Flat Sawing vs. Wall Sawing vs. Wire Sawing

Flat saws are walk-behind or ride-on machines with a large diamond blade that cuts horizontal surfaces: floors, slabs on grade, elevated decks, sidewalks, driveways and pavement. They are the standard tool for plumbing and electrical trenches, removal areas, control joints and patch cut-outs.

• Best for: floors and pavement, long straight cuts, trenches
• Depth: from shallow joints to full-depth cuts through thick slabs, depending on blade size
• Limits: horizontal surfaces only; corners overcut slightly unless finished by hand or with a core

See flat sawing.

A wall saw runs on a track bolted to the wall, slab or ceiling, with the blade on a powered head that travels along the track. Because it is mounted, it cuts precise, straight openings in vertical or overhead concrete: doors, windows, mechanical openings, and sections of walls or decks to be removed.

• Best for: openings in concrete and block walls, vertical and overhead cuts, steep slopes
• Depth: deeper than a hand saw, with the ability to cut from both sides of thick walls
• Limits: needs track anchors and room for the track; the cut ends are usually finished with core holes or a hand saw

See wall sawing.

A wire saw pulls a diamond-beaded steel cable through the concrete in a loop, driven by pulleys. Because the wire can wrap around almost any shape, it cuts sections thicker than any blade can reach: massive foundations, bridge piers, dams, thick walls and heavily reinforced structures. It is a specialty method, usually chosen when nothing else can make the cut.

• Best for: very thick or irregular sections, underwater or confined work, large mass removal
• Limits: slower setup, needs core holes to thread the wire, and the cost is justified mainly on very thick concrete

DSI's crews perform flat sawing, wall sawing and core drilling. If your project might need wire sawing, call us with the dimensions and we will tell you honestly which method fits.

Handheld saws, including chainsaw-style concrete saws and ring saws, finish the corners of wall-sawn openings, cut in tight spaces and make shallow cuts up to around a foot deep. They are flexible but slower and less precise than mounted saws on large openings.

When the hole is round, a core drill is the right tool. Rows of overlapping cores (stitch drilling) can also cut an opening where a saw can't reach. See concrete core drilling explained.

• Horizontal surface, straight cut: flat saw
• Vertical or overhead opening: wall saw, finished with a hand saw or cores at the corners
• Round penetration: core drill
• Extremely thick, irregular or confined: wire saw
• Tight space, shallow cut, finishing work: hand saw

Whatever the method, scan first when embedded items aren't confirmed. See cutting or coring a post-tension slab.

Every one of these methods creates respirable crystalline silica dust. Cal/OSHA's silica standard makes water delivered to the blade or bit the standard control, which is why professional concrete cutting is done wet and why slurry containment and cleanup are part of the job.

DSI's operators flat saw, wall saw and core drill with our own equipment, and scan with GPR before cutting. We work across the Inland Empire and Southern California and mobilize for projects statewide. Call (951) 737-2077 or send your layout.