This work is engaged in research and development on diamond materials for use in insert tools for construction applications. ‘Diamond insert tools’ may be used for demolition processes such as sawing, coring or grinding on masonry materials (brick, limestone) and concretes. A diamond insert tool comprises a steel blank (such as a saw blade centre, core bit barrel or cup wheel) and cutting elements. These cutting elements are in most cases either metal-matrix segments with embedded diamond particles or carriers supporting large diamond cutters. The two principal performance characteristics of a diamond insert tool are cutting speed and lifetime. In this project, different diamond materials will be assessed for their potential suitability for use in insert tools. Laboratory techniques such as optical and electron microscopy and x-ray methods will be used to study the material structure and composition of the diamond materials. The mechanical properties and behaviour of these diamond materials will also be studied, together with their thermal dependence, as these materials may experience elevated temperatures during the manufacturing and/or use of the diamond insert tool. The laboratory studies will be complemented by applications testing, in which the diamond materials will be incorporated into insert tools and observed in the demolition of construction materials. The experiments performed and the results obtained will be described in detail.