Concrete cutting in Auburn ME - clean openings planned around what's inside
Need a doorway, a drain trench or a bad section of slab cut out? We check what's inside first, then cut it straight and clean.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
How do I get concrete cut cleanly in Auburn?
Concrete cutting means using saws to make straight cuts in a slab or wall and core drills to make round holes for pipes, drains and conduit. Sterling Auburn Concrete does this work for homeowners and property owners in Auburn, ME.
Most calls start with something specific, like a doorway for a finished basement, a trench for a new drain line or a sunk piece of driveway you want out without tearing up the rest. The price depends on what the concrete is, how far the cut runs and whether the pieces need hauling away. The schedule depends on whether the job needs a scan, an engineer's sign-off or digging first. I'll look at it, measure it and give you a written estimate, so you're working from your own number and not a guess off the internet.
How we handle concrete cutting
Concrete doesn't come with a label, so before we cut, I find out what's inside it and whether the cut touches anything structural. Rebar, the steel that holds a slab or wall together, and buried pipe or conduit change where the line can go, and on structural concrete that can mean a scan first. Then I pick the saw that suits the spot. A flat saw runs along a slab, a wall saw mounts to a wall, a hand saw gets into tight corners and a wire saw takes on thick or heavily reinforced sections. If the work is indoors, we plan for the dust before the blade turns. Then we make the cut, pull out the pieces you want gone and clean up.
Cutting is often the first half of a bigger job. A sunk or broken section of driveway can come out along a clean line and get a new piece poured in, though when the whole driveway is going, concrete driveway building is the better use of your money. Cutting into an old back slab to make room for a drain or a step often leads to concrete patio construction. Either way, new concrete is only as good as the subgrade, the ground under it. If the budget gets tight, I'd drop the fancy finish before I'd skimp on the base, because nobody sees the base on day one and everybody sees it when it settles.
Saw cuts in slabs and walls
This suits doorways and window openings in foundation walls, trenches across a garage or basement floor, and sections of driveway or patio that need to come out. The cut is straight and the edge is clean, so new concrete or framing butts up to it neatly.
Core holes for pipes and conduit
A core drill makes a round hole, which is what you want for a drain, a plumbing line or electrical conduit through a slab or wall. It takes out only what the pipe needs, so the concrete around it is left alone.
What Auburn and Maine ask of a concrete cutting job
Auburn's Permitting and Code Enforcement office takes building permit applications, and Public Works takes excavation and drive entrance permits. Neither list names concrete cutting, so the city's lists don't settle whether your cut needs a permit. Before we book, I check with the city's permit office on what your job needs, and when a permit is called for, we handle the application. If the cut leads to digging, say a trench for a drain, Maine law requires the excavator to notify the state's dig notice system at least 3 business days and no more than 30 calendar days before digging starts, so we set the date inside that window.
Most of what we cut here is basement floors and foundation walls, garage slabs that need a drain, and driveway sections that sank. We're based in Auburn and get the same calls in Lewiston, Portland and plenty of other cities around them.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete for concrete cutting
I come out and run the job
I'm the one who looks at your cut in Auburn and writes the estimate, and I lead the crew that does the work. Nothing gets lost between the person who measured it and the person running the saw.
In business since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after learning the trade on other crews, and we're best known for slabs, driveways and foundations. Knowing how concrete gets built helps a lot when you're deciding where it can be cut.
Licensed and fully insured crew
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters when a saw is going through part of your house, because you want the people doing it covered.
The sawing is the easy part. Knowing what's inside the concrete first is the real job. Tell me where the cut needs to go through the contact page or call (207) 707-4423.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your concrete cut
We reply within one business day. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. After you send this, I'll get in touch to set a time, come out to look at the cut, measure it and give you a written estimate.
What happens after you call about concrete cutting?
Call and I come look
You call (207) 707-4423 or send the form, and I come out to see the spot, measure it and ask what the opening or trench is for. That last question matters, because a drain line and a doorway need different cuts.
Get your estimate and date
You get a written estimate with the price for your cut, so you know the number before anything gets booked. Once you're ready, we check what the city needs and set a date that leaves room for a scan, an engineer or a dig notice if the job calls for one.
Cut, clean up, walk through
We make the cut, take out what you asked us to and clean up. If a new pour follows, we cure it properly, which means giving it the wait it needs to harden before you use it, and I walk the job with you before we pack up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does concrete cutting cost in Auburn, ME?
Saw cutting a concrete slab usually costs about $4 to $15 per linear foot across the US. That's the national range, not our price. Thicker slabs and slabs with more steel in them cost more per foot, and on a small job the cost of getting the crew and saw there can matter more than the footage. I'll give you a written price for your cut once I've seen it.
Will a concrete cutter remove the cut concrete?
Not always. Sawing and hauling are separate jobs, and some cutters cut the outline and leave the panels sitting right where they were. When you compare quotes, ask whether taking the pieces out is in the price. I ask you at the estimate so the number covers what you actually want done.
Does cutting a structural opening in concrete need an engineer?
One industry field guide says any structural opening, or any cut through structural reinforcement, needs the structural engineer of record. That's the engineer responsible for the building's design. If you're planning a new doorway in a foundation wall, bring that engineer in before the saw shows up. Questions about local rules go to the city's permit office.
Who calls Dig Safe before digging in Maine?
The excavator does, so when our crew is the one digging, the notice is ours to file inside the window covered above. Dig Safe takes tickets at 811 or 888-DIG-SAFE.
How long after pouring should a new slab be saw cut?
American Concrete Institute guidance says saw cuts in a new slab should typically be made within 4 to 12 hours after it's placed, depending on the temperature and weather. Those cuts are control joints, shallow lines that give the slab a planned place to crack. Leave them too long and the slab picks its own spots, and it never asks your opinion.
How do I keep dust and fumes down when cutting concrete indoors?
Ask how the crew handles both before they start. OSHA says putting water on the saw blade cuts down a lot of the dust from concrete, brick and block. Fumes are the other half, because a gas-powered saw puts out carbon monoxide indoors, and OSHA has documented a basement where workers died from it. For basement work, ask any cutter what powers the saw. On indoor jobs, we plan for the dust before we start.
Work that often follows a cut
Concrete driveway building
When more than a section of the driveway has sunk or broken up, cutting out patches stops making sense, and a new driveway on a packed base is the better fix.
Concrete patio construction
If a cut opened space for a drain, a step or a bigger back slab, a new patio poured on a dug-out, packed base finishes the job and sits flat.
Auburn, ME
Tell us where the cut needs to go
If you know the spot, whether it's a slab or a wall, the rough length and whether the pieces come out when you call, the first conversation gets a lot shorter.