Core drilling—usually done with a core drilling machine—involves extracting a core from specific parts of a wall or concrete slab. This process helps assess the strength of the material. When buying a core drilling machine, make sure to consider your specific needs.

Hiring a professional sawing or concrete drilling company is always the best option for cutting or drilling concrete. But if you decide to do it yourself, follow these five essential tips to ensure you do the job properly—and achieve great results.

Selecting the Correct Drilling Machine

There are a variety of different drill machines available for testing concrete strength, and a reliable core drilling machine is one such option. You can either purchase or rent these products, but if you are looking to make core drilling a regular aspect of your building process they are a sound investment.

Core handheld drills produce holes of up to a diameter of three inches. However, if you are looking to successfully spring test concrete for its strength, it is necessary to drill a hole of at least 3.7 inches in diameter. There are no handheld drills available for this purpose and you require a drill stand unit or rig-mounted drill machine.

Those looking to purchase one of these units should search for a model with multi-function uses. This allows for greater value for money. You can use these models for both electrical/plumbing holes as well as dowel-hole drilling.

Finding the Right Attachment

Depending on where you are looking to drill specific holes, specific stands are needed. When drilling on slabs, for example, it is necessary that you use a vacuum stand with suction power. This way, the mechanism of the core drilling machine will stay attached to the floor. In these instances, it is unnecessary to drill an anchor hole. When core drilling the wall, it is necessary to secure the stand. This is done through the use of safety chains which take away the risk of accidental slips.

Think About Power Options

There are three available options for powering the core drill. They are air-powered, electric and hydraulic sources. The availability of power and work environment at the site defines which source is necessary for your drilling requirements. Different models allow appropriate speed choices regarding hole size and concrete hardness.

Drill Depth is Important

One foot long bits can successfully deal with regular core drilling requirements. When drilling requirements grow higher than this, it is important to use barrel bits. These barrel bits are extensions which provide a deeper drill, compared to that of the size of the pre-existing cutting bits.

You can change to increased depths if your requirements differ, but remember to consider the style of extension which can provide the best results in varying drilling scenarios.

Selecting Your Diamond Bit

You must consider the aggregate hardness and psi of the concrete material before choosing the right diamond bit. The core diamond bit must be in accurate proportion to the surface or drilling material to get the best results.

Remember this rule: construction workers usually use a soft diamond bond for drilling on hard surfaces, and a harder bond for drilling on soft surfaces. Although there is no defined solution, you should always use your discretion based on the scenario when selecting your diamond bit.

Our range of core drill bits is especially constructed to core concrete, reinforced concrete, concrete block, hard stone, and brick.

If you have any further enquiries about how to successfully conduct core drilling for your project, feel free to get in contact with the team at Canberra Diamond Blade by calling 02 6242 8996 or by submitting an enquiry form on our contact page.