http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/makita-hr2621
Rotary Hammer Drill. Drills through concrete like butter. Good.

http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/makita-hp2070f
Hammer Drill. Pathetic for drilling concrete compared to the rotary. Usually cheaper than rotary so people start with this before they learn that drilling concrete requires the rotary and SDS bits.



On Monday, August 14, 2017 at 2:19:02 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 6:57:15 PM UTC-5, wrote:

"Hammer Drill" or "Rotary Hammer Drill"? The first is a worthless piece of junk.

Never heard that. I have been using hammer drills professionally, sometimes all day long for over 40 years and NEVER knew that, and never even heard that among my fellow professionals. I have had a version of this 10 amp guy for years, and my first lasted almost 20 years on the job. I couldn't kill it for years, the one day it just quit.

http://www.cpooutlets.com/dewalt-dwd...efault,pd.html

CPO had that drill on sale as a recon for $79 several months ago so I couldn't resist.

I probably don't use these drills as hard as many do. I drill a lot of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and on rare occasions 3/4" holes in all kinds of concrete and masonry. Some times as many as many as 50 a day. For anything bigger than 3/4" though, I would switch to an SDS unit.

Even in engineered plans I don't see any requirements for attaching sole plates, equipment mounting plates or structural components to cinder block walls, or anything else that requires much more than 3/8". Since I don't do heavy construction anymore, my SDS drill rarely sees the light of day. Don't like the size, don't like the price of the bits, and don't like how much real estate they take up in the truck.

Personally, I would do as Ed suggested and see if you could borrow one. How many holes will you be drilling? 15? 20? Hardly worth buying the drill unless you have other plans for it. If I had other projects or uses in mind I would look at the HF as others have mentioned. I had one, it lasted a day, and the HF guys simply handed me a new one when I took it back. At 7.5 amps of power it is great for its intended purpose as well as a more powerful utility drill.

Oh yeah... take -MIKE-'s word on that ledger detail. It can easily be the undoing of a deck structure. If you go forward with that detail, make sure you use pressure treated for the ledge and run a bead of sealant behind the ledger before installation. After hanging the ledger, make sure you seal the gap between the upper edge of your ledge board to the foundation connection point.

Robert