Concrete cutting in Pico Rivera CA - straight lines and the mess cleaned up
Need a bad section of slab out, a trench for a pipe or a new doorway? We cut it straight and clean up after ourselves.
Get your concrete cutting job measured
Send your address and a rough idea of the cut lengths, and I can plan the visit around what your slab actually needs.
What does concrete cutting involve at your house?
Concrete cutting in Pico Rivera usually means a walk-behind saw with a large diamond blade making straight cuts through a driveway, sidewalk, patio or floor, so the part that has to go comes out clean and the edge you're keeping stays straight. At Standard Pico Rivera Concrete, we do this work in Pico Rivera and the cities around it, like Downey, Whittier, Norwalk and Montebello.
Most cutting calls we get are for one cracked or sunken section of a driveway or patio, a trench so a plumber can reach a line under the slab, or an opening in a wall or floor. The price moves with how many feet of cut you need, how thick the slab is and whether it has rebar, the steel bars set inside to hold it together, and with whether you want the pieces broken up and hauled or just the cuts made. The schedule mostly turns on whether the slab needs a scan first and whether a permit is involved, and the written estimate I send lays out each part so you can see where the money goes.
Why Pico Rivera homeowners call Standard Pico Rivera Concrete for cutting
The owner measures and runs it
I come out myself to look at the slab, measure the cuts and write the estimate, and I run the job on site. The person who priced your cuts is the one watching them get made.
Started on Pico Rivera side jobs
I started doing concrete side jobs for neighbors in Pico Rivera, learning from older finishers, and made it full-time in 2017. That's why I'd rather explain a cut three times than have you guess.
Licensed and fully insured for cutting
California's licensing board counts concrete sawing, breaking and coring as concrete-related contracting work. We're licensed and fully insured, which matters when a saw is running next to your house.
On a cutting job, what I think about most is what's hiding inside the slab, so tell me where you need the cuts and I'll come out and measure.
Concrete cutting the way we do it
Before anything else, our estimate tells you plainly whether the price covers breaking and hauling the pieces or just the cuts, so there's no argument about a pile of concrete later. On the day, I mark every line on the slab with you so we agree on exactly what goes and what stays. If the slab might have cables or conduit in it, we get it scanned before the saw touches it, because hitting a tensioned cable or a live line is a much bigger problem than waiting on a scan. For flatwork, which covers driveways, patios, walks and floors, the saw runs wet, and since that makes a muddy slurry, we vacuum it up and keep it contained as we go, especially indoors.
A lot of cutting is really the first day of a bigger job. When a damaged section comes out of a driveway, we can pour the replacement as part of our concrete driveway building work, and an old patio cut up and hauled off makes room for concrete patio construction on the same ground. Either way, I'd rather spend your money digging out and packing the base under the new slab than on a fancier finish, because nobody sees the base on day one but it decides whether the new concrete sinks like the old.
Cuts only
This suits you if you or another contractor will break and haul the concrete, because we make the cut lines and leave the panels in place. It's the smaller bill, but the removal still has to happen.
Cut, break and haul away
This suits most homeowners, because the slab is cut, broken up and gone when we leave, and you're not stuck with heavy panels on the lawn. The estimate shows that work as its own part of the job.
Trench cuts for pipes and lines
This suits a plumbing or electrical repair under a floor or driveway, because two straight cuts open only the strip that's needed. The rest of the slab stays put, and a straight edge is easier to patch cleanly.
How do you know a slab needs cutting?
One section sank or lifted
One panel of your driveway or walk has dropped or been pushed up by a root. Cutting it out lets you replace just that piece, and waiting usually means a worse trip edge.
Cracks running every direction
Cracks wander across the slab when control joints, the grooves that tell concrete where to crack, were cut late or skipped. Joints cut soon can steer the next cracks, and waiting lets them wander.
A pipe under the slab
Your plumber needs to reach a pipe under the floor or driveway. A straight saw trench opens only what's needed, and putting it off lets a leak keep softening the ground under the slab.
An old slab in the way
An old patio or pad sits where you want something new. Cutting it into panels makes removal cleaner, while breaking it out by hand can crack the concrete you meant to keep.
What happens after you call about concrete cutting?
Call and set a visit
Call (562) 271-1038 or send the form and we'll set up a visit. I come out, measure the cuts and send a written estimate listing each part of the job.
Scan, cut and clean up
Once you say yes, we pull any permit the job needs, get the slab scanned if it might hide cables, then our crew cuts and vacuums up the slurry as we go.
Walk the cuts together
Before we pack up, I walk the work with you so you can check every line. If hauling was part of the job, the broken pieces leave with us.
Concrete cutting questions answered
These are the questions I hear most about cutting concrete around Pico Rivera. If yours isn't here, call or send the form and ask about your own slab.
How much does concrete cutting cost in Pico Rivera?
Across the US, professional saw cutting of an easy-to-reach slab 4 to 6 inches thick usually runs about $4 to $10 for each foot of cut, and that's the cutting alone. Thicker or reinforced slabs usually cost more per foot, and on a small job the charge for getting a crew and saw to your house can outweigh the per-foot rate. Your written estimate shows what your own cuts come to.
Does the price of concrete cutting include hauling the concrete away?
Not always, because sawing and removing concrete are separate jobs, and some cutters make only the cut lines and leave the pieces where they lie. Breaking, hauling and disposal can add more than the sawing itself, so put quotes side by side and check what each one covers.
What is the best way to cut a new door opening in a concrete wall?
The usual tool is a wall saw, a track-mounted saw that rides a rail bolted to the wall, because the rail keeps the cut straight and controlled, so ask for wall sawing by name. An opening can change the structure, and the city's permit FAQ says altering a structure, like taking out a load-bearing wall, will likely need a permit from the Building Division. The same guidance says demolishing part of a home needs a permit too, even inside.
Do I need a permit to cut a sidewalk or driveway approach in Pico Rivera?
Yes, the city's Public Works Department requires a permit for any construction in the public right-of-way along the street, and that includes sidewalk, curb, gutter and driveway approach work. The driveway approach is the sloped stretch between the street and your driveway, and the contractor who applies needs a Class A or C-8 license, a city business license and city-approved insurance. If your job needs that permit, we pull it and deal with the office for you.
How do I find cables or rebar in a slab before cutting it?
The usual way is a professional scan with ground-penetrating radar, which reads through the concrete and can help find cables, rebar and conduit. One scanning firm advises a scan before any drilling, coring or cutting on a post-tensioned slab, one held tight by steel cables, and says to start by reviewing the latest structural drawings and post-tensioning records. If you have drawings for your house, have them out when I visit.
What is the best way to control dust when cutting concrete indoors?
Cutting wet is the usual way, because most saw cutting of slabs and walls runs with water to keep the dust down. The catch is that the cuttings turn into slurry, a muddy runoff that has to be vacuumed up or contained, especially indoors or near a storm drain, while dry cutting with smaller hand saws leans on the blade and a vacuum instead. Ask any cutter which method they plan and how they'll clean up.
Get a written estimate for your cuts
Put your address, what needs cutting, rough cut lengths and any structural drawings you have in the form. We reply within one business day to set up a free estimate at your property, and there's no obligation.
Examples of concrete cutting
Work that often follows a cut
Concrete driveway building
When a cut leaves a gap in your driveway, we can pour a replacement section or a whole new driveway with joints placed where cracks should go.
Learn moreConcrete patio construction
If you're cutting out an old patio to start over, we can pour the new one sloped away from your house so rain doesn't sit against the wall.
Learn more