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Get in touch with us today!
Professionals you can trust on
Get a FREE quote today!
Get in touch with us today!
Melbourne slabs carry more than load, post-tensioned cables, ageing conduit runs, and service penetrations nobody documented. Core drilling without knowing what’s in the slab turns a half-day installation into a structural callback.
Concrete core drilling is how a 100mm hole gets through a reinforced slab when an electrician needs to run conduit between floors, or a plumber needs to drop a waste pipe through a suspended concrete pour.
The drill bit is diamond-tipped, mounted on a core rig, and water-cooled during the cut. We’ve been running concrete core drilling jobs across Melbourne for over 20 years, from domestic extensions through to commercial fitouts. Scanning happens first on every job because post-tensioned cables and embedded conduit don’t show on the surface.
Concrete coring covers more ground than most people expect. The application drives everything: diameter, depth, angle, equipment, and whether the slab needs scanning first. Here’s where most of our Melbourne core drilling work actually comes from.
Plumbing cores have to hit the right diameter and position; hydraulic gradient failures show up at inspection, not during the drill. We work from the pipe spec and the structural drawings, not approximations.
Commercial fitout walls regularly carry embedded services that don't appear on current drawings. Scanning before any concrete drilling is standard practice on these jobs, not an upsell.
Large-diameter concrete coring through suspended slabs requires a rig with the mass to hold position. Vibration from undersized equipment transfers into the surrounding pour and creates edge cracking around the penetration.
Fire penetration cores have to meet the hydraulic engineer's diameter tolerance and sleeve positioning; the AS 1851 inspection doesn't allow field adjustments after the concrete corer has been through.
Plant rooms, basement walls, overhead angles, and hand-held core drilling reach positions a stand-mounted diamond core rig physically can't. It's not a lesser method; it's the right tool for confined site conditions.
Storm drainage shafts, mechanical risers, and structural openings above 300mm diameter need hydraulic core drilling equipment. At that diameter, a standard electric motor can't maintain consistent torque and the bit drifts.
Every concrete core drilling job runs the same four stages, residential extension or commercial fitout, 50mm diameter or 500mm. The sequence exists because skipping a step is where structural callbacks and failed inspections come from.
Post-tensioned cables, embedded conduit, and old service runs don't show on the surface. We scan first, cable and conduit positions determine drill placement, not the other way around.
Bolt-down, vacuum-mounted, or hand-held core drilling- the setup depends on slab access, required diameter, and substrate. Undersized equipment on a large-diameter core loses torque, and the bit drifts off centre.
Diamond concrete drilling runs wet. Water cools the bit and suppresses silica dust. WorkSafe Victoria silica exposure limits apply on every site, and slurry containment is part of the setup, not an afterthought.
The core slug is extracted, slurry contained and cleared, and the penetration checked against spec before we leave. Nothing gets handed over until it's right.
Post-tensioned cables are the risk most concrete core drilling jobs don’t account for until something goes wrong. Hit one and the job stops, structural engineer assessment, builder’s report, programme delay that pushes every trade behind it.
Surface rebar is visible on a scan. Embedded conduit, post-tension strands, and undocumented service runs aren’t visible any other way.
We run non-destructive scanning on every Melbourne core drilling job where slab age or construction type puts hidden services in play. Specifically, anything poured between the late 1970s and mid-1990s carries a real probability of post-tensioned elements that won’t appear on current drawings.
Residential: Suspended slabs in two-storey extensions, bathroom penetrations, and garage conversions through 100–150mm domestic pours. Rebar positioning varies pour to pour; scanning confirms placement before the diamond core rig is set up, not after.
Commercial: Transfer slabs, basement walls, and multi-storey floors where post-tensioned cables and embedded hydraulic or electrical services are standard construction. A misplaced core hole at this scale means a structural callback.
Two decades across residential, commercial, and industrial sites in Melbourne. That experience covers slab types, access conditions, and structural variables that only come with time on the tools.
The person quoting the job is the person running it. No subcontracted crews, no handoffs. On a commercial site, direct accountability affects how the job gets planned and executed.
We scan for post-tensioned cables, embedded conduit, and undocumented services before any concrete coring begins. It's standard practice on every job we take on, residential or commercial.
A single domestic penetration gets the same diamond core drilling equipment and WorkSafe Victoria silica controls as a large-scale commercial fitout. Job size doesn't change the standard.
We turn around quotes the same day and show up when confirmed. For programme-dependent builders and contractors, that reliability affects more than just the drilling stage.
Real feedback from builders, contractors, and homeowners across Melbourne.
Concrete core drilling in Melbourne typically runs between $150–$350 for a standard residential penetration. Commercial core drilling is priced on diameter, depth, slab type, and site access; these variables affect equipment, setup time, and crew requirements. Scanning, slurry management, and travel are factored into every quote. Call for a same-day assessment.
A single domestic core through a 150mm slab takes under an hour once the rig is positioned. Commercial concrete coring with multiple penetrations runs longer, scanning, access setup, and slurry control are part of the job, not additions to it. Most Melbourne core drilling jobs wrap within a half-day. High core counts or extended depth requirements are scoped during the quote.
Melbourne Concrete Cutters drills core holes from 25mm through to 750mm for large mechanical and drainage penetrations. Diameter is determined by the service specification; pipe, conduit, or duct size drives the core hole dimension. Diamond core drilling covers standard plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and fire service installation requirements across residential and commercial sites.
Standard concrete core drilling reaches 300–400mm on a single pass. Greater depths are achievable with barrel extensions, post-tensioned transfer slabs, and thick commercial pours, which regularly require extended runs. Depth capacity depends on rig configuration and access conditions, both confirmed during the quote stage before work begins.
Diamond core drilling cuts through standard reinforcing steel without halting the job. Rebar contact slows the cut and increases bit wear, but doesn’t prevent penetration. Heavily congested rebar in transfer slabs or pile caps needs assessment before drilling starts. Pre-drill scanning identifies rebar density and confirms the right bit configuration for the slab.