Wall Chasing Made Easy With Just 9 Tips

Wall chasing

Wall chasing is a necessity nowadays. Wall chasing is a technique employed for cutting neat channels in masonry or concrete structures known as chases. This is where the electric cables and internal water pipelines and other pipe work and conduits are installed in. This process is appropriate for all types of block work and brickwork. The process of wall chasing involves cutting two slots to a precise depth and width and then the concrete center piece gets removed using a small breaker or a hammer drill. This is done by hand held cutting tools that have double diamond blades. The blades are set to cut at a constant and a set depth. This is a quick technique and is almost dust-free due to an attached vacuum that collects any resultant dust before it can escape and drop on the floor.

There are several benefits of the wall chasing process:

• The dust and debris extracted from the chasing process is well controlled and contained using attached vacuum collection equipment and thus the surroundings do not get full of the dust particles of the tiles or bricks.
• This process does not require water and is a dry-cut procedure. Thus there is no water wastage.
• The wall chasing techniques can deliver accurate and precise channels for the pipework and cables. This ensures the perfect installation of all the concealed lines.
• With diamond blades and saws, it is possible to work on even hard concrete floor slabs.
• Wall chasing is the way to acquire a very fine finish for aesthetic design as well as any decorative requirements.

If you are planning to carry out the process of wall chasing all by yourself, here are a few tips you should keep in mind:

1. The paths to be cut for wall chasing should always be vertical or horizontal. Never ever make chases at an angle or across a diagonal of the wall. Make sure you don’t step the channel.
2. The vertical wall chasing should not be deeper than one third the thickness of the wall. For a standard 100mm brick wall, the chases can be 33mm deep which is not considering the plastering thickness which would normally be not more than 10mm.
3. The horizontal wall chasing should not be deeper than one sixth of the wall thickness. For a standard 100mm thick brick, it will be 16mm which is more than enough to fit in any type of pipe or wire.
4. Make sure that wall chasing do not align on either side of the wall. That means no two wall chasing should be back to back.
5. Remember that a horizontal chasing is more likely to weaken the wall structure than a vertical one. So try to avoid those as much as you can.
6. Use professional goggles and a dust mask to avoid splinters from the plaster and concrete to cause you any injuries.
7. Check the wall for previously chased pipes and wires to avoid cutting through them while you are making new wall chasing. If you cut through previously chased wires or pipes, you could end up having to do a lot more work due to that. So take extra care of this factor.
8. Even with the dust collection system, there is still going to be a lot of dust in the air. So before you start the wall chasing process, make sure you have secured things that are to be shielded from dust. If you are dust allergic, take necessary precautions and keep people with breathing problems away from the site.
9. A cable should either run through a channel, conduit or a pipe to shield it from internal damages after the wall chasing are filled and sealed.

If you work by the following guidelines, your wallchasing work will be completed with no glitches whatsoever.