If you’re searching for a concrete cutting company near me, then you’re in the right place. No matter what type of concrete cutting service is needed, completing commercial construction projects on time and on budget is crucial to your bottom line. So it’s important that every step of the process is handled by experienced professionals who understand and appreciate the investment you are making.
Concrete cutting is a highly specialized process that involves complex technique depending on the slab/s, top-notch machinery, as well as special consideration of accuracy and safety. Before hiring a concrete cutting company near me, it is important to understand the process so you can ask the right questions and make an informed decision about the company you are hiring.
Let’s take a look at some of the different types of equipment used in concrete cutting, as well as some of their applications, so you can get an idea of what type of concrete cutting service you will need to finish your job.
What Kind of Equipment Is Used in Concrete Cutting?
There is a huge range of concrete cutting equipment out there, and they can vary in size anywhere from hand-held saws to walk-behind machines to giant, industrial applications that are similar in size to a large truck.
Whether they are powered by massive diesel engines or a simple power cord, the heart of every one of these machines is its cutting mechanism. Since concrete is an extremely tough material, concrete cutting requires even tougher blades, bits, discs, and wires.
These materials are usually made from steel that is integrated with synthetic diamond particles. Diamond is the hardest material known to humans, with a rating of 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. In fact, diamonds are so hard that the Mohs Scale was developed using diamonds as a benchmark for ultimate hardness.
Since the 1950s, scientists have developed increasingly sophisticated means of producing lab-grown diamonds, which makes them an affordable and practical choice for producing the toughest blades that money can buy.
However, not all concrete cutting tools will incorporate diamonds. They can also be made from a range of metal alloys that include steel, titanium, tungsten carbide, and cobalt.
Concrete Cutting Blades, Bits, and Wheels
Here are some of the most common types of concrete cutting blades and bits that are used in commercial concrete cutting applications, all of which can be integrated with diamond particles:
Core Drilling Bits – Concrete core drilling is the process of removing cylindrical pieces of concrete from a concrete slab or wall. Diamond core drilling bits are made with a combination of tiny synthetic diamond particles inside of a steel alloy matrix to keep the diamonds in place.
Because cores will often need to be taken from concrete that is reinforced with rebar, using a diamond bit is often preferred for its ability to cut and grind through steel.
Saw Blades – These saw blades can range in size from a few inches to several feet, depending on their application. These types of concrete saw blades can be used to cut cracks in roads, floors, walkways, and driveways in order to allow the concrete to expand and contract without fracturing. They can also be used in hand-held applications to remove sections of concrete from an existing structure.
Wire Saws – Wire saws use a wire or thin blade that is usually embedded with diamond beads to make precision cuts in a concrete structure. They work similarly to a band saw in the sense that the wire revolves around an open area where you are able to cut through a surface, rather than rotating around a fixed point the way a saw blade would.
This not only allows for precise and fine cuts, but it also gives concrete cutting professionals the ability to access areas that would otherwise be impossible to modify.
Grinding Wheels – Concrete grinding wheels are fairly common tools that can be attached to nearly any common household angle grinder. They can be used to cut, shape, or remove concrete from almost any concrete surface that you can access with the grinder wheel.
Concrete Scarifiers – These concrete cutting machines are used for modifying concrete surfaces by milling off the surface material. These can be used to create smooth and level surfaces, remove surface contaminants, such as paints, adhesives, and sealants, or they can give concrete a rough or textured surface to prevent slippage.
Concrete Cutting Machines
The blades, bits, and wheels we mentioned before can be used with a number of configurations and machines.
Hand-Held Saws – Hand-held concrete saws provide more versatility in their cutting capabilities because they can be positioned however the user is able to hold the saw. These are often preferred for jobs that require small, precise cuts.
Slab Saws – Concrete slab saws are used for larger scale concrete cutting, providing cutting depths of up to 32 inches. These types of saws can be electric for indoor use or diesel powered for outdoor use.
The slab saw is also sometimes called a flat saw or road saw, and it can be used for cutting channels, excavating below ground, and creating joints in roads and bridges.
Wire Saw – As we mentioned before, wire saws provide much more versatile concrete cutting capabilities. They are often used to remove large sections of material that require cutting to depths that a spindle saw is unable to reach.
Wall Saw – Wall saws are essentially circular saws that are designed for cutting concrete. They require concrete-specific blades and are much more powerful than your everyday circular saw that is used for cutting wood.
These saws can cut at virtually any angle and can reach a depth of up to 3 feet.
Chain Saws – Another cousin of the ordinary saw family, concrete chain saws are another favorite for making precise cuts to remove material from existing structures using diamond embedded blades.
Core Drills – Core drilling is used to remove material while leaving perfectly cylindrical openings in a concrete structure. They can be extremely small, starting at a half inch, but they can also range anywhere up to 5 feet in diameter. These are used for creating precise holes in concrete for wiring, bolts, cables, and plumbing.
Concrete Grinders – In this particular case, we are not talking about an ordinary angle grinder with a concrete grinding wheel. Concrete grinders, also known as “scarifiers,” are generally used for larger scale applications over a wider surface area. They can mill rough concrete surfaces to create smooth finishes, or they can grind concrete to make anti-slip floors and rumble strips.
Concrete Cutting Precautions
No matter what type of concrete cutting tool you are using, you will always need to consider both concrete dust and heat.
Dust – Concrete dust is a very fine powder that can easily become airborne when cutting or grinding concrete. Because concrete contains highly alkaline or caustic substances like calcium oxide (also known as lime), concrete dust can cause chemical burns when it comes into contact with skin.
This dust can also be extremely harmful when inhaled because it can cause the same chemical burns to occur inside the sinuses, throat, and lungs. When working with concrete cutting or grinding tools, it is always necessary to use the right safety equipment and dress properly for the job.
Heat – Heat is another consideration that must be taken into account when cutting concrete. Because concrete cutting blades are thick and often have a wide diameter, they create a large amount of friction when cutting, which can quickly heat up the concrete structure they are modifying.
As with any material, heat causes concrete to expand, and in the case of reinforced concrete, it will cause the embedded steel structure to expand as well. This can create serious issues regarding the structural integrity of the concrete, since heat and expansion will cause the concrete to degrade and crack.
Luckily, there is a common solution for both of these problems that can safely mitigate the risks they impose. Most large scale concrete cutting applications can incorporate a continuous supply of water to the area, which will reduce the amount of dust that is thrown into the air while also cooling the concrete as it is cut.
However, there are some limitations and drawbacks that come with wet concrete cutting, such as the availability of water on the jobsite and the subsequent cleanup that will need to take place.
What to Look for in a Concrete Cutting Company Near Me
Now that you are more familiar with concrete cutting tools and precautions, let’s talk about some of the characteristics you should look for when hiring a concrete cutting company near me.
Commitment to Safety
Any job that involves using large machinery to work with hazardous materials implies certain safety risks, which is why your concrete cutting company near me should place the utmost importance on the safety of its employees and the environment in which they are working.
Creating a safe working environment doesn’t just require the proper PPE, clothing, and equipment for concrete. It also involves extensive planning and training. Before starting a job, safety managers should visit the site to identify potential safety hazards and create a plan to mitigate possible risks.
Furthermore, all machine operators and laborers need to receive appropriate education and on the job training to ensure that they are equipped with the necessary skills to perform their duties. Superintendents also need to conduct inspections to verify that safety practices are being observed throughout the course of the job,.
Before hiring a concrete cutting company near me, ask them what kinds of safety protocols they use and whether or not they can provide documentation of meeting OSHA’s safety standards.
Dedication to Quality
Your concrete cutting company near me should show the same dedication to quality that it does to safety. When it comes to quality in concrete cutting, it’s not just about the aesthetics. Quality work has everything to do with the long term safety of the project.
Since concrete is used to provide stability in structures like bridges, columns, foundations, and walls, there can be serious safety implications when the work is not performed correctly. When you hire a concrete cutting company near me to work on roads or buildings that thousands of people could pass through every day, they will need to work closely with engineers and construction crews to ensure that everything is carried out to the highest standards.
Although it’s not just about aesthetics, looks do play an important part in the overall quality of concrete work. Many concrete cutting jobs will include visible concrete surfaces, so the ability to create an attractive and clean appearance is also a high priority for any concrete cutting project.
Environmental Compliance
Concrete cutting can be a messy job, and it often calls for large machines that run on diesel fuel. When hiring a concrete cutting company near me, take some time to ask about their efforts to reduce their environmental impact when working outdoors.
For example, you might be looking for a concrete cutting company near me for slab cutting the surface of a bridge. In this case, you will want to ask about what kinds of precautions they will have in place to minimize the amount of concrete dust contamination that could make its way into nearby water sources.
If you are planning a project that is near a water source, it is ideal to find a concrete cutting company near me that has ample related experience when it comes to working around open bodies of water.
If you’re not sure about whether or not your concrete cutting company near me is in compliance with environmental safety standards, you can look them up on the EPA website to find out if they have ever received a citation for environmental infractions. If you are unable to find a specific company through this search, that means they have never been issued a citation by the EPA.
JP Hogan – The Best Concrete Cutting Company Near Me
The team at JP Hogan has over a century of combined concrete cutting experience. Over the years we have developed and adapted to the latest techniques and processes to get the job done accurately and safely, all while exceeding our customers’ expectations.
Throughout the East Cost, we offer and travel for various commercial concrete services including scanning, coring, drilling, sawing, grinding, grooving and more!
Before starting your next concrete cutting project, reach out to one of our knowledgeable staff members to get answers to your questions, or you can fill out this form to get an estimate within 24 hours!
