Concrete cutting in Walnut Creek CA - clean openings right where you planned them
Need a pipe run, an opening or a cracked section taken out of a slab? We cut on agreed lines and leave the rest sound.
Request an estimate
What's involved in cutting a concrete slab?
Concrete cutting in Walnut Creek means sawing, breaking or drilling round core holes through a slab or wall, so you get an opening, a trench for a pipe or a clean edge right where you want it without tearing out concrete that's still good.
Most people call with a plan already, like running a drain line under the patio, cutting out a cracked piece of driveway or opening a slab for something new, and the real question is how to do it without wrecking the rest. The price mostly comes down to the kind of cut, how deep it goes, whether there's steel rebar inside and how easy the spot is to reach, so a wall cut or a thick reinforced slab costs more than an open patio slab. The schedule turns on the prep, like agreeing on the lines, a scan if the slab needs one and any city sign-off when the cut reaches the street, and the written estimate I give you after a site visit spells all of that out with your price.
How we do concrete cutting on your property
Before anyone starts a saw, I want the cut lines marked on the concrete and agreed with you, along with anything set in the slab near them, because a line drawn on the day is how cuts end up an inch off or through something nobody expected. On a post-tensioned slab, one with steel cables pulled tight inside it to hold it together, we have it scanned first so we know where the cables run and can keep the saw clear of them. Then our crew cuts wet, with water fed to the blade to hold the dust down, and we block the path to the nearest storm drain, usually with sandbags in the gutter, so the slurry the saw leaves behind stays on your site instead of running down the street. After the cut we break out the piece, haul it away and clean up the slurry.
A cut is usually the start of something else. Widening an old driveway or replacing a bad section often begins with a clean saw line, and we can carry on with the concrete driveway building from there. The same goes for concrete patio construction, where a straight cut lets new concrete meet the old without a ragged edge. If the cut shows bad ground underneath, I'll tell you before we pour anything back.
Concrete cutting in Walnut Creek and the city's permit rules
In Walnut Creek, the street is what usually changes a cut. Any work in the public right of way, like the sidewalk, curb, gutter or driveway approach, needs an encroachment permit from the city, and its checklist asks that every contractor and subcontractor on the job hold a Walnut Creek business license. For cuts that stay on your property, the city says private flatwork such as a patio, driveway or path needs no building permit, but that list doesn't speak to cutting, and work that adds a structure or physically changes the property does need one, so we check with the city's building permit office early rather than guess.
On jobs around here we often find an older driveway or patio where one section has cracked or lifted and the rest is fine, or a sloped backyard where a cut changes where the water goes, so I look at drainage before we draw a line. We run into the same mix on jobs in Pleasant Hill and Lafayette.
- Call (925) 448-9528
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
- Walnut Creek, CA 94596
What happens when you call Alliance Walnut Creek Concrete Company in Walnut Creek?
Call and set a visit
When you call, I'll ask where the cut is, whether it's a slab or a wall and what it's for, then we set a time for me to come out. We take calls every day from 8 AM to 9 PM.
Walk the site and estimate
I come out myself, look at the concrete, ask plenty of questions and put it all in a written estimate. You get the cut lines, any scanning or permit steps and the price, so you know what you're paying for before anyone picks up a saw.
Mark, scan and file permits
Once you're ready, we mark the lines with you, arrange a scan if the slab needs one and sort out the paperwork. If you'd like the cut done on a Saturday or a city holiday, the city requires an after-hours permit, so we plan for that ahead of time.
Cut, clean up, walk through
Our crew makes the cut, keeps the slurry out of the drain and hauls off the broken concrete, and I'm there for the parts that matter most. At the end I walk the job with you and go over how to look after it.
Why Walnut Creek homeowners call us for concrete cutting
I look at every cut myself
I come out to see the job in person, and I'm on site for the parts that matter most, like the first pass along the lines. Our own crew does the rest, so the people you met are the ones doing the work.
Cutting old slabs since 2013
We've been at this since 2013, and cuts through old slabs are one of the awkward jobs we're best known for. Old concrete can hide patches and uneven thickness, and knowing to look for them keeps a simple cut from turning into a surprise.
Licensed and insured on your property
We're licensed and insured. That matters when a saw, water and a crew are working a few feet from your house and your neighbor's.
Street cuts handled with the city
When your cut reaches the sidewalk or curb, we can take care of the encroachment permit application and paperwork for you. That keeps the job from stalling on a form you didn't know you needed.
On a cut, the work that counts happens before the saw starts, and every job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. Call (925) 448-9528 or tell us about your cut, and I'll come out to look.
Request an estimateGet a written price for your concrete cut
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day, and I'm usually the one who calls. The on-site estimate is free with no obligation, and I'll look at the cut, ask what it's for and put the lines, the prep and the price in writing.
- Licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (925) 448-9528
- Location
- Walnut Creek, CA 94596
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Questions about concrete cutting in Walnut Creek
How much does concrete cutting cost in Walnut Creek?
Professional concrete saw cutting across the US usually runs about $4 to $25 per linear foot, and that's the going range nationally, not our price. On a small job, a minimum or setup charge for bringing out the crew and saw can set the price more than the per-foot rate does. I'll give you your own number in writing after I see the cut.
Do I need a city permit to cut concrete in Walnut Creek?
Yes, if the cut reaches the sidewalk, curb, gutter or driveway approach, because that's public right of way and the city requires an encroachment permit for it. A cut that stays on your property isn't settled by the city's no-permit list for flatwork, so we check with the building permit office before we schedule.
Should my slab be scanned before cutting?
Yes, if it's post-tensioned, because industry repair guidance says to find the cables with ground-penetrating radar or another non-destructive test before cutting even small openings. Radar picks up metal more readily than plastic, so it's worth asking the scanning crew how they handle plastic items in the slab. For a large opening in that kind of slab, the same guidance says to bring in an engineer first, since the cut interrupts several cables.
Who can do concrete cutting in California?
California's Contractors State License Board lists concrete sawing, breaking and coring under its D-6 Concrete-Related Services classification. When you hire someone for a cut, ask which license they hold and whether it covers this work.
How do I get square corners when cutting an opening in a concrete slab?
You decide whether the saw may run slightly past each corner, called an over cut, because a round blade can't finish a square corner right on the line. The cutting trade group's specification leaves that choice to the owner or hiring contractor, so we settle it with you when you approve the cut lines.
What is the best way to remove just the cracked part of my driveway?
Saw a clean line around the bad section, break it out and pour new concrete back to the line, which works well as long as the slab around it is sound. Where we can, we put the cut on an existing control joint, one of the grooves cut into a slab so cracks form there, so the repair looks planned. If the subgrade, the packed ground the slab sits on, has failed under that spot, I'll tell you, because new concrete on bad ground cracks the same way the old did.
Work that often follows a cut
Concrete driveway building
When a cut shows the whole driveway is sinking or cracked through, we can remove the old slab and pour a new one on a packed base.
Concrete patio construction
Planning to extend a patio or reshape one? We cut the old edge clean, then form and pour new concrete that meets it at a straight, deliberate line.
Get your concrete cut planned right
Call or send the form with where the cut is, whether it's a slab or a wall, the rough length and whether it reaches the sidewalk or curb, and I'll come out with the right questions already in mind.
Request an estimateCall (925) 448-9528