Concrete is made of water, sand, cement, and gravel. Sometimes, you find yourself trying to cut a wall, slab, or some blocks for your yard. You then find out concrete cutting isn’t an easy task. However, it could be made fairly easy by following some necessary procedures.
These procedures include choosing the right tools and applying effective methods of cutting. Before you start cutting, you need to understand the core elements of concrete cutting.
These elements are; the type of saw and the type of blade. In this article, it doesn’t matter if you are a professional or a beginner. We will be providing you with ways to cut concrete more easily.
Table of Contents
7 Ways to Cut Concrete More Effectively
Some ways are effective for cutting concrete. Depending on your preference and environmental conditions, you can cut dry or wet. Dry cutting of concrete should be an option to consider when the task is outdoors, while wet cutting can do indoors because it is environmentally friendly.
1. Select the Best Saw for the Job:
Concrete cutting does not mean you will be cutting all concrete the same way. Some concrete cutting requires a specific saw. It is why you should evaluate the job conditions before you choose a saw.
There are two categories of concrete saws to consider if you want to cut concrete efficiently; a handheld concrete saw and walk-behind concrete saw.
The handheld concrete saw, as the name implies small and lightweight so that it could be easy to move and carry around. You can choose them to cut walls. They reduced speed because their horsepower was low.
The walk-behind concrete saw is large and heavy and should choose when you have large concrete cutting tasks like the floor and roads. They have high horsepower, and it is adjustable during cutting.
These two categories of concrete saw cover a wide range of saw types. The one you choose depends on the job specifications. The specialized chainsaw or wall saw is for small tasks because it is handheld.
The floor saw and wire saw for larger and more difficult tasks. You should also pick a saw according to the cutting you are doing. It could be wet or dry.
When using the electrical saw for wet cutting, ensure to protect the electrical cord to prevent electrocution.
2. Select the Best Saw Blade for the Job:
When you select the appropriate saw blade for your concrete cutting task, you have a fast, safe, and accurate result. While picking a saw blade, you must ensure it has a diameter that will fit perfectly with the concrete saw you have chosen; the diameter of the arbor hole of the blade should match the arbor size of the concrete saw.
There are two types of saw blades to use with a concrete saw when cutting concrete; Masonry blades and Diamond blades. However, the diamond saw blade is the best to use because it is suitable for all kinds of concrete.
It has a metal and diamond composition on its edges, cutting concrete with greater efficiency. It cuts deeper and longer. During dry concrete cutting, use diamond saw blades with serrated edges; the edges cool the blade during cutting.
During wet cutting, use diamond saw blades with smooth edges; you keep them cool with water, and they provide the cleanest concrete cuts with speed.
However, you may need to use them with a special concrete saw that can distribute water. You must use a wet blade with water, but a dry blade can be used with or without water.
Diamond saw blades had exposed synthetic diamond crystals on the blades that do the cutting. New layers are exposed as one diamond layer becomes dull and falls off.
3. Know the Perfect Time for Cutting:
Timing is essential to cut concrete more effectively. You need to cut concrete base on its form/hardness at a particular time. There is a time to cut the concrete. It is when the concrete is no longer wet but not completely set.
It ensures smooth edges, straight cuts, and minimal dust. Cutting concrete in its early form causes raveling, an effect where the saw blade pulls the aggregate of the concrete out of position and leaves a messy, weakened edge on the cut. It could directly affect your saw blade by wearing the diamond concrete saw blade.
When you also cut too late, it causes cracking in the concrete. It is advisable to cut the concrete around 12 hours after it is poured in cool weather conditions, and in hotter conditions, maybe around 4 hours.
One of the best ways to check if your concrete is ready for cutting is to make trial cuts and observe for raveling. You can start to cut as soon as the raveling stops.
4. Mark Where You Want to Cut:
Another thing to do before you start cutting concrete you wish to cut more effectively is to mark it. You should mark the area you want to cut with a chalk line.
You must analyze the concrete thickness and length before selecting where to cut the joint.
Once you determine the joints, mark them using a chalk line. Allowing the blade to reach the concrete depth you wish to cut, move the saw by following the chalk mark.
It allows you to have straight and even cuts. If the chalk line is washing off during wet cutting, use a crayon line instead. It is advisable to use a bright color line that will be easily visible on the background of the concrete. 
5. Know the Concrete Composition and Use Sharp Diamond Saw Blades:
Sometimes, concrete might have additional materials with normal constituents. It might be electrical wires and pipes. Before cutting through any concrete, it is your job to check for these materials’ location to avoid them by cutting vertically above the height that is well above the location of the additional material or choosing a saw blade sharp and strong enough to cut through these embedded materials.
After picking the right diamond, concrete saw blades to use, also ensure they are sharp. Using them to cut concrete would be time-consuming and much less effective if they were not sharp.
The dull blade could also cause overheating during cutting, thus breaking. If you desire a premium concrete cut, use a good saw and a sharp diamond concrete saw blade.
Swap blades as they show signs of wear. You can also invest in high-quality diamond saw blades if you do a lot of concrete cutting.
6. Cut Through Appropriately:
After adopting the above hints, ensure you cut through the concrete correctly. The concrete should be on a leveled surface.
Work with the tip of your diamond concrete saw blade from within the chalk line and chip the concrete along the saw line. Lean away from the saw blade from the remaining concrete section.
It helps only the edge of the marked line to crack and not affect the other side along the edge.
Apply pressure steadily until you penetrate the concrete along the line you marked.
Ensure you cut deep, or else random cracking could occur.
Let the concrete saw do the work; only guide the blade in the direction of the cut. Do not exert unnecessary pressure, or else it will overheat.
7. Wear Safety Equipment:
Another important way to cut concrete more effectively is to wear safety equipment. When you work with concrete, protect yourself from it. You can protect yourself by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
These include safety boots to protect the feet and gloves to protect your fingers from the impact of concrete or the tool you are using. Safety google is also essential to protect your eyes from concrete chips and dust.
Since cutting could be noisy, you should wear earplugs. A lot of dust generation occurs during concrete cutting, especially indoors.
This article could cause serious respiratory complications if inhaled, so you should wear a dust mask during the operation. Another alternative to control dust is to use wet-cutting techniques.
It reduces dust to a possible extent. The use of water dampens the dust so that it does not spread into the air during the cutting operation. No electricity outlet should be on during the wet cutting of concrete.
Concrete cutting is a vital part of the construction, so understanding how to do it more efficiently and effectively helps achieve a perfect result.
Conclusion
Concrete is a hard material. Cutting it does not have to be arduous if you follow the necessary measures. Clean and efficient cuts are requirements of most concrete cutting task, but it requires the utmost understanding and preparation.
Preparation starts with procuring your tools to understand the techniques to use. Here is why we took the time to share with you some ways to achieve top-level concrete cuts every time.
These tips will enable you to make quality cuts, but for the tools ( concrete saw and diamond concrete saw blades) you need, you need to check us up at NCcuttingTools.
We offer top-quality concrete cutting tools that will match your specifications. Browse https://www.nccuttingtools.com/ to request our services for purchase or more information.
