How to Choose Your Professional Concrete Cutter in Melbourne

If you require a concrete cutter some of us may imagine it being a difficult job full of mess and noise, we may think it will be dusty as we imagine drilling down, cutting down, smashing down, knocking down of established concrete followed by the collecting and clearing of the whole mess to get the site ready for whatever is planned for it. We may even visualise burly workmen pounding their huge metal mallets on the wall or pavement, after probably drilling their way to create cracks to facilitate the demolition.

Concrete Cutting

These images don’t have to be a reality. With the proper equipment and skills of trained personnel and technicians, such as what we have at MegaSaw, concrete cutting, including the removal of the debris, can be a much cleaner and efficient job.

The key is in the cutting. Where we would think of cutting or sawing as something that is done only to wood, there are now equipment that can preserve good structurally-sound concrete parts such as walls, pavements and floorings and allow their re-design without destroying these concrete parts altogether.

A Cutting Tool for Every Cutting Job

At MegaSaw we have every type of equipment to do any kind and size of cutting job; a professional competence that we have developed over 40 years of being in business. We have the handsaw which is a most useful concrete saw for projects that larger equipment cannot access such as storage areas and bathrooms. With the handsaw, we can cut windows and doorway spaces without knocking through the wall.

We also have the road or floor saw, used appropriately for cutting through large portions of concrete flooring, pavement or even bridges. We also have several specialist tools for tricky and sensitive jobs that require a depth of cut. Examples of these tools are the ring saw, the wall saw and the wire saw forming part of our latest additions to our cutting-edge equipment.

professional concrete cutting

Higher Cutting Quality

Concrete cutting has thus elevated itself a notch higher in its professional classification. With high-technology cutting, a lot of things can be preserved, even as changes in design are being introduced. Cutting has not only been made high quality; cutting can in fact be assumed to have entered a new field altogether, providing fresh options to work in restorative construction.

Selection of Service Provider

To achieve the best results in concrete cutting, one critical step that must be undertaken is the selection of the professional cutting services provider. The new design concepts may only actually be executed if the cutting is done professionally. In making such a choice for the concrete cutter, the following are suggestions for consideration:

1. Professional competence

The cutting service provider you choose must possess the knowledge, experience and skills needed to execute even the most delicate and difficult design as specified. Included in this consideration is the professional accountability of the provider for the work it performs. Preference should certainly favour the providers who are accredited with the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association of Australia (CSDAA).

2. Equipment and technology

The provider you choose must have the complete facilities to undertake the project to the finish and must possess the technological knowhow to execute the work with efficiency.

3. Concern for the environment

Choose a cutter who cares for the community where it resides. There are many ways a provider can express its environmentally green credentials and given the materials and processes by which it is involved, it must lead the way in promoting sustainability by pursuing green initiatives that reduce its carbon footprints. If it cares for the environment, it cares for you.

4. Customer service excellence

You need a provider who is available as well as being professional and caring; one whose services are within your reach whenever they are needed. You need a provider who puts you ahead and on top of other interests.

These are just few of the critical factors that can serve to identify the characteristics of the concrete cutting provider that will be suitable for your concrete cutting needs. Cost is not included as a selection factor because in the end, what matters is the quality of the work that is completed. If the work is satisfactory or even exceeds satisfaction, wouldn’t cost be the least important?

MegaSaw and Concrete Cutting

We at MegaSaw would love to know how we can be of service and value to you, not only for your concrete cutting requirements but for your other cutting or sawing needs. We would love to have you contact us on 1300 920 409. Or you may drop us an email at MegaSaw@bigpond.net.au.

Four Key Steps in Concrete Grinding and Polishing

Did you know that the concrete slab underneath those expensive marble, granite and wooden tile coverings on floors can also be made to look like the elegant finishes they display at exceptionally lower costs and by a process that offers much respect for the environment?

The process of polishing concrete to produce an elegant polished concrete finish will eliminate the need for the overly expensive and high energy consuming marble and granite tiles, and even the wooden and vinyl tiles whose production processes disrespect our earth’s natural endowments. This renewed interest for concrete grinding and polishing is not only observed in Melbourne but elsewhere around the world.

Steps to Polished Concrete

polished concrete

The steps to produce polished concrete may range from a few steps to several elaborate steps depending on the level of quality desired for the concrete finish. Basically, there are only four major steps involved: surface preparation, surface grinding, surface sealing and surface polishing. Any additional step will just be a repetition of a major step to achieve the finer finish quality.

1. Surface Preparation

There are possibly two surface preparation types: one for a new concrete slab and another for an existing concrete slab. A new concrete slab will certainly involve less costs, since the mixing and the pouring of the concrete can already include some of the initial steps in polishing such as the addition of the decorative finish.

There is need to clean and clear the slab for any existing topping or sealer and to replace this with a new topping aggregate of at least 50 mm in thickness. This topping can contain the decorative elements you want to see on the final polished surface and is the equivalent to the topping that would hold the marble or granite tiles if these were to be used.

2. Surface Grinding

As soon as the topping has hardened and is ready to work-up, the grinding process begins with a 16-grit diamond grinding machine, and progressively repeated, each time increasing the fineness of the grit until it reaches the 120-grit metal segment. The low number code in the diamond grit indicates the coarseness level at which the surface is to be scraped or ground. Judgment is needed as to how many grinding cycles are to be repeated. Increasing the grit number refines the concrete surface to its desired smoothness.

The grinding, and consequently the polishing, can be done either dry or wet, although the wet method is gaining more popularity in obvious avoidance of the adverse effects of the dust powder on our health.

3. Surface Sealing

During the grinding process, and prior to the polishing, a sealing solution is applied to fill up any cracks, holes or distortion that may have been created on the surface from the initial grinding. Likewise, a densifier hardener solution is added to the concrete surface to further solidify and strengthen the surface as it is subjected to polishing. A densifier is a water-based chemical solution that penetrates into the concrete and increases its density to make it liquid-proof and almost scratch-proof due to its newly acquired abrasion resistance.

4. Surface Polishing

After achieving the surface smoothness level from the metal grinding, the polishing begins with a 50-grit diamond resin pad. The polishing cycle is repeated progressively as in grinding, except this time various increasing grit level pads are used. Suggested grit levels after the first 50-grit are 100, then200, 400, 800,1500 and lastly 3000 grit. As in the grinding, judgment is needed as to the final grit level to be used. What is important is that the concrete achieves a gloss that is comparable to most commercially available surfaces.

The Polished Finish

Polished concrete is increasingly becoming the more popular floor finishing option nowadays not only because of its economy in application but also its evident sustainability feature. It is considered a green solution. Additionally, polished concrete is a low maintenance finish. It is easier to clean. Due to its acquired impervious quality, it is impenetrable by most liquids. With just a soapy water on a weekly round, it can be kept to its original sparkle and gloss. Polished concrete also has life span that is longer than most other finishes.

Most notably, polished concrete comes in several beautiful designs that can match or compete with designs of commercial expensive tiles.

MegaSaw for Grinding and Polishing in Melbourne

We at MegaSaw love to contribute to the preservation of the environment. We always look forward to a continued green environment for our children. We live by our advocacy by recycling and reusing as many of our consumables as possible and making sure we help in achieving our environment’s natural balance.

We have available grinding and polishing equipment and parts as well as other products and tools that may be useful in turning up the elegant polished concrete that you desire for your flooring. Or for any job that involves meticulous cutting, drilling, grinding or polishing.

Contact us for a free advisory or call 1300 920 419. We would love to help.