Concrete cutting in Carlsbad NM - clean cuts right where you planned them
Need a trench through a slab or a broken driveway section out? We make straight cuts placed for the work that comes next.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to cut concrete at your house?
Concrete cutting in Carlsbad, NM means sawing or core drilling through a slab or wall to make the trench, opening or round hole the next job needs. At Carlsbad Concrete, I walk you through the cut before we make it, because once concrete is cut, it stays cut.
Most cutting at a house is the first step of something else, like a plumber getting to a broken drain under the garage floor, a new door in a poured wall, or clearing an old slab before we pour a new concrete patio. The price moves with how thick the concrete is, whether there's steel in it, how many feet you need cut, whether it's a floor or a wall and whether the pieces have to be broken up and hauled off. The schedule turns on any permit the bigger job needs, whether the concrete should be scanned first and when the next trade can start, and I'll give you your own figure when I come out for the estimate.
How do you know your concrete needs cutting?
One sunken, broken section
When one panel of a driveway or patio has dropped or broken up and the rest is sound, the ground under that spot usually settled or washed out. A clean saw cut lets us take out just that piece, and waiting usually means the crack spreads into the good panels and the edge turns into a trip spot.
A drain acting up underneath
Slow drains, a sewer smell or a damp spot coming up through the floor usually point to a broken line under the concrete. The plumber can't fix it until the slab is opened, and every week it leaks, the dirt under your floor gets softer.
A wall needing an opening
You want a door into the garage or a new window, but the wall is poured concrete. That wall is carrying weight, so the opening needs planning before anyone starts a saw, and a rushed one costs far more to fix than it would have cost to plan.
How we handle concrete cutting, from the first mark to cleanup
Before the saw comes out, I sort out three things with you: where the lines go, how deep we cut and what might be buried in the concrete, and I'll suggest a scan when the slab or wall calls for one. Then we pick the saw to fit the surface and its thickness, a walk-behind flat saw for slabs, a track-mounted wall saw for walls, a small hand saw for tight spots and a wire saw for thick or heavily reinforced sections. Our quote says plainly whether breaking up and hauling the pieces away is included, and we agree on slurry cleanup before we start, because that wet gray mud off the blade gets on everything if nobody plans for it.
Cutting is usually the start of a bigger job, so we can pour back what comes out, whether that's a new stretch of concrete driveway over a repaired sewer line or a whole concrete patio where a tilted one was cut away. If the budget gets tight on a pour-back, I'd rather you spend it on the base under the slab than on a fancy finish, because nobody sees the base on day one, but it's what keeps the new section from sinking like the old one.
Flat sawing for slabs and driveways
This is the walk-behind saw for driveways, patios and garage floors, and it suits most homeowners who need a trench, a section out or a straight edge. The thickness we find decides the blade and the depth, so we check it before we start.
Wall sawing for doors and windows
The saw runs on a track mounted to the wall, which keeps the cut straight for a new doorway, window or vent in poured concrete. It suits owners adding an opening, and we plan the strengthening with it, as the questions below explain.
Core drilling for pipe holes
A round bit cuts a clean hole through a floor or wall for a drain, pipe, conduit or mechanical line, so it suits plumbers, electricians and anyone running new lines. It's priced apart from ordinary saw cuts, so tell us how many holes you need and what size.
Get a cutting estimate for your slab or wall
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, look at the concrete and give you a free on-site estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(575) 266-8153- info@concretecarlsbad.com
- Based in
- Carlsbad, NM 88220
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about concrete cutting?
Here's how a cutting job runs from your first call to the day we pack up, and who you'll be talking to along the way.
Call or send the form
Call (575) 266-8153 or send the form with where the concrete is, whether it's a slab or a wall, about how many feet you need cut and whether the pieces need to go. We get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
I come out and measure
I look at the concrete, mark the lines and depth with you and tell you if a scan makes sense. The estimate spells out the cutting, any core holes and whether breaking up and hauling are included, so you know exactly what the number covers.
We sort permits and scheduling
We check with the office that handles permits where you live and take care of the paperwork that falls to us. Then we set the day around the weather and any trade that's waiting on the cut.
We cut, clean up, explain
We make the cuts, clean up the slurry the way we agreed and leave or haul the pieces as the quote said. If we pour a section back, I go over curing with you before we leave, which is the wait before you walk or drive on it while the concrete gains strength.
Why Carlsbad homeowners call Carlsbad Concrete to cut concrete
I quote it, we cut it
I come out to look at the job and give the estimate myself, and then my crew and I do the work together. You're not handing your slab from a salesman to a stranger with a saw.
In business since 2020
I grew up pouring concrete next to my dad on his crew before I started this business. Knowing how slabs get poured tells me where the steel and the weak spots are likely to be before we cut.
Licensed and insured in New Mexico
New Mexico's Construction Industries Division licenses contractors, and in Carlsbad a contractor also needs a city business registration. We're fully licensed and insured, and the city's Building Department will check that any contractor is properly licensed before you hire.
On a cutting job, the planning before the saw starts matters more than the saw. Call (575) 266-8153 or send us the details with where the slab or wall is, roughly how many feet you need cut and whether the pieces need to go.
Concrete cutting and the work around it in Carlsbad
The Building Department issues building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits and wants them in place before work starts. A cut is often the first step of one of those jobs, so we ask the department what yours needs before the saw comes out. Digging under a removed slab can bring in more, because big parts of Carlsbad sit in the Pecos River, Dark Canyon and Hackberry Draw floodplains, where any construction needs a Floodplain Development Permit, and the floodplain managers at the city's planning department can tell you whether your lot is in one. For most development, the city also wants a Drainage and Grading Permit before land is excavated, filled or graded. When the job includes digging, New Mexico 811 is free to call at least two working days ahead, not counting the day you call, so it can alert the owners of public lines in the digging area.
We're based in Carlsbad and work in Artesia and other cities around it, and the cutting calls look much the same everywhere, mostly garage floors opened for plumbing and driveways or patios with one dropped section. A lot of older slabs here sit on ground that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so when we lift a piece out, I show you what's underneath before anything goes back.
Questions about concrete cutting in Carlsbad
How much does concrete cutting cost per foot in Carlsbad?
Professional slab saw cutting across the US usually costs about $4 to $15 per linear foot, and that covers the sawing, not breaking up or hauling the pieces. Reinforced or deeper slabs and wall sawing run higher per foot, and on a small job a minimum charge can matter more than the per-foot rate. For a Carlsbad figure on your own concrete, I'll measure it when I come out for the estimate.
Do I need a permit to cut concrete in Carlsbad, NM?
Ask the Building Department first, because the city requires a building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permit before that kind of work starts, and a cut is usually part of one of those jobs. If the job digs below the slab, the floodplain and grading permits covered above may apply too, and we check with the department before we cut.
Does the concrete cutter haul the concrete away?
Not always, because sawing and removal are separate jobs, and some cutters make the cuts and leave the panels lying where they were. Breaking, hauling and disposal can add more than the sawing itself, so ask whether a quote includes removal before you compare prices.
What happens when you cut a new opening in a concrete wall?
The opening weakens the wall, so it usually needs strengthening work along with the cut. That's what one engineering study on cut-out openings found, so plan your budget for both the cut and the strengthening, and we'll plan the cut with that work in mind.
How do I know if there's rebar or pipe in my concrete before cutting?
A scan before the first cut finds rebar, post-tension tendons, conduit, pipes and other things buried in the concrete, and it may be needed on structural or post-tensioned slabs, the kind with steel cables pulled tight inside. Hitting one of those can mean a cut cable, a cut wire or a leak, so I'll tell you at the estimate whether your concrete calls for a scan.
What is the best way to keep dust down when cutting concrete?
Water at the blade keeps the silica dust down, and OSHA's silica rule requires employers whose workers use handheld power saws to use saws that feed water to the blade, unless the employer assesses and limits worker exposure under the rule. That water turns into the slurry we agree on cleaning up before we start.
Services that often follow concrete cutting
Concrete driveway building
When the rest of your driveway is cracked and sinking too, a full new driveway on a packed base can make more sense than patching one cut.
Concrete patio construction
Once an old, tilting patio is cut out, we can pour a new one that drains away from the house and holds up to backyard use.
Service areas for concrete cutting near Carlsbad
Carlsbad Concrete is based in Carlsbad, NM, and 2 cities have their own pages here, Carlsbad and Artesia. We work in other cities around them too, so if yours isn't listed, give us a call.
Carlsbad, NM
Get your concrete cutting job planned right
A cut can't be undone, so it pays to settle the lines and what's underneath before anyone books a saw.