I am covering a patio with bricks, laid in sand. In order to cut starter bricks and to follow a curve, I need to cut about 20 bricks along the short dimension (4"). These are "split pavers", 1 1/4" thick.
I have a 7" circular saw. Can I use this saw to cut brick and what kind of blade should I use?
Thanks
I think there is a saw for this, but the way I've done it is with a brick chisel. Wide blade. Cut a grove, and then break at the grove, like you do when cutting glass tubing. If you screw up, bricks are cheap enough.
I just did a similar (but smaller project, I only had to cut about 10)
I used a segmented dry diamond blade (because I have had it for ~ 20 years) in my Milwaukee worm drive.
It was dusty & dirty ....plus it left my saw pretty dirty as well.
I could have used a helper w/ a vac or set up a hose with duct tape but I only had about 10 to do.
If you've got a "beater" saw so not to use your "nice" one it would be better. I non-segmented blade is less likely to chip out the edge of the cut......but it is patio brick not kitchen tiles.
I don't remember if I cut from both sides (it's only a 6" blade) or I just cheated & tapped the brick to break in along the cut.
A diamond blade will make short work of these bricks......my HD has a pretty good selection (wide price range) of diamond blades.
Alternatively you could rent a wet saw.....no dust, just wet messy :)
be prepared to handle brick colored water, that they tend to spray about.
cheers Bob
I'm in the process of installing brick walks right now, around 2700 bricks worth. I just finished a kiva style fireplace made from pumice brick and fire brick. I bit the bullet and bought a Harbor Freight wet saw for around $190. It has performed brilliantly and saved me a lot of headaches so I think I've gotten my money's worth. That being said, for only 20 bricks, I wouldn't buy it. For 3500, it was a no brainer. You can get dry blades for your circular saw that will work just fine. A wide chisel and hammer will work as well for simple cuts. Just beware, brick will create a lot of dust being cut dry so anticipate cleaning your saw thoroughly afterwards. As well, they contain silica dust when cut dry so you really should wear a mask. Cheers, cc
On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:47:22 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Walter R." quickly quoth:
Try these chisels for just a couple dozen bricks. They're cheap and work well.
- In nature's infinite book of secrecy a little I can read. -Shakespeare ------
Dry Wet Concrete and Masonry Saw blade in my Black and Decker Hand Rotary saw. I cut about forty paving stones square and at angles for the driveway, lots of dust until I sprinkled a little water on the work before cutting. I made a wooden holder a bit like a mitre box to hold the stone and clamped it in a Workmate.
I was surprised at how easy it was apart from the noise and stone dust.
Good Luck
Yes _____________
For your quantity, go to a hardware store and buy a masonry blade for a dollar or two. They are a bonded abrasive disc about 1/8" thick - sort of like a thin grinding wheel. Cut outside, they throw lots of dust.
Be sure the one you get is for masonry, similar ones are available for metal cutting.
Buy two or even three. They wear out that fast.
You need some sort of backstop. Even a 1x2 screwed flat onto a chunk of plywood will do.
The dust is hell on the circular saw's bearings. Don't do this with an expensive wormdrive. A spraybottle with some water would probably help. My cheap skilsaw has significant slop in its bearings now.
The scraping of the saw shoe on brick will make you cringe.
A dust mask is critical.
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