Last Updated on June 28, 2023 by Admin
Core Drilling is a fundamental phase of early excavation to determine the contents of the soil down to a predetermined depth. Simple right? Well, it actually kind of is that simple, but if that didn’t instantly answer all your questions (it probably didn’t) let’s take some time to go a little more in-depth about it.
How Does Core Drilling Work?
Core Drilling is performed by grabbing a T-shaped device (or an automated driller) and slowly inserting it into the ground. As it goes down it collects the dirt, rocks, and other materials inside the drill itself. These collected materials are preserved inside the drill in the positions they were collected, and when the drill comes out, these materials can be extracted in small 10cm samples that can then be individually analysed and tested. It tends to look a little something like this:
By doing it this way, we can see what the contents are of the area to be excavated to the depth of one or two metres – more if we are using a machine-operated drill that has the potential to delve much further. In some circumstances, machine drills are preferred over human-operated mechanical drills, especially if it is likely that the drill will be dealing with hard material like stone rather than soft dirt, or if the drill is required to measure resistance as well as content.
Why Do We Use Core Drilling?
Core drilling is used for a couple of reasons, firstly it’s a quick way to get an idea of what sort of materials excavators are going to have to deal with – an excavation that has to deal with rock and rubble requires different tools than one that is dealing with soil, and can be different again if it has to deal with plant or tree roots. By performing core drilling in advance, can prepare workers to bring the right tools for the job and can prevent unseen issues from cropping up. It can also be used to determine the quality of the earth for supporting whatever structure is being erected on top of it, thus allowing a very early warning system if it’s determined that the ground is unsuitable for the intended construction.
However, this isn’t the only use for core drilling. Two other fundamental uses of core drilling can be to detect pipes or underground wires – as these are typically far more resistant to a manual or low-pressure drill and thus can be quickly detected – and to acquire samples for testing the nutritional or toxic content in the soil. This means that via core drilling, not only can work sites be made safer – causing minimal interruption to other services – but it can also be used to determine if the work being performed in the area is causing damage to the soil or might be a danger to workers. For building projects and excavation needs, companies offering core drilling in Sydney are invaluable services, but they’re invaluable for another reason as well.
A third reason why we use core drilling is that, in many parts of the country, valuable archaeological sites teaching us about our country’s history have yet to be uncovered. Everything from colonial settlements to 10,000-year-old Indigenous farmlands and prehistoric animals has been discovered through the use of core drilling. However, many workers on construction sites have reported finding such artefacts and then “throwing them out” because their site manager has told them they can’t afford a two-week delay in the project – a delay required by law whenever a site of potentially historic significance is uncovered to allow for a rapid excavation by other qualified professionals.
For this reason, out-of-house core drilling experts like the one mentioned earlier are vital, because, by virtue of their independence, they have the power to report a site of historic value without interference from corporate higher-ups. Multiple items now resting inside museums or in the hands of their traditional owners are only there because independent drilling companies have followed the law respecting our heritage instead of covering it up for the sake of profit.
What is the Value of Core Drilling?
In a very real way, core drilling is a cheap and easy way to protect our workers, our land, our nature, our telecommunications, and our history, while also providing an early detection system for potential hurdles the excavating team might encounter. And it doesn’t hurt anyone to keep our construction companies in check for good and honest practice too.
