All About Cutting Paving Slabs

Cutting paving slabs with machines, grinders and other devices at home requires the correct selection of tools and compliance with safety measures. Most of the street paving pavements are made of concrete, have high strength, so the question of how you can cut them without damaging the decorative layer is always especially acute. To figure out how to properly cut the paving stones with your own hands to the desired size, an overview of the available methods and technologies will help.

Paving slabs are positioned as a completely ready-to-install material. But in practice, it often turns out that its dimensions do not correspond to the parameters of the paving site. In this case, the simplest solution is to cut the paving slabs to the specified parameters right during installation. True, this process has its own characteristics.

The process of cutting paving slabs is to remove the excess length or width of the product. At the same time, the decorative paving stones themselves:

• has dimensions from 20 to 80 mm in thickness;
• consists of solid and dense artificial stone;
• may have a figured shape, relief;
• difficult to process with conventional methods.

When using tiles with complex geometry, cuts are made not only in a straight line, but also along a diagonal or a more complex path. This requires precision and accuracy, any careless movement will lead to the formation of an uneven cut. The presence of crushed granite in the tile does not make the task at all easier.

There are different opinions on the matter, the better and more efficiently you can cut the paving slabs. When it comes to porcelain stoneware and its outdoor varieties, you can use a simple tool. Even a mechanical tile cutter of the appropriate size, working on the guillotine principle, will do. Paving slabs with a thickness of 20-80 mm cannot be easily cut. In this case, you should use more powerful tools. Let's list them.

1. Bulgarian. This tool uses a diamond cutting blade that rotates at a specific speed - up to an average of 3500 rpm. The high hardness of the disc allows you to cut out materials with a dense structure, cut stone. Its diameter can reach 23 cm, the power of the tool can exceed 2 kW. When cutting with a grinder, the tiles must be securely fixed with a clamp on a flat, flat surface.
2. Guillotine knife. This is the name of a special machine, which includes a table for laying paving slabs, guides, handles and a knife that descends on the surface of the product to be cut. Unlike working with a grinder, cutting with a guillotine occurs almost without dust, quickly and efficiently for any volume of work.
3. Concrete saws. They can be gasoline or electric, but certainly with the ability to cut concrete. In this case, the material is also placed on a special working platform of the machine, positioned, and then cut with diamond discs. The only problem is finding suitable consumables. The size range of the clamp is also limited - from 7 to 23 cm, which greatly narrows the scope of the machine.There are also advantages: these saws easily cut material at an angle with an accuracy of a degree.

Using any of these tools, you can get a clean and even cut on the tile exactly along a given line. Depending on the volume and complexity of the work, the type of processing is selected. For example, it is good to cut small batches of material with a grinder. The guillotine will help you cope with inline cutting. The saw works well where you need to cut at an angle, ensuring the accuracy and cleanliness of the resulting edge.

You can correctly cut the paving stones at home by following all the recommendations. Step-by-step instructions will help you to cut the slabs to a given size with your own hands.

1. Preparing the desktop. You need to clear the place, prepare supplies and tools.
2. Marking of elements intended for trimming. Test laying can be performed beforehand. When creating a pattern, the edges are often trimmed in the process, during the fitting of elements.
3. Installation of a diamond blade of the required diameter on a grinder.
4. Fixing the tiles with clamps. This is necessary so that the element does not move during cutting.
5. Cutting. It is necessary, directing the cutting element away from you, bring the rotating disc to the drawn line, and start moving. To speed up the too tight stroke of the diamond wheel, the supply of sand to the cutting site will help. You need to drive the tool away from you at a speed of up to 3500 rpm.

You can cut off the extra edge of concrete or stone tiles, paving stones with both a hand tool and a machine. The only difference is in the way the material is presented. If a guillotine is used, the work is carried out in a specific order.

1. The tiles are laid in the gap between the table and the cutting element. You need to position it so that the knife falls exactly on the selected plane.
2. Setting the knife in motion. The handle starts the mechanism, the cutting element, under the influence of its own gravity, lowers with considerable force, breaking off a part of the tile. It is important to act on the entire handle when pressing, and not transfer force only to the edge of the lever, otherwise the effect may be unpredictable.
3. Removing finished tiles. The guillotine allows you to put the cutting on the stream.
4. Control over the condition of the knife. He needs a replacement or sharpening if obvious defects, extraneous spots, areas with a burnt surface remain on the surface of the material, and the cut acquires a rough, not very aesthetic structure.

It is necessary to carry out work on cutting and grinding the edges of the tiles only in overalls, using a full set of personal protective equipment: from a respirator to glasses. In addition, you should take care of the absence of strangers and pets nearby. Reasonable precautions should also be taken when using the tool.

• Protect your hearing with earplugs or noise-canceling construction headphones.
• Control the rotation of parts and mechanisms. Replacement parts must be replaced with the recommended wear.
• Keep fingers away from power tools and machine tools in the area of ​​their cutting element.
• Use shoes with rubber soles to avoid accidental electric shock.
• Hold the grinder strictly with both hands, using the side handle. Install a protective shield, if available.

It is important to organize the cutting correctly. It is necessary to allocate a special place for this, away from the rest of the stocks of material. When cutting, concrete dust is generated, which can damage the already laid floor or stored elements. It's good if you manage to equip a separate workbench with a vice and everything you need.

Upon completion of the cutting of paving slabs, the master receives a workpiece with an edge that needs additional processing. It doesn't matter if you sawed or chipped the edges, fine-tuning will still be required. Noticeable defects are eliminated by chipping off problem areas with a chisel, filing them with a hacksaw with a blade for metal.

For information on how to cut paving slabs, see the next video.