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Thoughts on breaking into concrete sawing?

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commercial construction concrete sawing infrastructure
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#21 ·
Windycity said:
A little bit yes especially when one blade is on a web and the other blade is in the hollow core, this causes the biggest issue which is…..

small chips that get hung up in the cut area that either get bound up in the blades or jump around in the hollow core where you have to dig them out…. It is not a huge ordeal but it is a little bit of a time waster. I’ve been using the saw for a couple years so I kind of know the tricks to keep that from happening

Regardless it is a great saw


David
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Figgered, thanks.

Never tried one. They look cool, though.

I just hack holes with my quiksaw,lol. Don't cut many openings.
 
#22 ·
reggi said:
Cool, any tips on getting a nice straight cut? This is a three wythe brick wall, about 150 or maybe 200 years old.

Well probably closer to 150.
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First and foremost you need to use a permanent marker so you don’t lose your line especially when wet cutting

You have to watch your line and you have to hold the saw perpendicular to the wall so the cut isn’t funny. If it’s three wye I usually cut the outside with a regular concrete saw, blow that out then I use the cut n break to finish the next two. The cut and break is a little difficult to keep straight. It definitely takes a lot of practice

I have been using a concrete saw for 35 years so it comes natural to me. I watch some people really struggle using a concrete saw

With wall sawing I like to compare myself to a laser surgeon when it comes to cutting masonry walls, I just don’t get the glory or the financial satisfaction of being someone special BUT I do get to home filthy after wet cutting which Really makes my wife happy after I go in the house ……LOL


David
 
#23 ·
Chalk line and clear work well for layouts too.

I generally only ask for the chainsaw if the GC is finicky and wants to plunge the corners, especially on tilt walls.

Score your line about 2 to 3" first. This helps to establish the straight line and gives a path for the blade to follow.

When cutting slab, step cut with smaller blades first when you get to 12" or thicker. Then subsequently move up to the next larger blade. Helps so you don't bind as much.
 
#24 ·
Was reading through the posts and kept seeing cut and break. Honestly never heard of it. Had to look it up. It looks like what we call a ring saw, but supposedly has 2 blades? What situations do you guys usually use it for? And why 2 blades?
 
#25 ·
Windycity said:
With wall sawing I like to compare myself to a laser surgeon when it comes to cutting masonry walls, I just don’t get the glory or the financial satisfaction of being someone special BUT I do get to home filthy after wet cutting which Really makes my wife happy after I go in the house ……LOL


David
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In my line of work, a good saw cutter is worth his weight in gold. Had a job where we had to cut some elevated slab/precast beams, picking them off with a crane sitting 200ft away, and each one about 16,500 lbs. Of all the cutters I had worked with over the years, there were only 2 I really trusted to do the cutting, and I got one of them. Lots can go wrong in that situation, but suffice to say, all went well.
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
Pompanosix said:
Was reading through the posts and kept seeing cut and break. Honestly never heard of it. Had to look it up. It looks like what we call a ring saw, but supposedly has 2 blades? What situations do you guys usually use it for? And why 2 blades?
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I haven’t used one yet, but I’ve been looking at them.

It’s not quite the same as a ring saw because it has an arbor, like a conventional saw.

I think the advantage over a ring saw is cost of saw for given depth of cut. A $2k cut-n-break can cut 16” deep.

The way they work is by having parallel flush cutting blades. When the cut portion bottoms out on the saw arbor, you remove the saw and break the piece off, then continue cutting deeper.

I got a price for the electric cut-n-break right around $2k. Not bad! Rental is $250 a day though, geez.
 
#27 ·
reggi said:
I think the advantage over a ring saw is cost of saw for given depth of cut. A $2k cut-n-break can cut 16” deep.

The way they work is by having parallel flush cutting blades. When the cut portion bottoms out on the saw arbor, you remove the saw and break the piece off, then continue cutting deeper.

I got a price for the electric cut-n-break right around $2k. Not bad! Rental is $250 a day though, geez.
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Cut n break blades are significantly cheaper than a ring saw, and they last a lot longer

I believe a ring saw only cuts up to 8-9inches deep and the cut in break goes much deeper

The rental price is steep because they factor in blade usage


David
 
#28 ·
Windycity said:
Cut n break blades are significantly cheaper than a ring saw, and they last a lot longer

I believe a ring saw only cuts up to 8-9inches deep and the cut in break goes much deeper

The rental price is steep because they factor in blade usage


David
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Here they measure the blade and charge by size with micrometer.

Upside is if you don't kill the blade, way cheaper.

Been a few years since I rented, though. May have changed.
 
#29 ·
I do enough saw cutting where it makes sense to buy my own blades. I rent from sunbelt a lot, and they don't always give you the best blade. If you cut slab with a walk behind and the blade bounces on the concrete before it sinks in, it's not good enough.

The cut and break look really interesting. Think I'll read up more about it.
 
#30 ·
Ed Corrigan said:
Here they measure the blade and charge by size with micrometer.

Upside is if you don't kill the blade, way cheaper.

Been a few years since I rented, though. May have changed.
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I remember them doing that the last time I rented a chain saw

That was a long time ago

before I owned my cut n break I rented one and Upon picking it up,I looked at the blade and I’m like dude there’s nothing left of this thing! I need this to cut! The guy kind of balked for a while until he put new blades on


David
 
#32 ·
We owned quite a bit of different concrete sawing, cutting and demolition equipment and I can tell you that you will never be as cheap, fast or efficient as the professional concrete sawing subs if you don't do it every day. You also mentioned you are carrying some debt. Would not recommend biting off more to venture into something unknown. Wait till you can do it and pay cash.

There is a lot to be said for letting someone else own the equipment, then just sub out the work to them and mark up their price for a profit.
 
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