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Metal or hard material behind wall...

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:20 pm
by Sweetasfrank
Ok.

I've been redecorating my room for the past fortnight or so with ease..from wallpaper stripping to repainting and carpet stripping to re-carpeting etc.
As a lady, i'm quite pleased with how effortless i found most of the tasks..

However, i'm now in the process of installing furniture and assembling items such as wardrobes..cabinets etc.

I recently purchased a shelving-unit from Ikea that needed self assembly, which i managed to do without problems.


The plan was to mount the unit on my wall horizontally. To cut a long story short, i can't drill through the wall to mount it..

-This is the only wall free to mount it.
-The unit is more on the weighty side..rough guess, 27.7kg..more when i fill it up!
-The wall i think is made of plasterboard. Basically i can drill through it (say about an inch)..the material is soft, crumbly and off-white in colour, but then the drill bit hits something that i can only describe as metal...or a material just as hard..I ended up knackering a few drill bits...purchased new bits (about 2inches long) that were suited for metal work..Still no go. I switched the setting on the drill from 'drill' to 'hammer'..still no luck...
This problem runs right across the wall, though i managed to find a few safe spots that let me drill right through..
It's all very frustrating...
I was quite content in thinking i wouldn't have to pay to get a builder in, but is that the only option left?

Can someone please help? Would be eternally grateful!

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:15 am
by kbrownie
Hi Sweetasfrank,
Have you tried masonary bits for drilling. It could be more than likely the wall behind the plasterboard is concrete blocks or stone. Metal bits will not go through stone/concrete with great easy. The drill should be on hammer at a slow speed if possible!
Regards
KB