contain crystalline silica. Drilling them releases respirable silica dust, which causes silicosis — permanent, incurable lung scarring — and is linked to lung cancer.
A handful of holes is not the same exposure as a day of cutting concrete, but the controls are simple enough that there is no reason to skip them:
- Hold a vacuum nozzle beside the bit as you drill. The single most effective thing, and it keeps the wall clean too.
- Use a dust extraction attachment if your drill takes one.
- Wear an N95 or better — not a paper nuisance mask.
- Eye protection. Masonry dust and chips come straight back out of the hole at you, especially overhead.
- Vacuum the debris, never sweep. Sweeping re-suspends the finest particles.
Our guide to sanding and polishing concrete covers the silica hazard in more detail — the same material, the same dust.
Step by Step
Step 1 — Scan the wall
Detector in both directions. Mark cables and pipes. Avoid the zones around sockets and switches.
Step 2 — Identify the wall material
Tap it, and note the dust colour once you start.
Step 3 — Choose the fixing first, then the drill size
The plug determines the hole diameter, not the screw. Read the plug packaging.
Step 4 — Mark the position and set depth
Use the drill’s depth stop, or wrap masking tape around the bit. Drill about 10mm deeper than the plug so debris has somewhere to go.
Step 5 — Set up dust control and protection
Vacuum nozzle ready, mask and eye protection on.
Step 6 — Start rotary only, slow
Just enough to make a small crater so the bit cannot skate.
Step 7 — Switch to hammer and drill straight
Keep the drill square to the wall. Let the tool do the work — leaning on it does not speed it up and it wears the bit.
Step 8 — Withdraw periodically
Pull the bit out every few seconds to clear dust and let it cool. A hole packed with dust stops the bit cutting.
Step 9 — Clean the hole
Vacuum it out, or blow it clear. Dust left in the hole stops a plug seating properly and dramatically reduces the fixing’s grip.
Step 10 — Fit the plug
It should tap in flush with light hammer taps. If it needs forcing, the hole is too small; if it spins, too big.
Step 11 — Drive the screw
The screw should be long enough to pass through your fixture and fully engage the plug. See our cordless drill guide for clutch settings.
Choosing a Fixing That Holds
| Fixing | Works in | Load | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic plug and screw | Solid brick, block, concrete | Light to medium | ✅ The everyday fixing |
| Frame fixing | Solid masonry | Medium | Long plug and screw in one |
| Concrete screw | Concrete, dense block | ✅ High | No plug — screws straight in |
| Sleeve / expansion anchor | Concrete, solid masonry | ✅ High | Heavy items, structural |
| Chemical anchor | ✅ Anything, incl. hollow | ✅ Very high | Resin injected; strongest option |
| Aerated block fixing | ⚠️ Thermalite only | Medium | Standard plugs pull out |
| Toggle / cavity fixing | Hollow block, plasterboard | Light to medium | Expands behind the face |
Match the fixing to the wall, and to the load. A plastic plug is fine for a picture or a small shelf. A wall-mounted TV, a heavy cabinet, a handrail or anything holding a person’s weight needs a proper anchor — and in hollow or aerated material, a chemical anchor is often the only thing that will genuinely hold.
Depth matters. The plug should sit fully inside solid material, past any plaster layer. Plaster can be 15mm or more, and a plug expanding in plaster rather than brick will pull straight out.
Screw length: thickness of what you are fixing, plus the full length of the plug, plus a little. Too short and only part of the plug expands.
Brick or Mortar?
A question people ask constantly, and the answer depends on what you are fixing.
Drill into the brick for most fixings. Brick is denser and holds an expansion plug better than mortar.
Drill into the mortar joint when:
- The brick is old, soft or historic and might crack.
- You may want to remove the fixing later — a mortar joint is far easier to repair invisibly than a hole in a brick face.
- The brick is a facing brick you do not want to mark.
- You are drilling near the edge of a brick, where hammering could split it.
The caveat: mortar varies enormously. Modern cement mortar is strong; old lime mortar is soft and will not hold much load. Test it — if the drill sinks in with almost no resistance, that mortar is not a reliable anchor point for anything heavy.
Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
Mistake 1 — Not checking for cables and pipes
What happens: at best a tripped circuit, at worst electrocution or a flood.
The fix: scan first, avoid the zones around sockets and switches, and consider isolating the circuit.
Mistake 2 — Hammer mode on tiles
What happens: cracked tile.
The fix: rotary only with a tile bit until you are through, then switch to hammer.
Mistake 3 — Drilling to the screw size instead of the plug size
What happens: the hole is too small and the plug will not seat.
The fix: read the plug packaging for the drill diameter.
Mistake 4 — Standard plugs in aerated block
What happens: the fixing pulls straight out under load.
The fix: dedicated aerated-concrete fixings, or a chemical anchor.
Mistake 5 — Not clearing dust from the hole
What happens: the plug grips powder rather than solid material.
The fix: vacuum or blow out the hole before fitting.
Mistake 6 — Plug expanding in plaster
What happens: the fixing tears out with a lump of plaster.
The fix: drill deep enough that the whole plug sits in solid masonry.
Mistake 7 — Leaning on the drill
What happens: overheated bit, no faster progress, worn tool.
The fix: steady pressure, withdraw to clear dust and cool.
Mistake 8 — Combi drill on concrete
What happens: slow, exhausting work and a burnt-out bit.
The fix: hire or buy an SDS rotary hammer for concrete.
Pro Tips Worth Knowing
Tape a paper envelope below the hole
Folded and taped to the wall, it catches falling dust. Crude, free and surprisingly effective if you have no vacuum to hand.
Mark depth with tape on the bit
Visible from any angle, and it stops you going deeper than intended into an unknown wall.
Drill slightly deeper than the plug
About 10mm gives debris somewhere to go so the plug seats fully.
Keep the drill square
An angled hole means the plug does not expand evenly and the fixture sits proud.
Test the fixing before hanging the load
A firm tug on a mounted bracket tells you more than any specification.
For anything heavy or overhead, use anchors not plugs
TVs, cabinets, handrails and shelving carrying real weight deserve proper expansion or chemical anchors.
The Bits I Recommend
If you have an SDS drill — or are considering one — a good bit set is what makes it worth owning.
Bosch HCK001 7-Piece SDS-Plus Bulldog Rotary Hammer Bit Set
Best Masonry Bit Set★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 on Amazon
SDS bits are where a rotary hammer earns its reputation. The SDS-Plus shank slots in and locks with a twist — no chuck to tighten, and crucially the bit cannot slip, which standard masonry bits routinely do in a keyless chuck under hammer action.
Bosch’s Bulldog bits use a carbide tip designed to survive the direct piston blows an SDS delivers, and the flute design clears dust efficiently — which matters more than people expect, because a hole packed with dust stops the bit cutting and overheats the tip. The seven common sizes cover the plug diameters you will actually use for shelves, brackets, fixings and frames.
Why it works:
- ✅ Cannot slip in the chuck — the SDS shank locks positively, unlike a keyless chuck under hammering
- ✅ Carbide tips built for piston impact, so they survive concrete rather than blunting on it
- ✅ Efficient dust clearing, which keeps the bit cutting and stops it overheating
- ✅ Covers the sizes you actually need for common wall plugs and fixings
- ✅ Transforms concrete drilling from a grind into a quick job
- ⚠️ Requires an SDS-Plus drill. These will not fit a standard keyless chuck
- ⚠️ Not for tiles. Use a tile or diamond bit on rotary only until you are through the tile
- ⚠️ Withdraw regularly to clear dust and let the tip cool, however good the bit
Best for: anyone with an SDS rotary hammer drilling brick, block or concrete for shelves, brackets, frames and fixings.
Not for: combi drills with standard chucks, tiles, or drilling wood and metal.
🛒 Check Price on AmazonPrice and availability change often — the button shows the live Amazon price.
Comparing drills? See our roundup of cordless hammer drills.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a hammer drill for brick?
For brick, a standard combi drill in hammer mode is generally enough, and it doubles as your everyday drill. For concrete, an SDS rotary hammer makes an enormous difference — it drives the bit with a piston rather than clicking plates together, so a hole that takes minutes of struggle with a combi drill takes seconds. If you only drill occasional holes in brick, a combi drill is fine.
Should I drill into the brick or the mortar?
Usually the brick, since it is denser and holds an expansion plug better. Drill the mortar joint instead when the brick is old, soft or historic and could crack, when you want to remove the fixing later and repair it invisibly, or when drilling near a brick edge. The caveat is that mortar varies — modern cement mortar is strong, but old lime mortar is soft and will not hold much load.
What size hole do I drill for a wall plug?
The size stated on the plug packaging, not the screw diameter. This is one of the most common errors — people size the hole to the screw, find the plug will not go in, and force it. Drill about 10mm deeper than the plug so debris has somewhere to go, and make sure the whole plug sits in solid masonry rather than in the plaster layer, which can be 15mm or more.
How do I drill tiles without cracking them?
Turn hammer mode off. Hammer action cracks ceramic and porcelain almost instantly. Use a tile or diamond bit on rotary only at slow speed, and stick masking tape over the spot to stop the bit skating. Once you are through the tile and into the masonry behind, you can switch hammer on to finish the hole.
Why does my fixing keep pulling out?
Four usual causes. The hole was full of dust, so the plug gripped powder instead of solid material. The plug was expanding in plaster rather than masonry — drill deeper. The wall is aerated block, which needs dedicated fixings because standard plugs crumble their way out. Or the load is too high for a plastic plug, and it needs an expansion or chemical anchor.
Is masonry dust dangerous?
Yes — brick, block, concrete and mortar all contain crystalline silica, and drilling releases respirable silica dust, which causes silicosis and is linked to lung cancer. A handful of holes is a small exposure, but the controls are easy: hold a vacuum nozzle beside the bit, wear an N95 or better, use eye protection, and vacuum the debris rather than sweeping it.
Your Final Checklist
- Wall scanned for cables and pipes, in both directions
- Zones above, below and beside sockets and switches avoided
- Circuit isolated if drilling deep into an unfamiliar wall
- Wall material identified by tapping and dust colour
- Fixing chosen for the wall type and the load
- Hole diameter taken from the plug packaging, not the screw
- Depth marked with tape or a depth stop, 10mm deeper than the plug
- Vacuum nozzle, N95 mask and eye protection ready
- Hammer mode off for tiles, aerated block and plasterboard
- Hole started rotary only to stop the bit skating
- Drill kept square to the wall
- Bit withdrawn regularly to clear dust and cool
- Hole vacuumed or blown clear before fitting the plug
- Plug seated fully in solid masonry, past the plaster
- Screw long enough to engage the full plug
- Fixing tested with a firm tug before loading
- Debris vacuumed, never swept
Related reading: how to use a cordless drill, sanding and polishing concrete, and the best cordless hammer drills.