Cutting through concrete walls is a task by itself. There are a lot of things to consider while drilling the concrete structure because there is a lot beneath the concrete wall or column, from plumbing lines to electrical conduits, rebars, and much more. Not just that, when you have to make a hole or opening in the concrete of a considerable size, the handheld drill is not the right fit for you. You need an industrial-grade core drilling tool that is capable of creating holes of large sizes with accuracy and precision even through the hardest of concrete structures.
Here are the four tips for cutting through concrete walls:
1. Choose the Right Drilling Machine
The very first thing you need for a safe and accurate drilling operation is you have to choose the right drilling machine. There are primarily two types of concrete drilling devices: handheld and rig mounted. A handheld device works only for small holes, but as you are looking for cutting through concrete walls, you need a rig-mounted heavy-duty core drilling device that can easily cut through high-strength concrete walls.
2. Pick the Right Drill Bit
Not just the drilling machine, you need to carefully choose the right drill bit. Diamond drill bits are the industrial standard, but the choice of a drill bit depends on the hardness of the material to be drilled. For example, for the drilling of ultra-hard alumina, sapphire, precious stones, or materials with high metal content, metal bonded diamond drills are the best. But for concrete core drilling, diamond-tipped bits work great.
3. Inspect the Area before Drilling
You cannot just make openings in the concrete structure without knowing what is beneath the concrete structure. Inspect the area to drill before cutting through concrete walls. There are a number of instances where accidentally cutting the electrical conduits results in power outages and sometimes electrocution; hitting the rebars results in putting the structural stability at risk, and damaging the pipelines into a costly repair. You can avert all this by inspecting the area before drilling.
To do so, you need a GPR to scan the concrete structure. Maintenance work contractors partner with professional
GPR scanning companies to perform the concrete scanning to accurately inspect the concrete structure, measure slab thickness, and locate rebars, PT cables, conduits, and voids.
4. Use Proper Safety Equipment
Now you are all set to cut the concrete structure, but despite doing all, there are risks. You need to follow all the safety guidelines that are provided by the equipment manufacturer to perform the drilling operations. The common safety guidelines include:
- Wearing goggles while performing drilling at all times
- Using earplugs to prevent hearing damage
- Wearing safety gloves to prevent hand injuries
If you follow all the above-mentioned four trips, you can cut through the concrete wall safely.
If you need professional concrete core drilling services, we, Concrete Insight, can provide you with the highest quality of concrete core drilling services in Virginia, MD, DC, and neighboring states.
We have 25 years of experience in concrete scanning, drilling, and testing. We can drill the hole from 1″ to 60″ in diameter for testing or running conduits through walls, slabs, and columns.
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