A Quick Guide For Safe And Secure Concrete Cutting

Usually every construction project is engaged in some type of cutting concrete or core boring. Cutting concrete may appear to be simple and easy, but in real practice there are many aspects that need to be considered for a safe and successful concrete cutting.

Safety Measures to Consider

To start with you must understand that concrete dust is potentially harmful to the lung sinuses and eyes. It may also damage nearby finish.

Dust control should be an important aspect that should be given due consideration. The two ideal dust control systems are wet cutting in which the dust is accumulated in the cooling water and another one is pneumatic devices that sucks the dust in an air stream.

When leveraging a diamond cutting blade or any other abrasive disk cutting apparatus, the water work as lubricant and simmers down the temperature of cutting device. You should handle the spillage of water onto the area that is being cut. Specific drainage should be provided or a vacuum system to control the cooling water from spreading.

Proper grounding and insulation is also vital in using electrically driven tools. Some extra precaution should be observed when using core drilling appliances. Several machines work on the suction theory to retain the base in place while the drilling process is on.

How to Cut Concrete

Any surface deeper than 4 inches can be easily cut with hand saw, but with the increase in depth of the surface being cut, the difficulty increases. Cutting concrete thicker than 6 inches warrants a professional expertise and intervention to perform the task professionally and safely.

Lay out the surface to be cut. Draw a chalk line to delineate the exact area of cutting on the concrete. Now take a 15-amp circular saw having a diamond or abrasive blade for cutting the thickness of 2 inches. This saw will work best when working with a sidewalk machine. Set the blade of your circular saw at 2 inches.

Start sawing at the brim of the concrete and gradually saw on the line you have made with your chalk. Keeping the blade wet by dripping water on it can reduce dust and keep the blade smooth and cool.

The thickness of the cut will provide you with a straight brim allowing the concrete to complete breaking the other remaining thickness and a straight edge on the top to combine with a new and fresh concrete.

How to Cut Concrete more than 4 inches Deep

You should put to work a gasoline or electric powered cutoff saw to perform the task when you have to cut concrete that is deeper than 4 inches. The cut-off saw enables you to sink deep up to 6 inches. Most housing platforms, driveways, and basement or concrete walls are found in this range.

You should follow the same guidelines of drawing a straight mark to follow on the concrete slab to ascertain your starting point. Now cut the concrete to the right depth. Progress gradually, maintaining the line of the cut-off saw. Easy going speed enables the saw will not allow the blade to overheat and will not allow the shrapnel type pieces to be flung out into the air from a broken blade causing damage to your health and damaging the well being of nearby areas.

You can also keep an assistant to remove the dust from the chalk line to view the saw cut and keep the dust under control.

Concrete cutting is one of the most vital activities that are found in almost all kinds of construction projects. If you are in the sector of the construction industry and used to perform concrete cutting, you need to keep yourself updated with prominent tips and warnings that you should follow to successfully perform your duties and keep yourself abreast with the latest development and technologies!

Concrete Sawing – Handheld Concrete Saw or Walk Behind ?

A Concrete Saw is a powerful tool used to cut very hard objects, like concrete, asphalt, masonry, tiles etc. There are several types of saws like portable and hand held saws, a giant walk behind saw and different types of other saws used for various sawing purposes. In the same way it has various blades that are integrated in different types of saws for various types of cutting. A close overview of the types of saws blades and ways to concrete sawing is discussed below:

Types of Concrete Saws

Concrete SawingUsually there are two categories of concrete saws – small handheld and bigger walk-behind. The formal saws are lightweight and easily movable, compared to the walk-behind saw. These are, more often than not, facilitated to saw wall openings along with minor surface jobs like curbing holes for putting posts in a slab.

Walk-behind saws are used while standing behind the saw and operating it. These are faster cutting devices as they’re equipped with increased horsepower and its power can be increased while cutting. The heavy weight of these saws enables you to hold it down into the cut area giving a better and sharper cut. Due to having wheels and a guide indicator, it is very easy to work over a defined crayon line and get a straight cut. The blades in a walk-behind saw are mounted to one side to enable a cut closer to a standing wall.

Concrete saws are usually associated with gasoline fueled engines. These cannot be used in closed spaces or basements as it generates carbon monoxide fumes. If you are not going to saw much you should opt for a hand-held electric saw as it will eliminate any exhaust fume issue. However it is electric, you can’t facilitate water to settle down dust hence you need to cut dry. Preferably you should use any type of saw in open areas instead of a basement or closed ones.

A better option of using a saw in a closed space is using a pneumatic saw. Such saws functions on compressed air can be found in both hand-held and walk-behind saws. Mostly they are used in wet conditions but in both the atmosphere they perform. If you need to cut completely through a poured concrete wall, you may want to use a chain saw.

Types of Saw Blades

There are two major types of saw blades – abrasive and diamond blades. Abrasive blades are mostly used and found to be affordable, in terms of cost, for small projects. The blade’s full diameter is normally 14″, and it reduces in size as it is used for cutting purposes. Finally it may become too small at one time to cut up to the required depth and then it is thrown off and a new blade is put to use.

Diamond blades do not reduce in size over time due to continuous usage. The particles of diamonds are welded on it in the form of segments using laser to a steel hub. The diamonds keep dropping off as it wears out and a fresh row keeps appearing. When the segment finally wears down the blade is required to be replaced. Diamond blades are quite expensive aka abrasive blades but they last a lot longer than abrasive blades. In addition, they are quite longer and hold their depth of cutting better and are best for larger jobs. Diamond blades cut faster and require less concrete to remove and thus less dust is formed.

Saw Cutting Tips

Concrete contracts and expands when it gets cold or hot. Due to this, control joints are cut in the slab at every 10’ or to find a weak spot of the crack. It is advisable to cut 1/5th of the thickness of slabs so usually 4 inch slabs are cut at a depth of 1 inch. The slab will find the weakest point and crack right beneath the control joint and the cracks will not be that visible.

Concrete sawing is a vital aspect of any construction project and it is one of the most strenuous and important tasks that is done in any construction site. Knowledge of types of concrete saws available and the different types of blades matters a lot when you are actively involved in any construction business.

Looking Forward Serving Faster With Two New Vans and New Employee Jay Worboys

After a good financial year Megasaw has just purchased two new Toyota Hiace Vans that are currently being fitted out to suit our requirements.

We have also purchased brand new equipment to go into these vans. This is all part of our plan to maintain a reliable fleet of vehicles and machinery with all the new technology.

This makes us fast, reliable and competitive.

New Hand sawing Technology

Megasaw has just purchased a new “Electric Inverter Handsaw” which allows us to use either 240 volt standard power or 3 phase power to saw cut walls and floors with no fumes what so ever. The power pack unit is much smaller and easier on the operator.

New Employee

Welcome Jay Worboys!

Jay has just started with Megasaw and it looks like he is going to be a gun cutter. Jay has been working in the construction industry for 15 years and has experience in numerous areas of construction.

He has taken various concrete cutting jobs like a duck to water and his professional attitude is 2nd to none.

Core Drilling Techniques, Applications and Available Tools

If you want a perfect round shaped hole in a horizontal or vertical concrete object, then core drilling is the way to go. Core drilling is a process of using core drills to cut holes in any concrete surface. If you want the same thing done on a construction site, then you first need to know how it can help you.

There are different types of methods and tools that are used for core drilling. The concrete surfaces are hard and drilling in them requires power. However, cutting perfect holes on the surface is even harder, provided you follow a correct method. This is where the core drilling can help. Once the drilling process is done, the concrete can be removed from the wall to get the perfect holes. To remove large amounts of concrete from solid objects, core drilling is used to create multiple holes in the surface first and then the concrete is removed. There are many different uses of core drilling.

The drilling is needed for setting up heating facilities, plumbing, electric lines, and a lot more. The core drilling techniques are used to create the different sizes of holes in the concrete walls of buildings, as per the need. It is readily availed for all kinds of underground works, too. Installation of phone lines, water pipes, and drain lines; these chores require heavy amounts of core drilling. This is why construction workers rely only on the best tools and equipment for any core drilling job requires holes with a diameter of 1-2 meter to get accurate results.

Depending on the job type and the required results, different techniques of core drilling are used by the workers. Rotary core drilling is one of the most commonly used methods. It’s needed to make perfect holes in rocks and concretes. There are both dry and wet drilling methods that are used according to the surface. The hydraulic and electric core drilling methods are commonly used in construction sites. The hydraulic method is used when large and deep holes are needed in a concrete surface. The electric core drilling is mainly used for setting up electric lines, plumbing, and gas lines.

The hand held and mounted drills are the primary types of core drilling tools. Other tool types include mini electric drills and large electric drills. The mini hand held core drilling tool is perfect for small projects like installing a cable inside a house or office. However, for larger holes, mounted drills are used. A professional core drilling service offers tailor-made solutions to a wide ranging drilling need.

Diamond Grinding Concrete Floors, Tools, Methods and Basic Tips

Concrete floors are getting trendy and very common in homes and everywhere. Albeit, it doesn’t require a great deal of maintenance but it does call for daily care and cleaning for retaining the shine. The concrete is polished using machines that strips soiled and old concrete and unearths the new shiny layer.

How to polish concrete? By grinding the concrete ! This would require the right equipment for grinding. Let’s have a closer look the types of grinders that can help you grind your concrete flooring.

Types of Grinders

Concrete GrindingHand-held Grinders – These are small grinders that are used for minor grinding work. These are dustless and are mostly 5 – 7 inches in diameter with one head. It is quite common and versatile and is used often for domestic purpose. You can use it to remove paint or other irregularities found in a small part of your floor made of concrete. It cannot take place of walk-behind machines which are used to clean large sections of concrete.

Multiple-Held Grinders – Such type of grinders is packed with horizontally rotating discs that perform various tasks. The most vital aspect of this grinder is that several attachments can be fixed as per the requirement. Such attachments are in myriads of structure for various applications.

Dustless Grinders – These are dustless grinders having a dust cover to discard the dust collected in the cloak. This grinder saves your cleaning time and is packed with multiple features to perform the task quickly and gracefully.

How to Grind Concrete

Grinding machines meant for this purpose are equipped with disks imbued with diamond bits capable to grind down the concrete as per need to offer it the desired shine. These tools use fine-grit polishing disks to offer a sleek and smooth look to the floor.

To start with initially the coarse grits are applied to drain out the minor stains and other flaws. It readies the floor for further smoothing and cleaning. After this stage the process may require up to 3 to 4 passes to prepare the floor for final polishing. This entirely depends on the type of concrete as some may get its best shine in less cleaning and tougher concrete may require more counts of polishing. The advanced stage of polishing may require a polishing disk having finer grit – nearly 1800 to 3500 grits.

To start with, use 1800 grits of polishing disk, turn the hose on and apply about 1/2-inch of water over a 5 foot of area. Now stop the water source. Run the concrete grinder over the wet area until the entire water dries out. You should complete the entire floor section using this methodology.

When you are done, unplug the concrete appliance and now apply the next grit disk to the tool and follow the same process as you did with the earlier grit disk to get a better polish this time.

Again run the tool over all the wet areas and let the water dry out leaving the floor shining and even completely. Following these steps you can complete the polishing of the entire floor.

Now unplug the tool. It’s time to fix the 3500-grit polishing disk on the tool and use it the same way as before. Just ensure the floor remain wet wherever you use the concrete polishing tools. This final disk will offer the highest gloss shine that you are looking for. Once achieve the desired shine, mop off the floor.

Dry and Web Methods

You can grind the concrete using two methods: dry and wet.

In the wet method, water is required to cool the diamond grits and cleaning the dust that is formed while grinding process. In this type of grinding, water works as lubricant, simmers down the friction and elevates the life of polishing equipments, particularly the disks, which can melt due to high temperature.

In dry grinding the tool is featured with a separate provision to retain the dust within a cover leaving no mess behind.

You can use a fusion of both types of grinding to get the finest and desired shine in the concrete. Initially you can try dry grinding and finally the wet process to clean and finish the floor completely.

Precautions

It is advisable to unplug the polisher when changing grit polishing disks to ward off any possibility of electrical shock. You should wear gloves and rubber boots to avoid any damage to your hand and legs by heat and dust. Check the grinding tool for any cracks, chips or missing components before actually using it.

With right concrete grinding appliance and the appropriate process of grinding, you can polish the floor or the countertop of your kitchen on your own! But don’t forget that high-end grinding tool brings some specific risks too! Educate yourself in facilitating these tools properly to get the desired results and maintaining the right sustainability of the tools as well.

Concrete Cutting Techniques, Learn from the Experts

If you are professional dealing in construction sector you would be aware that every construction project requires some type of concrete cutting or core boring. It may be appearing quite simple and straightforward, but practically there are many factors that require attention to execute a safe and successful concrete cutting project.

Concrete cutting calls for sharp and appropriate tools; best equipments in good shape; good supply of cooling water and of course an apt and experienced operator. Concrete operating cutting equipment can be used simply and safely but for this you should be well acquainted with the potential hazards and must be aware of the functions and features of the device you are operating.

You can employ different mechanisms and tools when it comes to cutting concrete. A basic knowledge of concrete-cutting processes can be of the essence for you to perform a project.

Diamond Drilling

Diamond saws work fast and precisely compare to other cutting techniques. You would also need fewer operators and it can also enable you to cut reo bar and other metals that are often required in the construction process. Diamond saws are noiseless and generate least vibration compare to any other type of drilling and cutting tools. At the same time they’re less likely to harm the surrounding parts of the floor or concrete.

Concrete Wall Sawing

This method encompasses a circular blade fixed on a track-mounted tool. This track enables the tools to climb the walls and cut ceilings also. Generally, this technique is facilitated to cut walls that are thicker than 16 inches and seldom those concretes that are 36 inches thick or more. This is entirely a different technique and warrants experience and expertise.

Wire Sawing

It is used when all cutting methods collapse or go to toss. These are mostly used for larger concrete-cutting projects. These saws constitute of multi-strand cable having small diamond segments aligned through an array of pulleys attached to a hydraulic powered wheel. When the wheels pull the cable the wire spins around and cuts the material.

Flat Drilling

Such drilling process is often used for parting flat surfaces, like floors, pavements and bridge platforms. It’s often considered to be slab sawing also. In this method the tools used are kept on a cart that you can push from the rear. Such process can help you reach broken pipes or wiring under a concrete floor, highway, patching or road and cutting plumbing canals.

Core Drilling

This process of drilling is used for making precise circular holes. You can use this for forming exit for pipes, electrical wires or ventilating, heating, or air conditioning vents to fit through. You can also use this drilling machine for collecting concrete samples. These are steel tubes having diamond-tipped bits.

Precautions

All the above stated tools are highly effective but at the same time there are certain guidelines that should be followed while using these tools. Concrete dust is harmful to the lung, eyes and sinuses. It also becomes abrasive and corrosive damaging the surrounding concretes too.

You need to control the dust erupting out of this drill bits. It can either be controlled by wet cutting in which the dust is accumulated in the cooling water or using pneumatic tools that can suck the dust in an air stream.

When putting in use the diamond cutting blade or any other abrasive disk drilling device like concrete saw, water is used to cool the cutting tools. You must manage the spillage of cooling water and drainage should be offered or a vacuum mechanism like wet vacuum can be attached to monitor spreading of the cooling water.

It also requires proper grounding, insulation and right ground fault protection. You must also be aware of the possibility of machine base rotates violently without warning. You should keep your body away from the possible rotation route of the device base during a core drilling process.
Don’t forget to de-active any power channels that are in the surrounding of the cutting or drilling operation.

These are the mechanisms and techniques that can be facilitated to cut the concrete using various concrete cutting saws and tools. All these tools are meant for different applications given the situation and requirement of the occasion. As every machine manifests certain flaws if not handled properly, it is suggested to get yourself accustomed with the type of tool you are going to use beforehand to get the best output.