Concrete Core Drilling in Riverside, CA

Core drilling is one of the most precise services in the concrete cutting trade. DSI uses diamond-tipped core bits to create clean, round openings through slabs, walls, curbs, and foundations — without disturbing adjacent reinforcement or surrounding structure. The result is a ready-to-use penetration, properly sized and correctly located, on the first pass.

Our drilling equipment ranges from compact handheld units for confined interior spaces to large-diameter ride-on rigs for deep penetrations through heavily reinforced commercial concrete.

Core drilling is how round penetrations get through concrete and masonry: plumbing and drain lines, electrical and data conduit, HVAC and exhaust, fire sprinkler mains, anchor and dowel holes, and test cores. It is cleaner and far more accurate than breaking a hole, and it leaves the surrounding slab or wall intact.

Contractors call for coring on new construction, tenant improvements and remodels alike, from a single hole in an occupied office to hundreds of penetrations across a warehouse or parking structure.

1. Confirm hole sizes, locations, depth and orientation with the lead trade before mobilizing.
2. Scan with GPR around each location when rebar, post-tension cable or conduit isn't confirmed on the drawings.
3. Anchor or vacuum-mount the rig, set up water and slurry control, and protect finished surfaces.
4. Drill wet with diamond core bits, vertical, horizontal or overhead as required.
5. Remove the cores, clean up the slurry and confirm each penetration with the trade.

Every job is quoted from its actual scope, fixed-price or hourly. The main factors are:

• Number of holes, diameter and depth
• Reinforcement and post-tension slabs
• Orientation: overhead and horizontal coring takes more setup than vertical
• Access, working height and protection of finished areas
• Whether GPR scanning is included

We core wet, which controls silica dust under Cal/OSHA requirements and cools the bit, and we contain the slurry so it doesn't reach finishes or drains it shouldn't.

In post-tensioned slabs we scan every location before drilling. A cut tendon is a structural and safety event, so locations are adjusted around anything the scan finds.

DSI provides core drilling from our Riverside yard across the Inland Empire, including Corona, Ontario, San Bernardino, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Moreno Valley, Temecula, Jurupa Valley, and we mobilize for projects in Southern California, the High Desert, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, the Central Valley, Northern California. See all California service areas.

Related guides: Concrete Core Drilling Explained and Cutting or Coring a Post-Tension Slab.

Call (951) 737-2077 or send your scope and plans for an estimate; we respond within one business day.