How to Cut Concrete and Asphalt
That beautiful stretch of highway you took to get to work? That’s thanks to concrete and asphalt contractors. Unless you work in paving it’s difficult to notice the clean lines, sharp corners, and other detail work that comes with asphalt and concrete but without those details you wouldn’t have a great finished project.
How do contractors achieve such great results on commercial projects? By properly cutting the concrete. Both asphalt and concrete are pretty tough, so what does it take to square off edges and make clean cuts?
Let’s learn how commercial contractors cut concrete and asphalt including the tools of the trade and why professionals might need to cut concrete or asphalt. Both concrete and asphalt are known for their strength, but they’re no match for the right tools and skills.
Why You Need to Cut Concrete or Asphalt
Right of Way Work
Right of way (ROW) roadwork involves contractors having access to highways, trails, driveways, and other areas where they need to work on utilities or other infrastructure. For example, your city might have access to the alley behind your house because it houses utility poles for the whole street.
What does this have to do with cutting concrete? When contractors need access to areas, need to reshape areas, or are renovating areas, they usually perform right of way work like cutting concrete and asphalt. The asphalt and concrete contractors tackle can be anywhere from a quarter inch to a few inches thick but sometimes it must come out. The only way that’s going to happen is by cutting.
Custom Paving Installations
Contractors often need to cut asphalt or concrete for custom paving installations. Custom installations include driveways, access roads, commercial parking lots, and sidewalks to start. To achieve a clean, custom look, contractors utilize cutting methods to square their work.
Let’s figure out how concrete professionals are able to slice through pavement for different types of projects.
How Pros Cut Concrete and Asphalt
Cutting concrete or asphalt with a circular saw gives pavers and contractors the cleanest cut but you can’t put any saw blade on concrete, you need diamonds. Stone-cutting sawblades meant for asphalt and concrete are dusted with fine specs of diamond aggregate to give them superior strength and hardness. The diamond-dusted blades will tear through asphalt, concrete, and other types of paving.
Cutting Concrete with a Circular Saw
Cutting concrete or asphalt with a circular saw gives pavers and contractors the cleanest cut but you can’t put any saw blade on concrete, you need diamonds. Stone-cutting sawblades meant for asphalt and concrete are dusted with fine specs of diamond aggregate to give them superior strength and hardness. The diamond-dusted blades will tear through asphalt, concrete, and other types of paving.
Pros and Cons on Cutting Concrete with Circular Saw
Cutting concrete or asphalt with a circular saw is precise even a strong blade will go slowly through most surfaces. Cutting concrete or asphalt with a circular saw takes patience, skill, and diamond-studded saw blades aren’t the cheapest. If you need the cleanest lines and the most precise cuts, you need a circular saw.
Cutting Concrete with Chipping Hammer
If you’re more concerned with getting unwanted pavement out and not appearances, you can opt for an electric or gas chisel to help cut your concrete or asphalt. There are several types of chipping or jackhammers, but all use a pneumatic chisel to hammer out sections of asphalt or concrete. Concrete contractors use specific chisel sizes and types depending on the surface and type of cut.
Pros and Cons of Cutting Concrete with Chipping Hammer
Where the circular saw is more about finesse, the chipping hammer is more about brute force and getting the job done. Chipping hammers can take out general areas but can’t be used for precise cuts, corners, and molding. When your goal is to remove pavement without a care for how it looks a chipping hammer is the way to go.
Talking to a Concrete or Asphalt Professional
If you need ROW work performed, are looking to install a custom parking lot, or otherwise need to cut concrete, you need to turn to concrete professionals. Look for paving companies like Colorado Pavement Solutions that are local, licensed, have great reviews, and have plenty of experience cutting down asphalt or concrete for medium to large projects.
Colorado Pavement Solutions has the local expertise and tools to cut all pavement to exact specifications for a variety of projects. If you want to know more about different paving projects or learn more about how the job gets done, give us a call today.
Cutting Things Down to Size
Concrete and asphalt are strong but not even they can resist the right tools in the right hands. Whether it’s Right of Way roadwork, a new project, or something in-between, you need the power of diamonds and pneumatics to cut through concrete and asphalt. If you’re ready to see the pros do their thing call Colorado Pavement Solutions for a no-obligation inspection today.
