Doors and windows in walls
A new door or window in a concrete wall is a wall-sawing job, with the saw running on a rail bolted to the wall, which is how those openings are normally cut.
Concrete cutting in Somerville MA - clean openings right where you need them
Need a doorway in a concrete wall or a drain through a slab? We make the cut clean and keep the water contained.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What concrete cutting takes at your house
Concrete cutting in Somerville is how we open up an existing concrete wall, floor or driveway without tearing the whole thing out. Diamond blades make the straight cuts and door or window openings, and diamond core drills bore round holes for pipes, drains and conduit, the tubing that carries wires.
Most calls start with a plan that's stuck behind concrete. You might want a door from the basement to the yard, a new drain across the garage floor, or a broken piece of driveway cut out cleanly before a repair. The price moves with how thick the concrete is, whether there's steel in it, whether it's a wall or a floor and how easy the spot is to reach. To get your own figure, I come out, measure, talk it through with you and then send the estimate.
The schedule mostly turns on the permit, any scan the job needs and the hours the city lets a saw run. We check with the city's building office early, before we settle the plan, so the paperwork doesn't hold up the cut.
One person from start to finish
I look at the job myself, measure the cut and stay on it through the work, so you're not explaining your plan to a new person every time someone shows up.
Water planned before the blade
Before the saw starts, we decide where the cooling water and slurry, the gray paste a wet cut throws off, will run and how we'll catch it.
A clean site and calm neighbors
Concrete cutting is loud and wet, so I want the site left cleaner than we found it and your neighbors still on good terms with you when we pack up.
How we plan and make the cut
Most of our sawing runs wet, because water keeps the diamond blade cool and turns the dust into slurry instead of letting it hang in the air. That runoff has to be vacuumed up or held in place, so we cover what needs covering and set up to catch it before the first cut, which matters most in a finished basement or on a driveway you share.
We match the saw or core drill to the cut, and indoors that includes the power source. A gas engine saw needs good ventilation inside a house, and electric, hydraulic or air-powered saws are the other options for indoor walls and slabs. When we cut an opening in a wall, the piece coming out can be very heavy, so it gets secured before the final cut instead of being left to drop.
Cutting is often the first step of a bigger job. We cut around a cracked or sunken section so it comes out in clean pieces and the new pour meets a straight edge, whether that's part of concrete driveway building or concrete patio construction. Then we clean up the slurry and the broken concrete before we call the job done.
Cuts we make in walls, floors and slabs
Straight cuts in floors and driveways
For floors, driveways and sidewalks we use a walk-behind flat saw, which leaves a straight, clean edge where a section has to come out or a trench has to go in.
Round holes for pipes and drains
When all you need is a path for a pipe, a drain or conduit, a diamond core drill bores a neat round hole, so ask about coring before planning a square opening.
Removing damaged sections
When part of a slab has cracked or sunk, we cut a straight line around it so the bad piece comes out and the rest stays in place for the new pour.
Get a free on-site estimate for your cut
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a visit. I come out, measure, talk the cut through with you and then send the estimate, with no pressure to book.
Tell us what you're cutting
Say whether it's a basement wall, a garage floor, a driveway or a patio, because a wall and a slab call for different saws and price out differently.
Give a size or a length
A rough opening size or cut length, even one you paced off yourself, helps me bring the right gear to the visit and talk about cost with real numbers.
Units, and whether you live there
Tell us how many units the building has and whether you live in it, because in Somerville that decides who can file the building permit.
Examples of concrete cuts and openings
These photos show the kinds of wall openings, core holes and clean slab edges we can talk through when we look at your job.
Concrete cutting questions from Somerville homeowners
Here are the questions people ask most before a cut, from cost and permits to scanning and the days a saw can run.
How much does concrete cutting cost in Somerville?
Professional concrete saw cutting across the US usually costs about $4 to $25 per linear foot, and that's the market's range, not our price. Deeper or steel-reinforced concrete lands higher, and on a small job a minimum charge for bringing out the crew and gear can matter more than the per-foot rate, so ask about it. Your own figure comes with the estimate.
Do I need a scan before cutting concrete?
Sometimes. A scan may be needed before cutting structural concrete or post-tensioned slabs, the kind with steel cables pulled tight inside, to find rebar, the steel bars that strengthen concrete, along with those cables, pipes and anything else buried in it. If there could be steel or pipe in yours, I bring up scanning at the estimate so you know whether it's in the quote.
Who can get the building permit for concrete work in Somerville?
If you live in a 1 or 2 family home, you may get the building permit yourself from the city's Inspectional Services Division. For a property of 3 family or more, a licensed contractor applies for and obtains it. If the paperwork falls to you, we tell you what to bring.
What license should a concrete cutting contractor have in Somerville?
A contractor who files a Somerville building permit submits a construction supervisor license, and for owner-occupied homes of 1 to 4 units, a home improvement contractor registration as well. We're fully licensed and insured, and when the paperwork is ours to file, we file it and keep it moving.
Can a crew run a concrete saw on a Saturday in Somerville?
Usually not, because the city's noise ordinance makes it unlawful to run concrete or masonry saws after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, or any time on Saturdays, when the saw sound creates a noise disturbance. So we schedule the sawing for weekday daytime. You can still reach us weekdays 8 AM to 11 PM and weekends 6 AM to 10 PM to plan it.
Concrete work that often starts with a cut
Tell us what you need cut
Call (617) 284-0921 or use the form, and the sooner I see the spot, the sooner we line up the permit and the saw days.