I finally switched from a manual to a rotary hammer for demo work

I spent years using a regular SDS drill for chipping out old tile and concrete slabs in basements. Last month on a job in Arlington, I rented a Bosch bulldog rotary hammer and finished a full bathroom demo in about 4 hours instead of the usual 8. The difference in vibration and sheer breaking power is night and day. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big jump in speed on demo days?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_bailey9326d ago

Four hours for a full bathroom demo with a rotary hammer? That seems awfully fast unless you were just knocking off big chunks and leaving the cleanup for later. I've had the opposite experience where the extra power just made me break tiles into splinters instead of clean sheets, which meant more time picking up tiny pieces. A manual hammer gives you way more control when you're trying to save the substrate underneath, and you don't have to fight the tool bouncing around.

mila_brown1026d ago

Oh yeah, @morgan_bailey93 you're spot on about the control issue. A rotary hammer just turns tile work into a guessing game, and half the time you're chasing shards across the floor anyway.

the_oscar26d ago

That "chasing shards" line hit home for me. I had a similar mess trying to demo a backsplash with a rotary hammer and ended up with crumbs everywhere. @morgan_bailey93 what worked for me was switching to an oscillating multi-tool with a stiff scraper blade, it cut through the thinset clean without shattering the tiles. You can pop whole sections off in like five minutes, way less cleanup and way more control. Have you tried that approach?