Concrete Cutting in Fayetteville AR - clean, straight cuts where you need them
Need a trench for a new drain or an opening in a slab? We scan, cut wet and leave clean edges.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What's involved in cutting concrete for a new drain, pipe or opening?
Concrete cutting in Fayetteville means sawing straight lines through a slab or wall, or drilling round holes through it, so you end up with clean trench lines and openings for new plumbing, drains or wiring. It's usually the first step of a bigger job, like running a line under a garage floor, cutting out a broken section of driveway or opening up a basement wall.
Most calls start the same way, with something that has to go under or through concrete that's already there. What moves the price is how thick the concrete is, how much steel is in it, whether we're cutting a floor or a wall, and how many feet of cut there are. The schedule mostly turns on three things: the scan, whether an engineer has to look at it first, and whether the city wants a permit. When I come out, I'll measure it and send you a written estimate that lays all of that out, so you can take your time with it.
How do you know your concrete needs cutting?
One sunken or cracked panel
If one square of your driveway or patio has cracked up or dropped while the rest sits fine, the ground under that piece has usually settled or washed out. We can saw it out along clean lines so it can be repoured, and waiting tends to let water get under the edges and start on the next panel.
A new line under the slab
A basement bathroom, a sink in the garage or a leak under the floor all mean something has to get beneath concrete that's already there. A sawn trench keeps the opening to the width the plumber needs, while beating it out with a hammer tends to crack past the line and leave more to patch.
A wall in the way
You want a door, a window or a pipe through a basement or foundation wall. That's load-bearing concrete, so it takes more planning than a floor cut, and starting that planning early keeps it from holding up the rest of your project.
Work that often follows a cut
Concrete driveway building
When more than a couple of panels are failing, cutting out the old driveway and pouring new on a packed base often makes more sense.
Concrete patio construction
If you're cutting back an old patio for a drain line or a bigger footprint, we can pour the new section so it drains away from the house.
How we handle concrete cutting
I mark the line with you first, because a line drawn on concrete is a lot easier to move than a cut. Then we scan for steel rebar, the bars that hold a slab together, post-tension cables, which are steel strands some slabs are pulled tight with, and live lines, so we know what's inside before any blade goes in. We set up the saw that fits the cut and keep the blade wet the whole time to hold the dust down. If the cut goes through anything structural, we wait on the engineer before going further, and I'll have told you in the quote whether hauling the pieces off is part of the job.
A lot of cuts are the first half of something bigger. When the old slab is coming out anyway, it usually pays to have the same crew pour a new concrete driveway or a new concrete patio, so the base underneath, the drainage and the control joints, the grooves that tell a slab where to crack, all get planned together instead of patched around the cut.
Slab cuts and trenches
This suits a plumber's trench, a drain line across a garage or a broken panel coming out of a driveway or patio. A sawn edge is straight and clean, so the patch or the new pour meets it neatly instead of along a ragged break.
Core holes and wall openings
Round holes are drilled with a coring bit for a pipe, drain or conduit to pass through a floor or wall, sized to what's going through. A doorway or window in a basement wall is load-bearing work, so it gets the engineer's review mentioned above before we book the cut.
Cut only, or cut and haul
Sawing and removing are two different jobs, and some owners have their own crew or plumber break out and haul the pieces. Others want it gone, and either way your written estimate says which one you're getting.
Get a written estimate for your concrete cutting job
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out and measure, free and with no obligation. Rather talk it through? Call (479) 598-4435.
Call (479) 598-4435Why Fayetteville owners call AJ Fayetteville Concrete Construction for concrete cutting
I walk every job myself
I come out to look at the job and mark the cut with you, and I'm on site running it while our crew does the work. The person who quoted your cut is the one standing there when the saw starts, so nothing gets lost in between.
Trained on a public works crew
I learned concrete on a city public works crew, pouring sidewalks, curbs and the odd wall, and started this business in 2020. Six years in, the habit I kept from that crew is finding out what's under and inside the concrete before anybody touches it.
Licensed, insured, ready for the city
We're licensed and fully insured, which counts when a saw is running a few feet from your foundation and your utility lines. When Fayetteville wants a permit, the city asks for a copy of the contractor's state license with the application, and we upload ours with the rest of the paperwork.
On a cut, what matters most is knowing what's inside the concrete before the blade does. Send us the details or call (479) 598-4435, and I'll come take a look.
What happens after you call about a concrete cut?
Call or send the form
Tell us what you need cut and where. We'll get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
I walk and measure it
I look at the slab or wall with you, measure and talk through what the cut is for. You get a written estimate that spells out the cut, the method and what's included, and you can take your time with it.
We check with the city
Once you say go, I check with the city's building office before we set a date, and if a permit's needed, we handle the paperwork. The city makes field inspections on alterations and repairs, so we line up any inspections where they fall in the job.
Scan, cut and walk through
On cut day we prep the area, scan, cut and clean up the work area. When we're done, I walk it with you so you can see the edges and openings before we leave.
Common questions
How much does concrete cutting cost per foot in Fayetteville?
Professional saw cutting of concrete slabs usually runs about $4 to $15 per linear foot across the US. Thicker or reinforced slabs land higher in that range, wall sawing costs more, and a very short cut is often billed at a minimum charge instead of by the foot. My written estimate gives you the number for your cut.
Which saw does my concrete cutting job need?
A flat saw handles level slabs like floors, driveways and patios, a wall saw runs on a track to cut walls and steep surfaces, and a wire saw takes on very thick or heavily reinforced sections. Round holes for pipe, drains or conduit are made with a core drill instead. Where the cut sits and how thick the concrete is decide which one, and I'll tell you which your job needs when I see it.
Do I need a permit to cut concrete in Fayetteville, AR?
You might, and the city is the one to say. Fayetteville's building official issues permits to alter, repair or demolish a structure, and the list of work that doesn't need one names things like painting and flooring, not concrete cutting. For a straight answer on your job, you can call Fayetteville Building Safety at 479-575-8238 and ask an inspector.
Why do you scan concrete before cutting it?
Scanning shows where the rebar, post-tension cables and live conduit sit inside the slab, so the blade misses them. One field guide sums it up as "No scan, no cut," and if a building might be post-tensioned and that can't be ruled out, it treats the slab as post-tensioned and brings the structural engineer in first. It's fair to ask any cutter how they'll check your slab, and I'm glad to walk you through how we check yours.
How long does it take to cut a doorway in a foundation wall?
One cutting guide says a foundation doorway, done right, takes 1 to 2 days and lasts 50 years or more. That same guide calls it structural work in load-bearing concrete, which is why the structural engineer for the building has to review it before the cut is booked. Put that review in your schedule and your budget from the start.
How do I keep concrete cutting dust out of my house?
Keeping water on the blade cuts down the dust a great deal, which is why we cut wet. Indoors, the saw itself matters too, because gas-powered saws put out carbon monoxide and don't belong in a closed basement or garage. If a crew is cutting inside your house, ask how they'll keep the blade wet and what the saw runs on.
Get your concrete cut measured and priced
Call AJ Fayetteville Concrete Construction at (479) 598-4435 or send the form with where the cut is, whether it's a floor or a wall, and roughly how long it runs, so I can show up with the right questions.