If you are laying a new patio in your garden this year, unless your garden is of a perfect size and shape you will probably need to cut the patio slabs to size.
Obstacles such as man hole covers, paths, steps, and feature walls all could mean your new patio will need "amending" for the stone slabs to fit correctly.
The old fashioned method of cutting pressed stone and concrete patio slabs is of scoring the slab first and then using a bolster chisel; you strike the score line to break the slab to size. This of course could be a "hit and miss" process with the possibility of you having a quantity of broken patio slabs that cannot be used - because of them breaking in the wrong place.
A far better solution to cutting a patio slab is to use a power tool that is fitted with a stone cutting blade (or also sometimes referred to as a cutting disc).
What type of power tool could you use?
The best type of tool to use is an electric or petrol engined stone cutting saw such as those manufactured under the Hitachi, Makita or Stihl brand name. These manufacturers offer tools which are really capable of cutting through all sizes and hardnesses of patio slabs whether they have been made out of pressed aggregates or hard concrete.
Of course for these saws to be able to cut through the slab itself they will need some form of cutting blade fitted. This is where a diamond blade comes into play. A good quality diamond edged blade (such as those sold under the Duro brand name) will give good a service life as well as cutting performance providing the right model of blade has been chosen for the type of "slab material". Duro produce a wide range of blades for the user to pick from, the choice of which diamond cutting blade to buy will depend on the "abrasive" and "hardness" make up of the stone patio itself.
