Diamond Drilling & Concrete Coring

Diamond drilling (Concrete Coring) is an effective way of certifying the strength of your concrete once it has hardened and the most common site investigation method used post pour. Our fully trained technicians will attend your site and carry out a full assessment of the area and location.

Reasons why diamond drilling is carried out

• you do not know the strength of the floor is and need to know what loads can be safely applied
• you want to know the depth of the sub-layers or what is beneath the surface
• you need to know the individual proportions of the elements that make up the floor or surface
• you need to to know the cement content used

High definition video and photographs are taken during the cutting of the concrete cores. We also carry out Schmidt rebound hammer testing as standard to give you a guideline strength on the day and before the cores themselves are actually compressive tested. The minimum length of the sample must be no less than 110 mm.

Our diamond tipped barrels can cut through many hardened surfaces including steel and rebar which is commonly found in concrete slab installations. Please be aware that diamond drilling is a form of destructive testing that will leave a cylindrical void, however, this void can be re-instated or filled upon core removal.

Common core diameter sizes we cut

• 50 mm
• 70 mm
• 100 mm
• 150 mm

We can cut down and into a depth to suit you utilising extension rods to enable penetration and cutting of sub-layers and beyond, dependent on slab depth.

Do you require a permit?

It all depends on the requirements of the site, however, most of the time, no. Water is used during the cutting procedure to prevent dust and vapours as well as keeping the barrel cool to prevent the generation of heat. Vibration is often at a minimum with noise sometimes being in the mid-range decibel ranges.

Concrete core preparation

Each core will be ground and capped to ensure a perfectly flat surface ready for compressive crushing. Incorrect surface preparation can lead imbalanced pressure being applied to the core sample by the testing machine and incorrect and often low strengths being achieved.

Once your core(s) have been tested to your requirements, an Adobe PDF Report with your results will be generated, which in turn is issued to you and your colleagues via e-mail. All test reports, videos and photos will also be available to view and download via our secure client portal.

Can we send our concrete cores to you for preparation and testing?

Yes, you can. If you have cut your own core samples, you can arrange for the core samples to be delivered to us or we can arrange for Nationwide collection, all at very competitive prices.