We'd genuinely rather lose a small job than oversell you on the wrong technique. So here's the honest version: when can you do it yourself, and when should you stop and call?
When DIY is fine
For most small holes in everyday domestic substrates, an SDS hammer drill from any builders' merchant will do the job. If all of these are true, crack on:
- The hole is under ~25mm in diameter.
- The substrate is soft brick, blockwork, plasterboard, or a non-structural partition.
- You're confident there are no buried services — water pipes, electrics, gas — in the way.
- A small amount of dust and a slightly rough hole edge is acceptable.
That covers most TV-mount fixings, plug holes for shelf brackets, even running a small cable through a partition wall. For that work, paying a specialist is overkill.
When it isn't
The line shifts when any of these come into play:
- The hole is bigger than ~25mm. Hammer drills bottom out fast above that size, and the bit starts wandering.
- It's a structural slab or wall. Reinforced concrete needs to be diamond-cut or you risk cracking the slab around the hole.
- You don't know what's inside. Live cables, water pipes, post-tension cables — once you've hit one, the rest of the job stops being about the hole.
- The hole has to be precise. Anything that needs to be sleeved, fire-stopped, or signed off (ductwork, soil pipes, structural penetrations) needs a clean diamond-cut edge.
- You can't manage water and slurry. Wet drilling makes a mess if there's nowhere for it to go. Dry drilling needs vacuum extraction at the bit head — the HSE silica rules aren't optional.
If you don't know what's behind the surface, don't drill into it.
The two questions to ask yourself
You don't need a flowchart. Just two questions:
- Do I know what's inside this slab or wall? Live services. Rebar. Post-tension. If the answer is "I think so" or "probably not", that's the answer.
- Can I live with the result if I'm wrong? A cracked slab is expensive. A cut cable is dangerous. A burst pipe ruins someone's afternoon.
If both answers are "yes", DIY. If either is "no" — that's when we earn our keep.
What we bring that you can't easily DIY
- Diamond core kit that runs from 12mm to 1000mm — properly cooled and vibration-controlled.
- Scanning kit (rebar detector, GPR) so we know what we're cutting through before we cut.
- Water supply and slurry extraction — wet sites stay wet, dry sites stay dust-free.
- Public liability cover for the work, and certified handover when the job warrants it.
It's not magic — it's just the right kit, the right scan, and somebody who's done it before.
When you're not sure — just send a photo
Phone photo + postcode + roughly what you're trying to do. We'll come back and tell you honestly: either "yes that's a job for us, here's a price," or "you can do that with a £40 hammer drill and a 16mm bit." Both answers are useful.
Read more on diamond drilling vs percussion drilling if you want the technical version of why these techniques aren't interchangeable.
Got a job and you're not sure? Send the brief → · or read what to send for a fast quote.