How to cut paving slabs
How to cut paving slabs
You’ve decided to include a beautiful patio or paved area within your garden to enjoy your summer days at home, but with all DIY paving jobs, you will need to cut the paving slabs to fit the design you have in mind. There are many ways to cut paving slabs by hand, and in this article, we will explore the best methods used.
Use a Hand-Held Saw to cut paving slabs:
In order to cut paving slabs using a hand-held saw, we recommend you use a circular saw and ensure to use a diamond masonry blade as this will be strong enough to saw through the paving slabs.
Materials you’ll need:
Procedure:
- First, you should prepare your working stand. This is usually adjusted to the length of the paver you’re using.
- Once you’re all set up, calculate the space you’ll need to install the paver and mark up the cutting lines on the paving slab using a pencil.
- For greater accuracy, remember to dip your paving slab in water to remove any dust.
- Place the paving slab on the work stand and cut the paver with the circular saw following your pencil guides you made earlier. Adjust the blade as required.
- Once the slap is cut, place the paver into its space and tap into place with a hammer
Use a Chisel and Hammer to cut Paving Slabs:
Using a chisel and hammer to cut your paving slabs is the easiest and simplest method. While it may be more time consuming than using electrical tools such as a hand-held saw, this method requires the least tools.
Materials you’ll need:
- Chisel (pitching or bolster)
- Protective gloves and safety glasses
- Pencil
- Hammer
- Measuring tape
Procedure:
- Measure the space you want to fill with your paver and using a pencil mark out the desired size on your paving slab.
- Using your hammer and chisel, begin to cut the slabs.
Generally, you would hold the chisel just outside your marked line drawn with your pencil and tap firmly and gently with the hammer until the slabs splits. Use the chisel to help aid you in creating a neat and even finish.
- Once all sharp edges are knocked off and straight, place your slab into its allocated place and firmly secure with a hammer tap.
Use Block and Slab Splitters to cut Paving Slabs:
The final method we will focus on is using block and slap splitters to cut slabs. This is basically a guillotine or block cutter and is a very popular method.
Materials you’ll need:
- Block splitter
- Hammer
- Safety glasses and protective gloves
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
Procedure:
- Prepare your block splitter – we recommend you have plenty of room and a ground level location
- Measure your paver length using a tape measure and mark your guidelines on the slab to be cut
- Insert your paving slab into the splitter and cuts the brick. Just make sure that you place the paver in the right position, so the blade hits the block.
- Place your slab in its designated place and secure with a hammer
Download our ‘How to Cut Paving Slabs’ guide by clicking here.
