Concrete cutting

[Pufter]

Anyone know about concrete cutting?

We have a garage sitting on a concrete slab about 6 inches thick at the bottom of our garden. The slab goes beyond the footprint of the garage to the side to form a pathway upto the boundary of the fence with the neighbours, & this leads onto common land behind the garage. Anyway, the slab effectively creates a water barrier which means the garden frequently gets flooded (the ground round here is heavy clay), as it can't run off onto common land behind. Unfortunately, drainage was not considered when this was built. This doesn't sound like a DIY proposition, but the ideal solution would be to cut a channel through the concrete pathway a couple of inches wide to allow water backing up to flow through it & away. Anyone know of a firm who could do such a job & approximate cost? (West Mdlands).

[John Rumm]

It doesn't? Sounds like the canonical uk.d-i-y answer may be appropriate here - angle grinder (or more exactly, hire a slightly more hefty stone saw for the day). Mark out, cut slots, break out the fillet, rinse and repeat if not all the way through.

Alternatively you could cut a wider slot and sit some drainage channel into it.

[The Medway Handyman]

Easy enough to DIY. Hire a 'cut kwik'

Around £30 a day.

Cut 2 slits 6" apart, break out the middle section, concrete in a length of plastic downpipe.

Robert is your fathers brother.

[Unbeliever]

For a change - the best tool that you can use is an angle grinder to cut a few grooves in the concrete and remove the waste between the grooves with a Kango hammer or even a hammer and cold chisel,

If you still want to spend the cash, contacy a small builder (or sole trader) to do this simple job.

[Bruce]

Before you go ahead, consider where the water will go once you have cut a channel. There is a risk that any significant flow of water will wash away the ground underneath the concrete path, undermining the path and possibly the foundations of the garage.

You should consider cutting a channel and installing a slot drain which will need to be connected to your drainage system. This will collect the water from the path and take it safely to the drains without risking damage to your garage:

[george [dicegeorge]]

Dont cut a sharp sided channel or you may get your foot stuck in it or trip, cut a wide shallow angled groove using the anglegrinder, and sweep the mud out every few weeks with a broom.

Start with a smallish groove, test it with water, and adjust it as needed.

[g]

[The Natural Philosopher]

Bollocks it is. The best tool short of TNT is a concrete saw.

Easily hired.

[Unbeliever]

"Bollocks" really are a bit soft for the job in hand though! ;-)

As for the "concrete saw", does that actually produce a cut a "couple of inches wide in one go?

If not (and it doesn't), then an angle grinder with a diamond blade will do the job nicely - and if that is already at hand, then why pay the cost of hiring?

I will accept though that if there is a large amount of concrete to be cut, then the correct "type" of concrete cutting saw may well be the better option - but these seem to be more generally used by the various road mending gangs that frequent the various highways and byways of the country.

[george [dicegeorge]]

oh, thats a thought, i'd better concrete that hole in my concrete path that water's been seeping down for a few months!

thanks

[g]

[The Natural Philosopher]

no, in two goes.