How To Cut Thick Concrete Slab?

How To Cut Concrete Slabs Efficiently?

The idea of trying to neatly and carefully cut through concrete is not simple. In basic construction, you can find the most common job that presents itself is the alteration of your current concrete. No matter whether it is the foundation, any wall, a sidewalk, or any anchor slab. It is never easy to find out if you got the true knowledge and expertise, and correct tools to accomplish the job. You can make use of the cut-off machines as well as the diamond chainsaws. These are the two most widespread concrete cutting tools, and their use may overlap to an extent, but you should know that they are never apparently identical. By knowing the changes between these two sorts of tools, you can opt for the right choice for the next task.

Whenever you start cutting the concrete, you should make sure that you are fulfilling all the Australian standards required for concrete slab cutting. Australian occupational safety and health administration recently issued an ultimate regulation when it comes to silica dust exposure. This lessens the allowed exposure restriction of respirable crystalline silica. The latest limit offered is around 50 micrograms per cubic meter, all the way through an eight hours 8-hour sift.

Previously it was allowed by 250 micrograms. The use of engineering controls has been requisite by the contractors cutting the concrete. Also, they have focused on water usage. They also focused on offering ventilation, which will limit employees’ exposure to silica dust. You must know that the use of respirators is very important while cutting a concrete slab. During the cutting concrete, it is recommended to go for wet cutting, because it helps to control dust. The water binds the dirt and decreases the volume of airborne dust formed during the concrete cutting. Another option you can go is to go for a dust collection system.

What Should You Consider Before Cutting?

As a concrete cutting specialist, before you begin the entire procedure, it’s of key significance to select the parts where you will complete the cuts. You should consider starting it from the column lines centre. Keep in mind that joints have to be spaced at 25 to 32 the piece’s thickness, while this has to be initially set by your expert. Normally, the spacing between the joint may be around ten to twenty feet, it also depends on the volume of the slab’s support. Those experts who have been using some high-shrinkage concrete may go for a lower cut spacing. Following are the set of actions you should be keeping in your mind before going for a cutting:

• Make saw cuts constant.
• Procedure square designs.
• Select parts that don’t have successive steel strengthening from one square to the subsequent one.

You should be going to have small cracks to increase the overall price of your project by preserving some joints. Keep in mind, if you find hot weather, you can go for shaping a much larger square, and afterward go for the cutting of interior joints. This surely will assist you to manage the cracks which are fast appearing in bigger regions. Perfect Concrete Care got the skilled resources, we got the extremely trained workers who set about their tasks with safety concerns in their mind, and they are intended to protect you and your properties. Do not be afraid of lots of pipes, cables, lines, or some more dangerous tools and equipment lurking underneath your concrete?

The prefecture has got the aptitude to inspect underneath concrete through ground-penetrating radar. We make sure that we use state-of-the-art tools to see where they can make cuts. This way, Perfect Concrete Care can carefully continue at the time of cutting your slab, and you should be feeling safe because your project is in the hand of professionals. Don’t be worried regarding your gas lines and electrical conduit. Because we will take care of all your utility facilities while doing the job. Perfect Concrete Care team will mark the substances on the surface to alert our workforces or any other labours you might have.

Do You Have All the Right Equipment For This Job?

You must be concerned with the concrete slab thickness and you should be. You should make sure that your concrete cutting services should be equipped with all the right tools. Our company got a wide range of slab saws which allow cutting through a thickness of up to 34 inches, you got two options either go with an electric or a gas (diesel).

You should not be worried that this job needs some special equipment, or the job may not need any heavy-duty equipment. You should be having the modern tools to complete any concrete job. From the hydraulic to electric handheld saws, we got everything that can help for a safe cut thinner slabs of around six inches. When we are called for bigger tasks like a wall opening, we make use of the chainsaws which offer you a cost-effective and accurate cutting.

You should know that no concrete slab is either thick or thin, too extraordinarily placed, or too tough to give shape. Do not worry if you are a busy and hardworking professional, or you do not have enough time for surveying and scanning, or bothering due to custom machinery and equipment. You should take the guesswork out of efforts to select or rent the machinery. This offers you to concentrate on your job or work with your clients. You can consider the easiest way to complete a job like this. You should call us because we know how to deal with these sorts of tough tasks. We are intended to save you valuable time, money, and resources.

How To Cut Concrete?

Make sure that concrete slab thickness is very important for you. Therefore you can cut through concrete for your sidewalk and countertop by using a diamond blade, do not forget to take the appropriate safety precautions. You can form a countertop or expand your sidewalk. You will notice that cutting concrete by yourself might not be as intimidating as you may think.

Making the slice through slabs thicker than six inches is finest left to a professional, but something less than seven inches, a penetration that would comprise the most concrete barriers, walls, balconies, courtyard, and sidewalks can be cut by using the correct equipment and good knowledge. If you are a homeowner and you are looking to cut concrete you may need one important tool, which is a diamond blade. Although abrasive blades can also be used to cut concrete, they can wear out fast. They possibly require to be replaced numerous times in the development of the project.

Abrasive blades can lead you to “force” the saw. An unsafe move, could outcome in losing control of the tool and that may be suffering a possibly serious cut. You should get the services of the professional and taking a risk is not recommended here, all you need to invest between $40 and $50 for a diamond blade.

STEP 1

You need to select the sort of blade you choose to work with for this task. You can go for a dry-cutting diamond or a wet-cutting diamond. Wet-cutting blades need water on the blade throughout the procedure, which can be attained with the majority of tools, but works very easily when you get a concrete-cutting saw on rent. When you have this job-specific saw, you can get a better cutting depth as well. If you got a 7” circular saw, for example, you can get a cut to 2-¼ inches deep. This means you’ll require to sledgehammer for the rest of the task.

STEP 2

You need to prepare the workstation to avoid dust getting enter to your home. If you are working in a basement, make sure that you have closed all nearby windows.

STEP 3

You need to mark the concrete slab before you cut the concrete slab by using a chalk line, make sure you mark it with a thick line. You’ll preferably run a drip of water on the concrete when you cut to keep airborne dust at least and make sure that the line is not disappeared.

STEP 4

You need to make sure that you take care of every personal safety precaution. Make sure you are wearing heavy clothes, shin guards, knee pads, and steel-toed boots. Do not forget to wear protection for your eyes and face. You also need to wear a properly fitting filtration mask as well.

STEP 5

You should be extending the hose to the work and turning the water on to a trickle. It is very important when you are working on a flat, flat project like a patio slab. If you are working on an upright job, then water can be harder to use. You should have any person as a helper, try to get any of your friends, and tell him/her to spray water on the slab of concrete when you are working. It will prevent you from the dust. Without water, you will be exposed to dust and that is not good due to safety measures.

STEP 6

Make sure you put a “guide board” at one end of the cut area.

STEP 7

When your saw is switched off, you should set the blade depth by using the knob (you should check the user manual for this instruction). Thus, it will cut to a max of one inch deep. Scheduled with a sequence of light cuts is safer. It will offer you good control and an option for your blade to get cool off.

STEP 8

Now you should remove the saw from the concrete, and allow it to spin freely. This offers a chance for the saw blade to lose the dust and cool down.

STEP 9

Subsequently, you’ve made the directed cut, now you should remove the guide board. Now you can get a ¼”- to ½”- deep cut and keep on doing regular cuts.

STEP 10

Dust needs to be collected throughout the cutting procedure. Despite your hard work to keep the concrete slab wet, you need to take breaks to clear it out. You should make sure you are using a vacuum to suck the dust.

STEP 11

If you still want to continue with deeper cutting, switch off the saw and enhance the blade depth by a raise of ½-inch by using the knob. Now you need to repeat steps 7 and 8 and resume the cutting process.

STEP 12

Make sure you clean up the work area of dust again and again. For this task, you can make use of a dustpan or a wet vac. Now you can start close to the cut line, but not over it, you should be trying outside the cut region. Now you should swing the sledgehammer with sufficient force and it will break your concrete. When you split it, you need to make use of a pry bar to dig pieces outside and remove them.

STEP 13

Make sure you use a claw hammer and mason chisel. It will enable you to get a cleaner edge under the saw-cut line.

STEP 14

Move whatever smashed concrete residues to the yard as fill, sell or give to somebody else to utilise it as a filler or drag it to a landfill for discarding.

As far as the concrete slab thickness in Australian standards is concerned, “the most common slab thickness should be between 85mm and 100mm. The Majority of slabs in Australia are thickened raft slabs. These slabs may also require extra concrete footing rooted in the soil. It also depends on the type of soil, and they are normally suitable for the classes like M, Class H, and Class E soils.