Gloucester & Gloucestershire
Diamond Drilling & Concrete Cutting in Gloucester
Core drilling, saw cutting and chasing through brick, block and concrete in Gloucester, from Victorian terraces and dock warehouses to new estates.
- DSA Member
- Brick & Block Specialists
- Free Quotes
Working in Gloucester
A Brick City, Old and New
A lot of Gloucester is brick. There are Victorian and Edwardian terraces with solid brick walls, the converted warehouses around Gloucester Docks, and newer estates like Kingsway and Quedgeley built with brick and block cavity walls.
Knowing which you've got changes the job. A solid brick wall is one thick piece of masonry, while a cavity wall is two separate leaves with a gap between them. The hole size, the core length and how the pipe or duct is sealed all depend on it.
Solid Brick Walls
Older Gloucester houses often have solid walls about two bricks thick. Diamond coring cuts straight through without shaking the brickwork loose, so the face around the hole stays tidy inside and out.
Dock Warehouses
Gloucester Docks has fourteen Victorian warehouses, all listed, and many are now flats and offices. Before drilling through one, check with the building's managing agent and Gloucester City Council whether consent is needed.
Newer Estates
Brick and block cavity walls in homes built over the last few decades. They core quickly and cleanly for extractor fans, flues, soil pipes and outside taps.
Solid or cavity?
How to Tell What Your Wall Is
Look at the brick pattern on the outside. If you can see the short ends of bricks (headers) mixed in with the long sides, the wall is usually solid brick. If every brick shows its long side, it's usually a cavity wall with a second leaf behind it.
Then measure the wall at a door or window. A solid brick wall is usually around 225mm thick before plaster. A cavity wall is usually thicker, because it includes the gap and insulation between the two leaves.
Send a photo of the brickwork and the thickness, and Liam will confirm the core length, the hole size and whether the hole needs a sleeve across a cavity.
Wall cross-sections
Solid brick vs cavity wall
Methods we use in Gloucester
Brick and Block Coring
Clean holes through solid brick and cavity walls for extractor fans, cooker hoods, boiler flues, soil pipes and cables.
Ring Sawing
Deeper cuts with a handheld ring saw for openings and corners where a wall saw track won't fit, such as tight hallways and older terraces.
Stitch Drilling
Overlapping cores to free a section of thick brick or concrete without a saw, useful for awkward openings and in confined spaces.
Wall Chasing
Straight, depth-set chases for rewires and new heating pipes, with dust extraction, in older solid-walled houses and new builds.
What we do in Gloucester
Our Services in Gloucester
Our three core services, matched to Gloucester's solid brick terraces, converted dock buildings, newer estates and commercial units.
Core Drilling in Gloucester
Holes for extractor fans, cooker hoods and boiler flues through solid brick and cavity walls, soil and waste pipe holes, and service cores in commercial buildings.
Diamond core drilling →Saw Cutting in Gloucester
Door and window openings, knock-throughs and widened openings in brick and concrete walls, cut clean once the engineer's design and lintel are in place.
Concrete saw cutting →Chasing in Gloucester
Cable and pipe chases for rewires and heating in older terraces and new builds, cut to a set depth with dust extraction.
Wall and floor chasing →Not sure how big the hole should be? See our guide to soil pipe core hole sizes.
How a Gloucester Job Works
Most Gloucester jobs are priced from photos, with no site visit. Here's what happens from your first message to the finished job.
Send Photos and Sizes
A photo of the brickwork outside, the wall thickness at a door or window, the hole or opening sizes, and your postcode in Gloucester or Gloucestershire.
Fixed Price and a Date
Liam replies with a fixed price and a date, usually within 24 hours, and confirms whether the wall is solid or cavity.
Check, Protect and Set Up
We check for cables and pipes, sheet the room and set up the water feed and dust extraction.
Drill, Clean Up and Check
Clean holes and cuts in the marked positions, dust and slurry cleared away, and the room left tidy before we leave.
Tell us about the job and add a few photos. Liam replies with a fixed price, usually within 24 hours.
Rather send photos on WhatsApp? Message Liam on 07833 445534
Where we work
Gloucester and the Towns Around It
Gloucester is about 35 miles from our base in Bristol, straight up the M5. We cover the whole city and the surrounding area, including:
- Quedgeley
- Kingsway
- Hardwicke
- Hempsted
- Tuffley
- Abbeydale
- Barnwood
- Hucclecote
- Longlevens
- Churchdown
- Brockworth
- Innsworth
- Cheltenham
- Stroud
- Stonehouse
- Tewkesbury
- Painswick
- Newent
FAQs
Diamond Drilling in Gloucester: Your Questions
Do you cover Gloucester and Gloucestershire?
Yes. Gloucester is about 35 miles from our base in Bristol up the M5. We cover the city and the towns around it, including Quedgeley, Churchdown, Cheltenham, Stroud and Tewkesbury.
How do I know if my wall is solid brick or cavity?
Look for the short ends of bricks (headers) in the brick pattern, which usually means solid brick, and measure the wall at a door or window. A solid brick wall is usually around 225mm before plaster, and a cavity wall is usually thicker. Send a photo and Liam will confirm.
Can you drill through the wall of a converted dock warehouse?
The Victorian warehouses at Gloucester Docks are listed buildings, so check with the managing agent and Gloucester City Council whether you need consent first. Once it's in place, diamond coring gives a clean hole with no hammering into the old brickwork.
Can you cut a doorway in a solid brick wall?
Yes, once a structural engineer has specified the lintel or steel and it's been installed or propped as designed. The opening is then cut with a wall saw or ring saw for straight edges, so there's no loose brickwork to rebuild.
Can you chase walls for a rewire in an older Gloucester house?
Yes. Chases are cut to a set width and depth with a twin-blade chaser and dust extraction, keeping within safe depth limits for the wall.
How do I get a price for a job in Gloucester?
Send a photo of the wall, the thickness and the sizes you need. Liam replies with a fixed price and a date, usually within 24 hours.
Get a Free Quote in Gloucester
Send a photo of the brickwork and rough sizes. Liam replies within 24 hours with a fixed price and a date for your Gloucester job.