How to Cut a Concrete Sidewalk
Remodeling the exterior of your home requires an array of skills. A skill area that will most likely come in handy when remodeling is cutting concrete sidewalks to make additions to your home. Most people think you have to jackhammer up the entire sidewalk and start over, but you can easily cut the concrete where needed. Any new sidewalk you install will not match the older sidewalk, but it will cost you less to cut a section of the concrete sidewalk rather than to tear up the entire sidewalk. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Protective eyewear
- Gloves
- Mask
- Pencil
- Diamond blade cutoff saw
- Large pry bar
- Jackhammer
- Hammer drill and concrete bit
- Square
Instructions
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Cutting a Concrete Sidewalk
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1
Purchase a diamond concrete cutting blade from your local hardware store. Rent or purchase a cutoff saw and screw the diamond blade into the cutoff saw blade mount.
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2
Mark a straight line across the section of sidewalk you will be cutting with a square.
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3
Read the cutoff saw operator's manual and safety precautions. Put on your protective eyewear, mask and gloves.
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4
Align the blade with the line you will cut. Pull the cutoff saw trigger to turn the saw on and push the saw through the concrete sidewalk slowly and steadily. If the saw is running for close to a minute, pull the blade out and release the trigger to let the saw cool down for several minutes and then continue cutting.
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5
Chip and pry with the large iron pry bar to remove the piece of concrete you just cut free. You may also want to rent a jackhammer from your local hardware store and break the section of concrete into smaller pieces for easy removal.
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Tips & Warnings
If you plan to attach a new piece of concrete sidewalk to the area you just cut a section of sidewalk from, you will need to tie the rebar structure into the existing sidewalk. To do this, you will hammer drill three 4- to 6-inch-deep holes on the side of the concrete sidewalk you just cut. This is where you can insert cement-covered rebar that will stick out into the new area of concrete you plan to pour and will help tie the old and new sidewalk sections together.
Wear protective eyewear, mask and gloves.
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Comments
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The abrasive blades don't work nearly as well as the diamond tip blades. If your sidewalk is 4 inches thick, you will need a 14" blade for the saw. If you use a worm drive electric saw, it will tackle the job easily. You will probably have more accurate control of the cut with an electric saw designed like a Skill Saw than the gas powered ones that you hold like a chain saw. I was able to cut out a section of sidewalk with a tolerance of 1/16th of an inch.
