Wall sawing and concrete wall cutting in Cork

Wall sawing is cutting an opening through a standing wall with a diamond blade that runs on a rail fixed to the wall face. Euro Concrete uses it for doorways, windows, lift and stair openings and service holes in reinforced concrete, block and stone, from basements to upper floors.

The rail is fixed to the wall face, and the saw head travels along it, so the blade stays on its line as it goes deeper with each pass. It cuts vertically, horizontally and at an angle, and it can work close to a floor, ceiling or return wall. The blade is fed with water, which keeps the diamonds cool and holds the dust down. It cuts rather than breaks, so the wall around the opening is left sound and the new edges are straight. Wall sawing is also known as track sawing or wall cutting, the names people search for the same job.

Euro Concrete cuts a doorway in a concrete wall in five steps: mark out the opening, prop the wall above if it carries load, core a hole at each corner, saw the four sides with a rail-mounted wall saw, then take the cut section out in pieces. The opening is left ready for the lintel and frame.

The size and position come from the drawings, or are agreed on site with the builder. On a load-bearing wall the engineer specifies the lintel or beam and the temporary support, and the props and needles go in before the saw starts. The corner cores let each saw cut stop exactly at the corner without running past it into the wall that stays. The section inside the cuts is sliced into blocks light enough to handle, or lifted with a machine on a larger opening. The saw runs wet, and the slurry is collected so it does not spread through the building.

Yes, with the right design and support in place. Euro Concrete cuts doorways in load-bearing walls once an engineer has specified the lintel or steel beam and the temporary propping, and the propping is installed before the first cut. The wall above is held while the opening is made and the new support goes in.

A load-bearing wall carries a floor, a roof or another wall above it, so taking a section out moves that load onto the new lintel or beam and the wall either side of it. The engineer sizes those, checks the bearing at each end, and sets the order of work. Props and needles carry the load in the meantime, and they stay until the permanent support is bedded and the engineer is satisfied. Diamond sawing suits this kind of opening because it cuts without hammering, so the wall either side is not shaken or cracked by the work. If you do not have an engineer yet, tell us when you ring.

A wall saw, also called a track saw, is the best saw for cutting openings in concrete walls, because it runs on a rail bolted to the wall and holds a straight line through the full thickness. Euro Concrete also uses core drills for round holes and a diamond wire saw for walls too thick for a blade.

A hand-held cut-off saw suits thin block or a small notch, but it cannot cut deep or keep an opening square in a thick reinforced wall. The wall saw can: its rail takes the weight while the blade feeds in. Square service openings smaller than a doorway can also be made by stitch coring, a line of overlapping cores around the outline. For walls beyond the reach of any blade, a wire is threaded through cored holes and pulled round the section. A large section too heavy to lift out whole is broken up and removed in pieces, by hand or with a remote-controlled or manually operated machine.

Euro Concrete prices a doorway on the wall itself and the work around it: the thickness and material, the amount of steel, the size of the opening, whether it needs propping, and how the cut pieces get out. Ring Sean on 086 881 9848, or send photos, and you get a price for the opening.

A thick reinforced wall takes longer to saw than a block wall, and past a certain thickness the job moves to a bigger blade or a wire. A load-bearing wall adds the engineer's design, the props and needles, and the time to set them. Clearing the cut concrete is part of the price: a ground-floor opening near an exit clears quickly, while a basement or upper floor needs the pieces carried or lifted out. Inside a finished home or office, protecting floors and containing slurry adds time too. Two or three openings in the same building share the setting up, so each costs less than it would on its own.

Euro Concrete Services does wall cutting throughout County Cork, bringing rail-mounted wall saws and core drills to the job from Skibbereen or from Cork city. Ring Sean on 086 881 9848 with the address, the wall material and the size of the opening, and he will tell you when the saw can be on site.

That takes in Cork city and suburbs like Douglas and Ballincollig, East Cork out to Midleton and Youghal, Mallow and Charleville to the north, and Bandon, Clonakilty and Skibbereen itself in the west. Where a job needs propping and coring as well as sawing, the visit can be planned so all three are done together. Photos of both faces of the wall help, because they show what is on the far side before we arrive. Say whether the wall is load-bearing, if you know.