Concrete Bursting Explained

At Concrete Drilling Services, we offer a wide range of specialist concrete drilling, sawing and cutting services.

It’s fair to say that concrete bursting sounds like one of our most explosive services. Its name suggests a pretty major, volatile task. But in reality, concrete bursting is highly controlled. When performed by concrete specialists, concrete bursting is one of the quickest and safest ways to assist with concrete removal.

Below, we’ll be outlining the process of concrete bursting in more detail, including how it works, its use cases, and its many benefits.

What is concrete bursting, and how does it work? 

Concrete bursting uses demolition to break up large pieces of concrete.

Also called hydraulic bursting, the process involves using a carefully controlled (and small, don’t worry!) explosion to split large blocks of concrete, or big concrete structures. Then, these smaller pieces are far easier to remove.

It works by first drilling holes into the concrete. Then, a number of hydraulic bursters (hence the name hydraulic bursting) are inserted into the holes.

Then, the bursters expand the concrete, by applying hydraulic action into the concrete, through the holes. This breaks the concrete into chunks, through a series of highly controlled internal cracks.

What can concrete bursting be used for?

Concrete bursting can be used as a step in a wide range of different projects.

These include removing large expanses of concrete (for example, in car parks), removing concrete foundations, breaking up concrete walls or bearers, removing concrete paving slabs or driveways, breaking up concrete stairways, removing brick walls or concrete walls, just to name a few.

Its adaptability means that it can be incorporated within projects of any size, location and type of property.

What are the benefits of using concrete bursting?

Safety

Hydraulic bursting is extremely safe. The process is highly controlled and, when undertaken by professionals, it can be performed at almost zero risk to everyone on sight.

Adaptability

Concrete bursting can be used in the removals of the largest warehouse concrete floors, to the removal of the smallest domestic concrete driveway.

Quick and easy to set up

When you enlist the services of a concrete specialist, concrete bursting can be performed using equipment that is quick and easy to set up. The equipment requires minimal site preparation and very little set-up or set-down time.

Low noise

Despite the explosiveness that its name suggests, concrete bursting is almost entirely noiseless. This makes it ideal for any projects that take place in public areas, or where there are multiple people on site.

Efficient

From start to finish, the process is remarkably quick. A concrete expert will be able to perform this task with remarkable efficiency.

Speeds up projects

Not only is the concrete bursting process quick in itself, but it will dramatically reduce the time required for the total project. It allows construction workers to quickly and easily remove little blocks of concrete, rather than having to demolish and remove the huge concrete structure, bit by bit. As you can imagine, this will save vast amounts of time!

Protects construction workers

Unlike conventional drilling, concrete bursting minimises the amount of vibration that travels through the construction teams’ hands and arms. This makes it a great way to achieve higher health and safety standards on site.

Clean

The use of internal cracking means that concrete bursting is far cleaner than concrete drilling. It produces almost no dust or tiny concrete pieces.

At Concrete Drilling Services, our team of professional concrete specialists offer concrete bursting as one of our core services.

Our team has extensive experience performing concrete bursting for projects of every size and scope, providing our specialist services to clients across the country.

We utilise the very latest industry equipment, coupled with the highest health and safety standards. As a result, you can trust us to deliver the most efficient, safe and high quality service possible.

To find out more about the benefits of using concrete bursting, or to enlist the services of our professional concrete bursting team, don’t hesitate to get in touch.