hey all,
i will need to be cutting some concrete pavers and retaining wall blocks in the near future. I don’t do this often, so no special tool. I’m looking for recommendations.
pavers are 18 x 18 in. x 2 in. thick. and retaining wall blocks are 6 in. thick.
I was hoping to use a masonry blade in my 6 in. skil-style hand held with water tile saw. I thought I could at least score it with the blade and water to keep dust down and then hit the other side with a rock hammer to make a clean break? sound plausible?
Or, do i have to rent something bigger to make a clean cut. I’m hoping to avoid the rental route but I do need nice clean straight cuts.
Advice?
thanks,
brad
Replies
Well when I do it------- pavers I use an overhead wet saw, & blocks I use a gas cutoff saw.
I did convert my old skilsaw to a wet saw when doing some cuts on soapstone.
Yes your way can work, & ofcourse there is always a but, but it will be time consuming & loud + tiresome.
Remember if you're adding water to any tool make sure you're on a GFI circut.
Clean breaks are going to be hit & miss, "feathering" would give you a cleaner break.
"I'm here to chew bubble gum & kick azz, & I'm all out of bubble gum" Rowdy Roddy Piper
i was thinking of the gas cutoff saw, and not looking forward to the dust.for those of us not in the know, what is "feathering"?.
Can't seem to produce the text book definition at the moment.
But feathering is drilling a series of holes along the line where ya want the stone to break.
Using wedges in the drilled holes to snap the stone where ya want the cut to be.
IIRC"I'm here to chew bubble gum & kick azz, & I'm all out of bubble gum" Rowdy Roddy Piper
got it. thanks
I have a water feed attachment on my 12" stihl that takes care of the dust
I like your answer Dude. I've tried cutting pavers with diamond blade in a skil saw and 4 inch grinder and neither one would be my repeat choice. As far as pavers go, lay them where you want them to go and cut them while they're in place on the ground with a gas powered cut off saw with a diamond blade. Use a water attachment and you've got the best of both worlds for the pavers and the block.
hey all,thanks for all the spiffy ideas. I think the way to go is with the gas powered saw and a hose. Neighbors will hate me, but only for a little while. I do like the idea of the splitter, though.brad.
One of my coworkers did his walkway & part of his driveway last summer with a rented, manually operated guillotine splitter. Said it worked fine.
Don
"If I had to go that route, I'd at least get a diamond blade."I had to cut some retaining wall caps this past weekend. About 10 blocks in total. I went through 4 masonary blades.That said, they were only $3 each. The diamond blade was $20, and the hardware store guy said that the diamand blands don't last 7 times longer, so I was better off just buying more masonry blade.So, what is everyone else's opinion? Do diamond blands last long enough to warrant the price difference?We're going to probably also put in a patio this fall, and we'll definitely use the splitter method.
> Do diamond blands last long enough to warrant the price difference?
There are a whole range of price/quality points in diamond blades. One of the manufacturers (maybe Norton?) had a good explanation on their web site. Wet cutting with a good to moderate quality diamond blade is probably a lot more cost effective than those expendable discs.
-- J.S.
I agree. I buy good quality blades (about $50 per for a 7 1/4"...don't recall the brand) from a masonry supply and they last a long time, meaning hundreds of full depth cuts through pavers, CBU's, relief cuts in slabs, etc.
BTW, a diamond masonry blade is a segmented blade that cuts quite a bit faster than a continuous rim tile or brick saw blade.
They do throw dust, but a mask, eye protection, ear protection, a fan or a stiff breeze help a lot.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10335&cat=2,2180,41007The Feathers and Irons for splitting stone.
Skill saw with masonry blade... been there, done that. But not again!!! It will work if you have 2 or 3 to cut.... The blades wear out in like maybe 4 cuts depending on the length and depth - maybe less. If I had to go that route, I'd at least get a diamond blade. These days they have come down a lot in price so the 7" ones aren't too bad. Even then, if you have many cuts, plan on possibly burning up your circ saw. :-(
Really though, like bill said, for more than a few cuts, a gas cutoff saw is the only way to go - you know, one of those chain saw like things... You still need a diamond blade though. http://www.npeco.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d13.html With the price of the saw and a 14" diamond blade you are better off renting one.
A circular saw with a diamond blade will work for the 2'' pavers. Cut several times, deeper each time. Take as much as your saw will handle. Mucho dusto.
For the retaining wall blocks, a cutoff saw. I suppose you could try the circ saw/diamond. Score all sides and hope for a good break. It won't be clean where the blade didn't go.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I use a diamond blade, dry, on a 4" grinder. Cut about 3/4 of the way thru, and give it a whack with a mason's hammer. Takes about 30 seconds each.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I've had reasonable luck with similar sized retaining wall blocks, working back and forth along the cut line with a notched brick chisel. The wide pavers would be a bit touchy.
I've got an old beater skil wormdrive with a masonry diamond blade I use when cutting CBU's, pavers and the like.
I've cut pavers like you describe from time to time....I usually just cut them in one pass.
Mucho dust so I work up wind or set up a construction fan.
A good diamond blade will last a long time.
Go the rental route. Do it right the first time.
Theres the right tool for the job.
And its a big, gas op. 14" diamond blade brick or block saw.
get the wet one of you dont like the dust.
Ive done it for years. (Pavers)
Its worth the 100$$$ or so in the end.
Good Luck
like stevefaust says
rental gas wet diamond disc
partner & stihl make good ones
no dust / just wet slurry
cuts like butter
can you save the parts you need to cut until the last day?
As others have suggested...
HD near me rents an MK-101 (wet tile saw) with diamond blade for paver use. Works pretty well, keeps the dust down. OR... you can rent a paver guillotine splitter for the pavers. Much cheaper than the tile saw, much less dust than dry cutting. The downside is that you may waste more pavers and not get as clean of a cut.
For the wall pieces, gas cut-off saw, or score lightly with an angle grinder and split face with chisel and hammer (depending on what type of cut you need).
Circular saw approach will be tedious. For a few it will work, for many cuts... your time is worth the rental fees.
Ditto on the rental wet diamond blade. After choking on the dust from the 10th dry cut paver, you'll wish you had it.The wet diamond blade does cut like butter, or at least soft wood.I wouldn't do it the dry cut way ever again after using the wet cut method.Good luck!
I have the electric Partner K-3000, which would be ideal for this. They're not as expensive or persnickety as a gas saw, so you should be able to rent one for under $100/day. Get one with the hose attachment, and work wet. Note that it rotates the opposite way from a woodworking saw, so it flings the glop right back at you if you stand behind it. Choose your workspace with that in mind, it's messy.
-- J.S.
Well, I'm of a different opinion.
I've spent months and months and months behind a diamond block saw cutting pavers and stone. Yes, it works.
On the other hand, it takes time to do each cut. And you'll drive your neighbors absolutely nuts with the horribly loud noise.
Recently, I started a post asking about the best block saw for a project involving hundreds and hundreds of retaining wall blocks. Got some good responses about the Felker brand.
While Googling for the best deal, I came across a sidebar ad for a Block Splitter. This is a hydraulic splitter which comes in two diferent models. The Block Splitter has a 20 ton hydraulic jack within it, pressing upon two 18" hardened steel points, essentially pinching the block together along your cut line. Within seconds, POP! A nice straight cut.
The model I got was the Stone Splitter. It is quite similar, but has a 40 ton jack. And is pneumatically assisted. Attached to a decent compresser, one can really get some production done. I intend to use it for a long time for other jobs down the road. Paid about $1700, and it was shipped within two days.
The cut is not as clean as a sawn one, but one needs to ask himself if such a clean cut is necessary for his job. When dealing with retaining wall blocks, it certainly is not. When I need a clean cut, I pull out my HD tile saw.
This splitter is a heck of a lot quiter than the saw.
However, I've never seen one in a rental yard. But any decent stone yard probably has one of their own in the back for their cuts.
Yeah, I was just thinking that the thing to use is a splitter. Quick and quiet, with virtually no dust.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison