One of the best and most inexpensive ways to increase the living space of your home is to add outdoor living space. A beautiful patio made of brick or landscaping blocks is a peaceful place to spend an afternoon sipping lemonade and listening to the birds.
However, if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you know very well that even if you plan a square or rectangular patio, you’ll end up cutting some of the landscaping materials to get things to fit well and look just right.
Here are some tips for making clean, safe cuts on your landscaping materials.
Safety Equipment
Safety Glasses
Before cutting anything, make sure you have the proper safety equipment, and that begins with a good pair of safety glasses. The fact is, a wood splinter in your eye can soften and come out on its own, but a chip of concrete in your eye will require medical attention. Don’t waste time going to the doctor when you could be enjoying your new patio. Be safe. Wear your eye protection.
When using a concrete saw, it’s also a good idea to add a face shield in addition to eye protection. Even with a nice wrap-around pair of safety glasses chips have been known to get around the edges and into the eyes of the operator.
Gloves
Landscaping materials can be sharp and rough and can reek havoc on your hands. A good pair of gloves will keep your hands from getting cuts, abrasions, and even blisters.
Thick leather gloves offer the most protection, but there are a number of tight-fitting alternatives out there that give you the benefit of protecting your hands and still allow you to “feel” the materials you’re working with.
Knee Pads
This item can be more for comfort than safety. You’ll be spending a good amount of time on your knees in any patio project and, if your knees are as old as mine, you’ll be glad you protected them.
Besides, it doesn’t take much of a thump to create a bone bruise on your knee-cap and any doctor will tell you a bone bruise takes an immense amount of time to heal.
Give knee pads some thought before you begin your patio project.
Tools for Cutting Landscape Block or Tile
Concrete Saw
Concrete saws, are basically circular saws with diamond tipped blades. They’re sometimes called dry/wet saws because of the fact that many models use water to create a cleaner cut and minimize the amount of dust in the air.
A good concrete saw will make the work of cutting landscaping materials more professional and easier. Doing all the work with a chisel takes a great deal of time and you can never be sure the block or tile will split where you want it to. Often you’re left with a misshapen and useless block. A concrete saw will give any block you cut the same professional edge that you have on the factory edges of the block.
Chisel and 3 Lb. Sledge Hammer
What fun would working with block be if you didn’t get to do at least a little bit of banging with a hammer. The majority of the work is done with the saw, but the finishing touches are done with a good old-fashioned chisel and sledge hammer.
I suggest getting a three to three and a half inch masonry chisel and a three pound sledge hammer. That setup will handle just about any type of material you’re working with.
Tips for a Clean Cut
I suspect it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. Remember the old adage, “Measure twice, cut once?” It’s as true with landscaping block as it is with lumber. Make certain of your cut before wasting a landscape block.
Some landscaping block has predefined splitting notches. If you need a half block to complete your project, you simply need to insert your chisel, give a few whacks with your hammer, and you’re done. However, half a block is seldom the amount you need. For that, you’ll need your concrete saw.
Measure and mark your block with a pencil. If you’re working with thin materials, simply cut the tile with your saw. Move slowly and let the saw do the work or you may get jagged edges.
If you’re working with thicker materials such as large paving blocks, Your saw won’t be able to cut the material all the way through. This is where your chisel comes in to finish the job.
Measure and mark your block and then score it with the concrete saw. Flip the block over and score the other side. Repeat on the edges of the block. This can be done with a chisel alone, but you won’t get a very clean edge. If you score the block with the saw first, then you can insert the chisel into the seam and get it to split nicely and exactly where you want the split.
Tap evenly with the chisel. First on one side, then on the other, until the block splits. This will give you a mistake-free split.
Mix Up That Lemonade
Once you’re patio is looking like you paid a fortune to have a professional install it, take some time to admire your work. Mix up some lemonade, and be the first to enjoy the out-of-doors in your new living space.