Concrete Cutting: An Insight To Concrete Core Drills and Concrete Core Drilling

Concrete Cutting: An Insight To Concrete Core Drills and Concrete Core Drilling
Affordable Concrete Cutting Boston

Concrete core drilling is the process of drilling perfectly round
holes through concrete walls, floors and other concrete
structures. Concrete core drilling is the most commonly
recognized use of any diamond concrete cutting tool. Concrete
core drills or "core rigs" can be operated in any orientation,
vertical, horizontal and even upside down thru concrete ceilings.
A concrete core drill bit consists of a steel tube with diamond
segments brazed or laser welded on the drilling end. The core
bits are mounted on the rotating shaft of various types of
concrete core drilling machines. Most concrete core drills are
connected to a stand that is secured to a wall or floor with a
concrete anchor and a bolt but there are also concrete core
drills that use vacuum pressure to attach to a floor. There are
also many different types of "hand held" core drills. Concrete
core drills can be powered by electricity, hydraulic, gasoline or
air power sources. Concrete core drill bits can range in diameter
from 1/2 inch to 72 inches in diameter and drilling depths are
virtually unlimited with the use of extensions. A solid
cylindrical slug or "core" of concrete is removed from the hole
after the drilling is complete. The applications for concrete
core drilling are virtually endless.

Core holes are used for "utility penetrations" such as
electrical, plumbing and heating but are also commonly used for
venting furnaces or clothes dryers. Concrete core drilling also
allows concrete structures to easily be made ready for sprinkler
systems, HVAC ducts, fiber optics, phone lines, computer lines
and much more. Core drilling methods are used widely in
underground utilities construction, most commonly, manhole taps,
underground vault taps, and wherever sewer, water, steam, air or
communication lines pass through a concrete or brick structure.

Line drilling or "line coring" is similar to perforating, when
core holes are drilled in a series of overlapping holes in a row,
allowing for one large piece of concrete to be removed. Line
coring is an effective method for cutting and removing small,
square or rectangle openings of almost any thickness of concrete
where other concrete sawing or cutting methods cannot be applied.

Although not recommended, concrete core drilling can be performed
by an advanced "do it yourselfer" and the equipment necessary to
perform concrete core drilling is readily available at your local
tool rental and supply store. Most professional concrete cutting
companies have a minimum charge of $250 to core a hole for you
and it can take a professional as little as 10 minutes to unload
his equipment, core the hole, and reload his equipment. Yet, I
have seen homeowners rent the equipment and spend an entire
weekend trying to core a single hole and then call a professional
concrete cutter in to complete the project anyways. Just like
with any trade a professional concrete cutter will make his job
look easy.



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