DIAMOND EDGE DRILLING

Conversion of two large former office buildings into residential units. Diamond Edge were called in by the Main Contractor to provide the Diamond Drilling, Concrete Cutting and Controlled Demolition package. Our works included:

• Diamond Drilling to form holes and openings through the RC floor slabs and ring beams to accept new drainage, vents and services.

• Diamond Track Sawing, Stitch Drilling and Robotic Demolition to form new door openings through RC walls.

• Floor sawing, breaking-out and excavation with Brokk 90 demolition robot to form trenches through the ground floor RC slabs for new drainage runs.

• Controlled demolition of two redundant RC staircases from 2nd Floor to Ground using track saw, stitch drilling and Brokk demolition robot. Including all required temporary support propping. Demolition carried out without damage to the glass curtain walling surrounding the staircases.   

The Coronation Parade promenade and breakwater in Folkestone, Kent was built in the late 1930s. It consists of 91 reinforced concrete arches and promenade with a retaining wall to the rear. After many years exposed in the harsh sea environment the structure had begun to fail, sections of the concrete had started spalling and corrosion was eating away at the steel reinforcement contained within the concrete. The local council contracted a specialist company to carry out comprehensive concrete repairs and at the same time install into the structure a corrosion protection system. Diamond Edge Drilling Ltd were called in by the concrete repairs contractor to carry out the drilling and chasing required for the installation of the system anodes and cabling.

The main elements of our work included but were not limited to:

• 1360 number 41mm diameter holes drilled 2.4 to 3 metres deep into the arch walls
• 700 number 41mm diameter holes drilled 2.4 to 3.2 metres deep into the rear retaining wall
• 2720 number 41mm diameter holes drilled into the promenade deck
• 6000 number linear metres of channelling chased into the promenade deck

During the course of the contract Diamond Edge worked in close co-operation with the Client and the other trades on site to ensure fluent operations where contractor activities inevitably crossed. Our work was completed on program despite being at the mercy of the elements!

As part of the £6bn Thameslink upgrade, Blackfriars Station was completely rebuilt and now extends across the Blackfriars Bridge. Part of the work involved demolition of platforms and roof of the over-ground station and the main contractor had to ensure that trains could continue to run through Blackfriars Underground station before the demolition and re-construction works could proceed. The solution to this was a massive steel cover for the tube lines known as a Track Protection Structure (TPS) – essentially a series of steel arches connected to a steel base which was secured to the underground platform.

Diamond Edge Drilling Ltd, in partnership with JJM Rail Ltd, were contracted to carry out the strengthening and foundation works to the underground platform required to allow construction of the TPS. Two hundred and fifty 107mm holes were diamond drilled up to 3m deep into the platform footings, reinforcing bars inserted and the holes filled with a specialist grout to form mini strengthening piles through the platform. Twenty-two openings were then floor sawn and broken out in the RC platform around the piles, the piles then cropped to the specified level with handheld hydraulic crunchers and the opening filled with concrete to form capping beams for attachment of the TPS.    
As with a lot of work on the Underground strict timescales had to be adhered to. Blackfriars Underground Station was closed to the public during weekends to facilitate these works. Our work was completed in just two 48-hour possessions of the station, resourced with six diamond drilling rigs, floor saws, hydraulic crunchers and three teams of seven operatives working in shift rotation throughout both weekends.

As part of the £750m refurbishment to the Ministry of Defence Main Building in Whitehall, we were contracted to provide various diamond drilling, diamond sawing and controlled demolition services. Since its inception, Diamond Edge has worked in many Government buildings including the War Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Paddington Police Station and Westminster City Hall. 

During the MOD Main Building refurbishment contract, the bulk of our work comprised:

• Diamond sawing then concrete breaking to form over 400 openings from 500mm x 500mm to 7m x 5m in size through the reinforced concrete floor slabs and walls. These new openings were for new vent ducts, doors, windows, staircases and lift shafts.
• Diamond drilling over 2000 holes for new services, ducts and pipework running throughout the building.
• Diamond wire sawing to remove redundant beams and columns.

We were called in by the Client to form 16 precise openings through the 450mm thick heavily reinforced basement walls for new windows and doors. This was to allow conversion of the basement area into residential units. The openings were cut into sections and lifted out with the site excavator to eliminate breaking work and to reduce noise levels due to the rest of the building being occupied by tenants.