How to Cut Concrete for All Skill Levels

Concrete is a durable, visually appealing, and affordable building material, which is why it’s used in a variety of home-building and renovation applications. But if you find yourself needing to cut into a patio, sidewalk, retaining wall, concrete countertop, or some other concrete surface, its strength can make the job intimidating. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how to cut concrete safely and cleanly using a variety of methods, from simple and DIY-friendly to complex. We’ll also explain when you should consider hiring a professional.

Why Do I Need to Cut Concrete?

Concrete has been a popular structural material for hundreds of years, primarily because it’s affordable and offers rigidity, durability, and immense compressive strength. These factors make it an ideal material for load-bearing surfaces. Some homeowners even polish it and use it for more decorative purposes. It’s common to see concrete used in the following:

• Home foundations

• Retaining walls

• Sidewalks

• Walkways

• Patios

• Driveways

• Curbs and aprons

• Garage floors

• Interior floors

• Countertops

Since concrete is a prevalent material in home construction and, now, decor, you may find yourself needing to cut into a concrete surface on your property. Depending on the placement of your concrete surface, you might need to access a plumbing pipe, replace a damaged or stained section of concrete, or make room to pour a new concrete slab.

How Much Does It Cost to Cut and Remove Concrete?

The average cost to remove concrete from your home by a professional is between $540 and $1,660, or between $2 and $3 per square foot.

There are many cost factors that affect your pricing, including the following:

• How difficult it is to access the area

• The square footage you need removed

• The thickness of the concrete you need cut

• The type of concrete and any reinforcements inside

• Permits required for demolition

• How precise the cutting needs to be

In some cases, it might make more sense to hire a professional than to tackle the work yourself, especially based on the relatively low cost of professional concrete cutting and removal. We’ll discuss this a bit more later on.

How to Prep for Concrete Cutting

There are a variety of ways to go about cutting concrete, but regardless of which option suits your project and skill level, being prepared will be priority number one. There are a few things we recommend doing before getting started.

Consider Your Skill Level

While working with concrete can often be a pretty straightforward DIY project, that’s not always the case. If you find that you need a high-powered concrete saw for cutting through thick slabs or a high level of precision—as in the case of cutting a decorative concrete countertop—and you have little experience, we’d recommend deferring to a pro.

Concrete is made to be strong and durable, which makes it difficult to cut. It’s also a structural material in many cases, which means cutting into it can be dangerous and put your home at risk.

Know Your Project Difficulty Level

Finally, be sure you understand the risks involved in your concrete cutting project. We recommend you consider the following before deciding if the work is suitable for a DIY solution.

• Concrete thickness: Slabs or walls that are over 6 inches thick require special tools for clean cutting and safe operation. Some cutting options, like a chisel and hammer, won’t produce desirable results at this thickness.

• Concrete reinforcements: Some concrete structures—including garage floors, home foundations, and patios—will have steel reinforcements running through them. If you don’t know if there are steel reinforcements, just make sure you have a blade that can cut through both concrete and steel.

• Plumbing pipes: We don’t recommend DIYing any concrete cutting on your home’s foundation since some slabs might have plumbing lines running through them. Hitting one with a saw can lead to major leaks and could put you at risk of electrocution.

Stay Safe With Personal Protective Equipment

If you do decide to tackle the project yourself, take the necessary safety precautions. Always do the following:

• Wear eye protection: Small pieces of concrete can chip off and put your vision at risk.

• Wear hearing protection: Power tools are loud and can damage your hearing.

• Wear a respirator: Concrete dust contains crystalline silica, which can damage your lungs if you inhale it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Above all else, keep yourself and your home safe. We urge you to consider hiring a professional if you feel that the scope of work or tools necessary aren’t DIY-friendly.

How to Cut Concrete 5 Different Ways

Cutting concrete can range from super simple and DIY-friendly to complex enough where we’d typically recommend allowing a professional to carry out the work. We’ll explain each of the options from easiest to the most challenging below, and we’ll explain when each method is typically applicable.

Use a Hammer and Chisel: Beginner-Friendly

Using a hammer and chisel is a really easy way to get a relatively clean cut on thinner pieces of concrete. We’d recommend this method for cutting concrete pavers only, as there’s always a risk of the cut failing and the entire piece of concrete cracking.

1. Using a piece of chalk, mark the line you want to cut along with a straight edge or another paver.

2. Place the chisel on the guideline at a 90-degree angle and use a dead blow hammer or rubber mallet to drive it into the paver. You mostly want to let the weight of the hammer do the work.

3. Move the chisel along the guideline, scoring with blows from the hammer as you go. You should aim for a divot of around 1/8 inch deep along the entire surface of the paver.

4. Lay the paver on top of another so the section you’re looking to cut off hangs over the edge. Put your weight on the supported end and gently hit the unsupported end until it breaks off. Alternatively, you can place the chisel in the divot in the center of the block and hit it hard until the paver breaks along the line.

Use a Utility or Scoring Knife: Beginner-Friendly

If you need to cut through a very thin board made of concrete, you can use a utility knife or scoring knife. This is only a suitable method for things like cement backer boards, which are dry wall-like boards often used in bathrooms and other areas where water damage is a risk.

1. Mark the cut line with a permanent marker or piece of chalk.

2. Carefully run the blade along the cut line. Don’t put too much pressure that you lose control of the knife. The first few passes will just be to make a guideline.

3. Continue making passes, placing more and more pressure each time.

4. If you’re cutting a concrete board before it’s installed, you can follow the instructions in the previous section on how to break concrete along the cut line once you’re about a quarter of the way through it. If you’re cutting through a piece that makes up a bathroom or kitchen wall, continue scoring until you’re all the way through.

Use a Circular Saw: Requires Some Experience

You can use a circular saw for a variety of different cutting jobs, including wood, metal, and concrete. The key is to choose the right kind of blade for the material you’re cutting.

If you plan to cut concrete with a circular saw, we recommend using either a dry-cutting diamond blade or a concrete/masonry abrasive blade. The former is more expensive but will last significantly longer, making it a better option for larger concrete-cutting jobs. The latter will wear down quickly but comes at a much lower price per blade.

Cutting concrete with a circular saw is ideal if you need a really clean, straight cut, as you might on a paver or a piece of concrete that will be visible.

1. Mark your cut line using a chalk or permanent marker.

2. Set the blade depth to however deep the diamond blades are, or about 1/4 inch if you’re using an abrasive blade.

3. Making sure to secure the workpiece to your work surface, slowly and carefully make the first pass, letting the weight of the saw do the work for you.

4. Let the blade cool after every few feet of cutting by running it in the open air for a few seconds.

5. Reset the blade depth and continue doing slow passes until you’re through the material.

Use an Angle Grinder: Requires Some Experience

An angle grinder gives you a little more flexibility in your cuts than a circular saw, so it’s a better option if you need to make angled cuts. Angle grinders can take a variety of blades, so you can choose a diamond blade or an abrasive masonry blade to make your cuts.

1. Mark your cut line using a chalk or permanent marker.

2. Secure the concrete you’re cutting to your work surface.

3. Turn on the angle grinder and slowly move the blade along the guideline to complete the first pass.

4. Continue making shallow passes, making sure never to go more than a 1/4 inch deep in a single pass. Don’t force the blade, but instead, let the weight of the grinder do the work.

5. After each pass, let the blade cool by running it in the open air for a few seconds.

Use a Concrete Saw: Advanced Method

A concrete saw is a special high-powered tool that is specifically made for cutting concrete. These tools are quite expensive, but you can often rent them from your local home improvement store. Concrete saws often come with a diamond cutting blade, but most handheld saws will accept more affordable abrasive blades as well. If you rent a concrete saw, you’ll usually pay a flat fee for the rental plus a blade fee based on how much of the blade gets worn down during use.

Some masonry saws accept wet-cutting blades, which use water to lubricate and cool the blade for continuous cutting. If you use a wet-cutting blade, you’ll need to ensure that there’s water present at all times to avoid blade and tool damage. If you don’t have a saw that introduces water itself—like a walk-behind concrete saw does—then you’ll need to set up a hose on your workpiece or have a friend hold the hose close to the cut line while you make the cut.

There are two kinds of concrete saws: handheld saws for smaller jobs and walk-behind concrete saws for larger concrete cutting projects.

Handheld Concrete Saw

A handheld concrete saw combines the flexibility of an angle grinder with the cutting depth of a circular saw. You can use this type of saw to cut through thick slabs, but it can also cut angles for pavers or other decorative concrete pieces.

1. Mark your guidelines on your workpiece.

2. Secure your workpiece to your work surface, if applicable.

3. Slowly make your first pass with the saw, making sure to limit the cutting depth to a quarter inch or less.

4. Run the saw in open air for a few seconds to let it cool.

5. Make a second pass, again letting the weight of the saw do the work and avoiding cutting too deep.

6. Continue making shallow passes until you get through the workpiece.

Walk-Behind Concrete Saw

A walk-behind concrete saw is meant for cutting larger slabs, like sidewalks, concrete driveways, and patios.

These typically accept wet- and dry-cutting blades, so make sure you know which you’re using and introduce a constant flow of water to the cutting surface if you’re using a wet blade. Wet-cutting blades are usually better for the larger jobs you’d tackle with a walk-behind saw to prevent you from having to stop multiple times per pass to let the blade cool.

1. Mark your cut line using a chalk or permanent marker. Using a chalk line is often preferred, given that the line will likely need to be long and straight.

2. Begin with the saw off, and line up the blade with the guideline. Set the blade depth to just above the cutting surface.

3. Turn on your water source (assuming you’re using a wet-cutting blade), then turn on the saw.

4. Lower the blade down to the surface slowly, going no more than the depth of the diamond blades or about 1/2 inch. Take your time making your first pass to ensure a straight cut.

5. Turn off the saw, move it back to the start of the cut, and repeat the process until you complete the cut.

Tips for Choosing the Right Concrete-Cutting Tool

As is the case with any DIY project, your concrete cutting job will be safer and easier if you choose the right tool for the job. Below are some tips to help you do just that.

• Consider the thickness of your concrete. If you’re cutting a 2-inch paver, there’s no need to use a walk-behind concrete saw. Similarly, if you’re cutting through a 4-inch-thick patio or sidewalk, an angle grinder won’t even accept a blade wide enough, so a circular saw or concrete saw is required.

• Consider the shape of the cut line. If you need a straight line, any of the above methods will work. If you’re cutting rounded or angled lines for a paver patio or another decorative design, the flexibility of an angle grinder will likely suit you best. You can even use an angle grinder to sand down concrete pavers to get them to fit perfectly in your design.

• Think about the quality of cut you need. If you just need the concrete cut, any of the above methods will suffice. If you need a super clean and straight cut on a piece of concrete that will be visible, we recommend using a power saw rather than a hammer and chisel.

• Think about the scope of the job. If you’re just looking to cut a few pavers to fit into your project, any method will likely work. If you know you need to cut dozens of pavers, using a hammer and chisel will take you hours, and a power saw will save time and frustration.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro to Cut Concrete

You can do most concrete cutting you’d need around your home as a DIY project. These include cutting the following:

• Concrete pavers

• Thin retaining walls

• Walkways

• Patios

However, we strongly recommend hiring a professional for larger projects and those that are more involved or contain added risks. Some projects we’d recommend leaving to a pro include the following:

• Cutting into your home’s foundation

• Cutting into concrete that may contain plumbing lines

• Structural concrete cutting

• Cutting slabs thicker than 4 inches

Additionally, the saws and power tools designed to cut concrete are high-powered and inherently dangerous. If you’re at all uncomfortable with using the tools yourself, we suggest hiring a concrete cutting contractor near you to get the job done professionally.

DIY Cost to Cut Concrete

In most cases, completing your concrete cutting project yourself will be more affordable, even if it means renting the tools required.

On average, concrete repair pros charge between $3 and $9 per square foot of concrete, although the cutting alone can be less expensive. If you do the job yourself, you’ll have the time investment, plus any rental fees for tools, which can total between $50 and $1,000, depending on the tool needed and the size of your project.