How to cut grooves in concrete sidewalk

[Shooter Dude]

I need to cut some grooves in my sidewalk. They need be no more than

1/4" deep, though 1/2" might be better. They need be no wider than a saw kerf. All I need to do is run a small wire in the grooves and fill it with epoxy or something similar. This is for one of those "electric dog fence" type things.

What's the best way to do this? The total length I need to cut is probably about 15 feet, so I don't need a particularly durable solution. Will a cheap masonry blade in a circular saw do the trick? Is there anything I can use in an angle grider? The angle grinder would be good for making a vertical groove on the edge of the sidewalk.

[Tom Cular]

Purchase an abrasive masonry blade for your circular saw, it will be dusty so wear a dust mask. Both are inexpensive.

[Phisherman]

The concrete blade in a circular saw will work. You might need a few blades to do 15 feet. Protect your lungs from the dust.

[Toller]

Diamond blades are 5 times the price, but they cut like butter and last.

[Papa Koca]

That will work, then kiss your circular saw good-bye when you are done. The dust will destroy the brushes and bearings. Suggest you get a real cheap saw with the blades and consider it a throwaway.

[John Hines]

Go to a rental place, and rent a hand held concrete saw. It shouldn't cost that much, and saves the wear and tear on your saw. And it should do the job easier on you and your back. Generally, they charge per inch of blade used up, in the case of abrasive blades. Dunno about diamond blades.

[Nehmo Sergheyev]

- Shooter Dude -

- Nehmo - Use a diamond blade in a circular saw or angle grinder. An abrasive blade won't last very long with concrete, and the diamond blades are reasonably priced nowadays: about $25 for a 4 ½" diameter one.

In alternative, you could tunnel your way under the sidewalk with water pressure. Use a nozzle on the end of a rigid pipe or snake a regular hose through a length of PVC pipe. This method is used a lot for installing sprinkler systems. (I might go at 15' from both sides.)

I applaud what you are doing. I hate to see a dog on a chain.

[AJScott]

If you go the 4" angle grinder route, you don't need to buy a $25 diamond blade for a mere 15 feet. They also have diamond wet-dry angle grinder blades at Home Depot for $7 if that's all you intend to ever do with that one blade. They're not as durable as the $25 ones of course, but one-shots needn't be so expensive. HD also has Ryobi angle grinders for about $30 if you don't have one. Mine has several hours of cutting cement and brick on it, and it's still chugging even with all the dust that's gotten kicked up onto it.

AJS

[Phil Scott]

Same here...a dog on a chain is a sad thing.

You can get devices with an implanted battery and high voltage discharge device... the battery recharges while your pet sleeps in his bed placed over a recharging mat.

The vet implants the sending unit in its testicles, or you can do it yourself if you are fast... then whenever yer beloved pet starts to get near the perimeter of the property the high voltage probes in its testicles are energized.

Phil Scott

[Lyle B. Harwood]

? What's the best way to do this?

The easiest and cheapest way to do it would be to put a diamond blade in a worm drive skillsaw. Both can be rented from your local rental yard.

Put a trickle of water on the sidewalk in front of you, and there won't be any dust.

Best of luck, and let us know how it comes out!

[Noozer]

This is probably what I'd do... A garden hose under regular pressure will dig through the dirt with ease. I used to do this when I was a kid... my folks hated it. All those holes in the yard!

OUCH!!!!

What ever happened to the ones that just go around their neck?

Something that MANY folks don't consider as well... These radio fences MAY be good at keeping your dog in the yard (If you devote all the training time needed) BUT it does NOTHING for keeping other animals out. No amount of training will stop your pet from chasing a rabbit through the radio fence if they are going fast enough... and once out, they won't be able to get back in!

[Toller]

Not true, neither of my dogs would cross the fence for anything; even during week long power outages. It is just a matter of training. (In fact, one dog is faithful to fence at our cottage, eventhough we don't have one. She just decided where it ought to be, and won't cross it unless carried.)

I think (I hope? I pray?) he is joking about the implant.

[ConRes]

A friend of mine has this problem. He has a large rabbit population around his home and the dog will run through the fence all the time. Late at night he'll hear a "Yelp" and go out to check on him and he'll be sitting on the other side of the invisible fenceline waiting for him. He said he's done all kinds of training, went so far as to hire a profesional. No luck.

[flanderscourt]

I'd just sharpen an old kitchen butter knife and start scraping away. Get a buh\nch iof these knives at a second hand store, adn put all the kids to work in your area. Offer them a popsicle for every foot they grind away.

27 Dec 2003 09:41:02 -0800, [e-mail] (Shooter Dude) wrote:

[Steven Johnson]

I second what Nehmo Sergheyev and others say: I have also used a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cheap wet/dry diamond blade. Works very fast. Very cheap, doesn't ruin your good circular saw.

Haven't tried the horizontal waterjet boring method, but it sounds great.

Steve Johnson

[Js Walker Lazenby Jr]

These radio fences MAY

all the training

out. No amount of

through the radio fence

be able to get back

population around

time. Late at night

be sitting on the

said he's done

profesional. No luck.

Stick that thing on his balls, and I'll bet he'll cross the line only once more! (Talk about your S & M.)

Jim

>

[Dennis Beerman]

[Goalfooter]

I used the garden hose to install lawn sprinklers on the boulevard. I have a piece of 3/4" rigid pvc pipe slightly longer than the width of the sidewalk and threaded for the garden hose. I put a plastic nozzle on the end which increases the pressure. It works very well. The downside is that the length of wire under the sidewalk probably won't be effective as a boundary wire.

[micky]

I don't know what you mean. Don't people drive cars on the boulevard? They'll have to use their windshield wipers while the sprinklers are on.

Do you mean that you cut a hole under the sidewalk? I hate to tell you this after the fact, but for the sake of others who might read this, it's easier and does less damage to go under the sidewalk than through it.

Now you're talking about under, but I don't know what wire you mean. You were talking about lawn sprinkler pipe.

And I don't know what kind of boundary wire you would want since I would think your lawnsprinkler pipe is at least several feet from your property line.

[Goalfooter]

The boulevard I referred to is the grassed area beyond the sidewalk. I used the garden hose method to tunnel the pipe under the sidewalk sidewalk for a sprinkler system. I was suggesting that this approach might not work for a boundary wire such as for an invisible pet fence or robotic lawn mower because the thickness of the sidewalk could require the the wire to be too deep below the surface.