Why Won't The Drill Go Through The Wall?

 Check the rotation direction

Drills rotate in a clockwise direction when they are in the forward position, and anti-clockwise when they are in the backward, or reverse position.  Most drills have a button that you can press to change the direction of the drill, and it’s important to make sure that your drill is in the forward position when trying to drill into drywall as your drill bit will not bite into it if the drill is rotating in the wrong direction.

 

Blunt drill bit

Plaster dulls or blunts drill bits quite quickly, and they can often become dull after making only a few holes.  As drywall is quite a soft material then your drill bit will probably still go through that quite easily even if it is dull, but won’t go through the stud that is behind it.  A dull drill bit will also often struggle to go through wood too.

 

So, if you’ve been drilling through wood, masonry, or metal, and then find that it won’t go through the wall, or whatever material you are trying to drill into, then try replacing it with a newer drill bit which should sort the problem.  It’s sometimes a good idea to use a dull drill bit for plaster and then change to a newer one for the wall behind it.

 

Dying batteries

Cheap, budget drills usually have cheap batteries that are not very good quality and don’t last as long as better quality ones.  Therefore, if you’ve had the drill for a while the battery could be starting to die.  A dying battery often weakens a drill, so if you’re having difficulty drilling, especially through solid material, then it could be the battery on your drill.

 

The best thing to do is to charge the battery and then see if it will drill something easy like a pilot hole.  If it still won’t drill properly then try making a pilot hole with a corded drill if you have one.  If you can make a pilot hole with that drill then it is obvious your cordless drill lacks the sufficient power to do the job.  If this is the case then it’s probably a good idea to buy a new drill, but keep the old one as it’s always handy to have a spare just in case the need arises.

 

However, sometimes even the corded drill won’t go through the material, in which case there are a few other reasons why it could be happening.

 

Metal plates

Walls often hide a lot of things - they often cover over pipes and electrical wires so they’re not unsightly to look at - and it’s really not a good idea to accidentally hit any of these when drilling into a wall.  Therefore, they are usually covered by a metal plate to prevent you from doing just that.  So, if you drill into the wall and it seems like you’ve hit an obstruction, then it’s probably a metal plate that is covering something important and you know that you need to stop drilling immediately.

 

If you do hit a metal plate after drilling through the drywall, then try drilling again around five inches either up or down.  You should then find a stud which you should be able to drill through.  However, if you still hit an obstruction then there are a few other reasons why it’s happened.

 

Masonry constructions

Sometimes, depending on where you are working, you could be hitting masonry such as brick or cement.  This usually happens when you are trying to drill into an outside wall or a chimney.

 

As horizontal furring strips are used to attach drywall to masonry, you will often go through drywall that is around 5/8” thick, then there is a gap of around 3/4” before you will hit the brick or cement.  Therefore, if you’re able to drill around 1.5 inches through the wall before you hit an obstruction, it is likely to be a masonry construction that you have found.

 

A magnetic stud finder would help you to determine that this is the case as you would be able to find the furring strips with it by finding the nails that are attached to them.  Once you’ve found a nail then try drilling again a few inches to either side of it and see if you find wood again, if you do then it is the furring strip.  If you find a furring strip then you can be fairly certain that you have found a masonry construction and you will probably need to change your plan, depending on why you were drilling there.

 

Steel studs

New constructions often have steel studs, so if you determined that there is no other reason you’re hitting an obstruction and your house is fairly new, then that’s probably the reason why.  There are several ways that you can check that you’re hitting steel studs.

 

1. You could contact the contractor who built the house and ask them if the house has steel studs in it, or you could check the documents from when it was built if you have them.

 

2. Another way that you could check is by making a hole in the drywall so that you can see what is behind it, but it’s really not the best idea as it’s can be an awkward job to patch up the hole, not to mention time-consuming.

 

3. Alternatively, you could remove the cover plate from an electrical outlet and try to look through the gap between the box and the drywall.  However, builders try to make the gap as small as possible when they are constructing the house so you probably won’t be able to see anyway.

 

Since none of those methods are really ideal, then the best thing to do would be to call a professional and ask them if your house has steel studs.  It’s certainly a far better option than accidentally hitting any pipes or electrical wires when you’re drilling as not only is there a chance of it causing significant damage, but there is a serious risk to yourself if you were to be electrocuted.

 

If your house does have steel studs instead of wood studs then it will be a little bit more difficult to do your project as you would need drill bits that are suitable for drilling into metal and toggle bolts for hanging your project from.

 

Other obstructions

Although the reasons we have mentioned are the more likely reasons that you would encounter difficulty drilling through a wall, there are a few other reasons too.

 

Soundproofing - Occasionally, there are products in the walls to make them more soundproof.  This is usually in the wall between apartments that are in the same building.

 

Concrete firewall - If you hit these then it’s very much like when you hit a masonry construction.  They are usually there to stop the uncontrollable spread of a fire.

 

Nails - Sometimes, the lath is nailed to the stud when you have walls that are made of plaster.