Concrete board or Somthing??

[boese.c]

I have an old house. I bought a new electric fireplace insert to put in the mantel. My issue is that I need to cut out the back of the mantle, but it is like some sort of concrete board or something. I went to use my skill saw, but no go. Any idea on how I can cut this?

Thanks

[Craig Robison]

I'm not sure how thick the stuff is you're trying to cut but you probably need a masonry cutting blade. Go to HomeDepot.com (or Lowes or whatever) and search for this or something similar.

DW4712B

This one happens to be a DeWalt blade but I would think any of this sort will work. Oh, and wear gloves, safety goggles and a mask, it is a dusty mess...

[kevin]

This could be an asbestos board, in which case having at it with a skill saw is maybe not such a good idea.

Or, it could be a cement tile backer board, in which case a utility knife is all you need (just score it and then break it -- no need to wear out a blade).

Or it could be other things too, I suppose.

I'd recommend either (a) figuring out what it is before trying to cut it in any way, or at least convince yourself that it isn't asbestos before going at it, or (b) figure out some way to remove it without resorting to cutting/smashing/etc. After all, if it is a funky material, or concrete, or whatever, it certainly was not made in place, and it seems unlikely that it would have been installed during construction. More likely it was added after basic construction, or as a retro-fit, or something.