House Rewire/inspection questions

[Paulh_Boats]

I like DeWalt a lot... this one has a 3.1J hammer, verses 5J for that Hitachi and the lighter weight appeals to me (and £200 cheaper):

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/76834/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills/DeWalt-D25112K-240V-2kg-SDS-Plus-Drill#

Do the lower energy SDS drills/chisels just cut a bit slower? And how to they compare to percussion drills?


I have a 450 Watt Bosch percussion drill and the vibration is mind numbing in hard brick 

-Paul

[hiccup]

Hi Paul

That Hitachi was actually a Bosch (I like Bosch alot  ), and compared to my 2kg Bosch SDS hammer it is far better at slicing through tough brick and stone.

Go for the higher rating - you know it makes sense. (It can also handle larger core drills etc)

Mind you, a 4kg DeWalt will cost quite a bit more than a 4kg Bosch - around £350  or you could get the Bosch and paint it yellow 

Regards

Hic!

[Ted]

I much prefer Bosch over De Walt and I have a Bosch GBH 2-26 together with a box-cutter kit:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/73560/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills/BOSCH-GBH-2-26DRE-2kg-230V-SDS-Plus-Drill
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/24725/Drill-Bits/Electrical-Box-Sinkers/Armeg-EBS-Single-Double-Box-Set-10Pcs

and it is simply the best bit of kit I have ever bought. It'll cut a box in a new ('green') concrete block in seconds.

There is no comparison between SDS and normal hammer drills.

Get yourself some decent work gloves, safety goggles and face mask too. Sharp bits of plaster/brick flying around is not nice.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/80859/Workwear-PPE/Protective-Clothing/Gloves/Timberland-Pro-Extra-Grip-Gloves

[tony.]

paul,

i would say bosch is best for sds stuff and i have used the 24volt sds for over 10 years now, with the battery only going last year.

I prefer dewalt cordless drivers and have used the 12v &14.4v for numerous years and find then very good for light duty drilling but mainly used for putting in screws.

if all your points are marked out you would be considerably cheaper hiring the tool for a couple of days.

regards

tony

[Paulh_Boats]

It looks like 2 votes for 2kg and 1 vote for 4kg!

The total SDS workload is spread out over some time: 6 windows to fit (at least 4 holes each), holes to feed 22mm/15mm pipe through walls (not sure where yet), 110mm flue outlet (might be better to hire or use the multi-hole trick), 8 lighting boxes and even more sockets. The buried cables should be easy to remove, plaster or polyfilla.

When all that is done I'll only have the occasional hole to drill and our home has breeze blocks and softer bricks. So I'm thinking of buying the 2kg Bosch Ted suggested for general use, then hire a big 6kg beast for the flue hole.


Any comments?  

cheers
Paul

[Paulh_Boats]

Thanks again everyone.

I bought the Bosch GBH 2-26 SDS that Ted suggested - yep it cuts through engineering brick much better, used DeWalt go-faster bits.

Picked up fully loaded Wylex 17th dual RCD 10 way consumer unit from Screwfix for £79  

Screwfix emailed some 10% web discount codes (last one runs out this Friday). Bought Baisa condensing boiler, flue and 7 TRVs with that discount Will be ordering 100m reels of 2.5/1.5 cable and MK sockets very soon.

-Paul

[daftlad]

Buy good quality cable, it pulls through holes in joists better and strips better, cheap stuff will make you angry.
ta ta

[Paulh_Boats]

Buy good quality cable, it pulls through holes in joists better and strips better, cheap stuff will make you angry.
ta ta

Thanks - kind of worked that out from the Screwfix ratings. Two good ratings:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/20967/Electrical-Supplies/Cable/Twin-Earth/Prysmian-6242Y-2-Core-Grey-2-5mm-100m-Twin-Earth-Cable

cheers
Paul

[Mankysteve]

I wouldn't put BT cable in I would do a full cat 5E with BT converters and sky connections to hidden central point for a router/server. Even if your dads not interested in that stuff it would be a good selling point as your at it anyway.

[noah]

Bit late but just wanted to say I was doing a job away from home and needed an sds drill (i`ve got a hilti, but guess where it was). To hire one would have cost £30 for a couple of days so I looked in at B & Q and they had an anonymous make 800w drill for £29. Despite the price it looked pretty good (all metal construction) and I took a punt on it. I`ve now had it for almost a year, used it a fair bit (recently drilling a 1" hole through a 30" random rubble wall). Sometimes these cheap deals are good deals. Last time I looked they still had them (in Carmarten store this was) priced at £34.

[Paulh_Boats]

I wouldn't put BT cable in I would do a full cat 5E with BT converters and sky connections to hidden central point for a router/server. Even if your dads not interested in that stuff it would be a good selling point as your at it anyway.

Steve - hope you don't mind the black humour but the only way Dad can object is if ghosts start nicking my tools (he died last year). He would have laughed at the joke, probably over a glass of whiskey , so no worries about the misunderstanding. Its gonna be rented out.


Telewest cable points are already in front room and landing on the stairs. So a router/wireless access point could go immediately below in the cupboard under the stairs. But you've given me the idea of a spare mains socket in the cupboard - ta - easy as one ring main will be going that way.

I reckon wireless is what people want - if I fill it with students they'll all have laptops......but I'll fit a couple of Cat5 sockets an easy distance from the cupboard.

cheers
Paul

[Mankysteve]

oops missed the late part. sorry I dislike wireless it unsecured and when you get bad reception in certain part of the property especial bad if you've thick walls it's a pain in the ass. Switch the microwave on and lose reception. I would always but in wired point for fixed equipment like desktops, Media streaming streaming gear when we get smarter Tv and other appliances.

[daftlad]

I'm with Mankey, wire the telephones in cat 5, I wouldn't bother putting RJ54 sockets in, just go with normal BT, but it allows a degree of flexability at a later date. Cat 5 can be used for telephone, ethernet (obviously) video/ audio (pipe tv around the house) or even 1 wire or a mixture?
ta ta

[Paulh_Boats]

daftlad, steve,

Fair points - I can run Cat5 along bedroom floor then down to the telly corner. Useful if somebody has an X-box also.

-Paul

[tony.]

ah now you have caught the bug, now its cat 5, soon it will be tv points in all the rooms( good if  it going to be full of students) then burglar alarm cables, and radial circuits for the fridge only etc.

i used cat6 cable 5 years ago, for my home network, was free then but easy to get accessories now

tony