Cutting, Drilling and Grinding

The plane and depth of the cut decide the tool. A floor saw with a 350–600 mm blade scores floors and joints to 125–250 mm deep. A hand-held cutter with a 300–350 mm blade cuts vertically and at an angle, to about 125 mm. An angle grinder with a 115–125 mm blade only manages shallow scoring to 30–40 mm.

A floor saw runs its blade over the slab and scores the concrete to 125–250 mm deep where it lies. A table saw is stationary: it cuts small-format elements — blocks, paving stones, tiles — with a 350–500 mm blade cooled by water in a tray. Our range holds floor saws and table saws by Norton Clipper and Cedima.

Reinforced concrete (concrete with steel reinforcement) is cut with a diamond blade that has a steel-resistant bond. Thick elements (30–50 cm) call for a floor saw or wall saw rated at a dozen or more kW, not an angle grinder. Peripheral speed reaches 60–80 m/s, and the cut is run wet to cool the steel and the diamond.

A large, clean hole is made by a concrete core drill with a diamond core bit, guided on a rig at an even feed. Core bits range from 8 to over 400 mm: 8–20 mm for anchors, 52–130 mm for drainage, 200–400 mm for chimneys. Openings above about 40 mm in reinforced concrete are drilled wet, as a hammer drill will not give a smooth core.

These are three stages of floor preparation. A concrete milling machine takes off a 1–10 mm layer with a picked drum, removing coatings and unevenness. A shot blaster cleans the floor with a jet of steel shot, adding roughness for resin coatings almost dust-free. A floor stripper tears away old flooring, adhesives and tiles. Our range holds milling machines, shot blasters and floor strippers, mainly by Husqvarna Construction.

Concrete floors are prepared and polished by planetary grinders — a rotating plate with heads carrying diamond segments or pads. The process runs in stages: grit 30–120 segments remove unevenness, while grit 200–3000 pads give a gloss, usually across 5–8 passes. Large areas call for machines 500–800 mm wide; NORWIT.PL offers machines by Lavina and Dr. Schulze.

Cutting concrete releases harmful silica dust, removed by two methods. Wet cutting feeds water onto the blade — it cools the segment, binds the dust into slurry and lowers blade wear by 20–30%, but it needs water drainage, so it is used outdoors. Dust-free cutting means running dry with a blade guard connected to an M- or H-class vacuum that captures 90–95% of the dust, and suits indoor work.

A power pack is needed in two cases. Hydraulic machines — wall saws and the heaviest core drills — have no drive of their own and need a hydraulic power pack rated from a dozen to several dozen kW. The second is powering electric machines off-mains with a generator. High-power equipment often needs 400 V; our range holds power packs by Husqvarna Construction.

Prices span several orders of magnitude: diamond blades and core bits run from roughly 100 to several hundred PLN, hand-held cutters and table saws from a few thousand PLN, and floor saws, core drills and planetary grinders from a dozen to several dozen thousand PLN. Buying pays off for regular work; for one-off jobs, consider renting. Current prices are on each product page.

Matching fits the hardness of the segment bond to the material. Cured concrete takes a universal blade, reinforced concrete a steel-resistant blade and core bit, asphalt a hard-bond blade, and aerated concrete a blade for porous materials cut dry. Green concrete (1–2 days old) is cut wet. The core-bit diameter follows the utility: 8–20 mm, 52–130 mm or 200–400 mm.