Cutting Pavers 101
Bart Flegg on November 4, 2009, 2:30 pm

Creating your own patio is a rewarding experience however a challenging one as well. One point that many people find challenging is using the power equipment required for cutting pavers. There are many ways of cutting pavers, a paver splitter, tub saw, cutoff saw and angle grinder. For this tutorial we will share the trick to cutting pavers like a professional with a cutoff saw.

The cutoff saw is preferred by many professionals because of its versatility and useability. If you have never seen a cutoff saw before it looks like a chainsaw but in place of the chain there is a large rotating diamond tip or composite saw blade. Image here. The great thing about these saws is that they allow the user greater control over the shape, style and angle of the cut.

Technique 1: Cutting Inwards
This is a technique that was taught to me to first day on the job cutting pavers. It is a simple concept that eliminates the need to cut twice. This trick is very simple and it is not needed if you have the eyes and hand of a seasoned landscaper. The trick is to very slightly back cut the paver so that it tapers from

the edge facing the sky to the edge facing the ground. This assures that the fitment of the brick paver is tight. A reverse back cut is what we are trying to avoid as this creates a larger gap. You can cut perfectly straight, up and down if you prefer but using the back cut is mindless and assures a great finish product without the worry of cutting twice.

Technique 2: Cutting In Place
On all paver patios there is always or should be a soldier course and or a sailor course. This is the border that goes around the entire patio. It is called a soldier course when the pavers are places with their long side parallel and up against the long side of the next paver. And a sailor course is when the pavers are places with their short side parallel and up against the short side of the next paver. Most of your cuts are going to be made here, at the border. There is one trick that eliminates the tediousness of this. Cutting in place means that you are cutting the pavers once they have already been laid. The trick is to overlay your pavers by about a foot then mark your line on the pavers where you want your border to go. The next step is to fire up your cutoff saw and go to work cutting along that line. You can see how much faster this process is than marking each paver removing, cutting, then replacing. You can even cut around curves with this trick! I recommend a 12” blade for your cutoff saw if you are doing curves. Doing curves you might have to flex the blade a little bit around tighter a smaller radius.

Technique 3: Marking your blade
Technique 2 lets you cut in place and speeds up your cutting time for sure but its not just cut and dry. You have to make sure not to cut into that awesome, perfect base you prepared previously. To do this you can take a marker and mark the depth of your paver on on your saw blade. An easy way to do this is to cut a piece of wood to the paver depth and run its edge along the edge of the saw blade with a marker on the other side marking the blade. When the blade spins you will be able to see this mark and know that you don't have to go much deeper then this line that you have just marked.

Cutoff saws can be rented at your local rental supplier. Always user proper eye and ear protection when operating power equipment.

Cutting Pavers, Landscaping Tricks, Patio Construction
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Tips From The Pros