Concrete Cutting Service
Concrete Core Drilling in Houston
Diamond core drilling for clean round holes — plumbing, conduit, HVAC line sets, anchors, dowels and material sampling — in slabs, walls and foundations.
Core drilling produces clean, round holes through concrete using a diamond-tipped barrel bit that rotates on a rig-mounted or hand-held motor. As the bit advances, it leaves a smooth bore and lifts out a solid cylindrical core. The process is precise and low-vibration, which makes it ideal for penetrations in occupied buildings, finished floors, and structural members where breaking would cause unacceptable damage.
Reach for coring whenever you need a round opening: plumbing penetrations and floor drain coring, electrical conduit openings, HVAC penetrations, dowel drilling and anchor-bolt coring, handrail coring, and concrete core sampling for testing. Bit diameters range from roughly an inch up to a foot or more, and holes can be drilled vertically, horizontally, or at an angle. The rig is anchored or vacuum-mounted so the bit stays true through the full depth.
When to core vs. saw
Coring and sawing solve different opening shapes.
| Need | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Round penetration | Core drilling | Smooth bore, intact core |
| Rectangular opening | Wall or slab sawing | Straight square edges |
| Test specimen | Core drilling (sampling) | Intact cylinder for lab |
| Anchor / dowel holes | Core drilling | Precise diameter & depth |
Process & safety
Core drilling is almost always wet: water is fed through the bit to suppress respirable crystalline silica, cool the diamond segments, and flush cuttings, consistent with OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153. On upper floors and finished interiors, crews ring the collar with a water dam and vacuum the slurry to keep it off surrounding finishes. Because a core bit can sever whatever lies in its path, GPR scanning is used before coring Houston post-tension slabs to map tendons, rebar and embedded conduit — cutting a tensioned tendon is a serious hazard and an expensive repair.
Sampling for testing
Cores pulled for compressive-strength or petrographic testing are handled to preserve the specimen. See concrete core sampling.
Frequently asked questions
- What size holes can be core drilled?
- Bit diameters commonly range from about one inch up to a foot or more. The rig is anchored or vacuum-mounted to keep the bore true, and holes can run vertical, horizontal, or angled.
- Can you core through rebar and post-tension slabs?
- Diamond bits can cut through rebar, but tendons in post-tension slabs must not be cut. Crews scan with GPR first to locate and avoid tendons and conduit before coring.
- Is core drilling messy inside a finished building?
- Wet coring produces slurry, but crews contain it with a collar dam and vacuum, keeping surrounding finishes clean. This wet method also controls silica dust per OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153.
- Do you offer core sampling for concrete testing?
- Yes — cores can be pulled and handled to preserve the specimen for lab testing. See concrete core sampling.
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