Concrete Cutting Cost Calculator
Price a concrete cutting job, whether that is a road saw trench across a driveway, a wall saw opening for a new door, or core holes for plumbing and services.
For core holes, count each hole as one metre and set thickness to match the slab.
Ask whether the price includes slurry containment and removal. Wet cutting produces a grey sludge that stains pavers, blocks stormwater pits and is not legally allowed down the drain, and cleaning it up afterwards is a separate bill if it was not quoted.
Always request a scan before cutting an existing structural slab. Ground penetrating radar or an electromagnetic locator adds $350 to $700 but tells you where the reo, conduits and hydronic pipes actually sit rather than where the plans say they sit.
💰 Ways to save
- Combine every cut on the site into one booking. The mobilisation charge of $350 to $600 covers the truck, water supply, blades and travel, and it is repeated in full each time the operator returns. A plumber trench, three core holes for services and a doorway opening booked together will land far below the sum of three separate call outs.
- Mark out and expose the cut lines yourself before the crew arrives, and clear turf, mulch or pavers back at least 300mm each side. Cutters bill $110 to $160 an hour for site preparation, so an hour of your own labour on the weekend directly removes that from the invoice.
- Where the cut is decorative or hidden, ask whether a slightly wider or slightly shallower cut works. Cutting to full depth through a 200mm slab costs materially more per metre than a 120mm control cut, and if the concrete only has to be broken out rather than lifted cleanly, a shallower saw pass plus a breaker is usually cheaper.
- Get the disposal question answered explicitly in the quote. Concrete waste is heavy and tipping fees run $90 to $180 a tonne in most metro areas, so a 3 metre by 1 metre section of 150mm driveway is roughly a tonne on its own. Arranging your own skip is often cheaper than paying the cutter to cart it.
How we estimate this
## What concrete cutting costs in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
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Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
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Understanding concrete cutting costs in Australia
What concrete cutting costs in 2026
Most Australian concrete cutting is priced per lineal metre with a minimum call out attached. Floor and road sawing of a standard 100mm to 150mm slab runs $45 to $75 per lineal metre in metro areas, and minimum charges sit at $450 to $700 for a half day booking. That means a short 4 metre plumbing trench and a 12 metre trench often cost close to the same amount, because both consume the same mobilisation.
Core drilling is priced per hole and scales with diameter and depth. A 50mm core through a 100mm slab is typically $60 to $90, a 150mm core for a sewer penetration is $120 to $180, and a 300mm core through a 250mm suspended slab can reach $350 to $500. Again, the first hole carries the call out, so a plumber booking six cores at once pays dramatically less per hole than one booking one.
Why the type of saw drives the price
A floor saw cuts down into a horizontal surface under its own weight, which makes it the fastest and cheapest cutting method available. A wall saw has to be tracked and bolted to a vertical face, fed with water and hydraulics, and operated in passes of increasing depth. That is why wall sawing typically runs 60 to 90 per cent more per metre than floor sawing on the same thickness of concrete.
Ring saws and hand saws sit in between. They are used where a floor saw cannot reach, such as into corners, up against walls, or where an existing opening needs squaring off. They cut a shallower depth per pass so they are slower, but they avoid the overcut that a large floor saw leaves at the end of every run, which matters when the opening is going to be visible.
Thickness, reinforcement and the hidden variables
Blade wear is the real cost inside a concrete cutting business, and it rises non linearly with thickness and aggregate hardness. Cutting a 300mm footing is not twice the cost of a 150mm slab, it is closer to two and a half times, because the blade is buried deeper, the saw works harder and the operator makes multiple stepped passes.
Reinforcement matters just as much. Standard SL72 mesh adds perhaps 10 to 20 per cent to the cut rate. Heavy N16 bar at close centres, common in commercial slabs and footings, can add 40 to 60 per cent because diamond segments dull fast when they hit steel. Post tensioned slabs are a category of their own and should never be cut without a scan, because a severed tendon can whip out of the slab with lethal force.
Aggregate type is the variable nobody mentions until the invoice. River gravel cuts easily. Hard basalt and quartz aggregates, common in parts of Victoria and Queensland, chew blades and can add 15 to 25 per cent to a job that looked routine on paper.
Access, slurry and site conditions
Access determines how much of the job is spent cutting and how much is spent carrying gear. An open driveway where the truck parks two metres from the cut line is the cheapest scenario. A backyard reached through a 900mm side gate means barrowing plant, running long water lines and doubling the setup time, and that commonly adds 20 to 30 per cent.
Indoor cutting brings slurry management into play. Wet cutting is essential to cool the blade and suppress silica dust, but the resulting slurry has to be vacuumed and disposed of rather than washed away. Expect $200 to $450 in containment, extraction and disposal on an interior job, plus protection of adjacent finishes.
Silica dust regulations tightened substantially across Australian jurisdictions and any reputable operator now runs water suppression or on tool extraction with respiratory protection as standard. If a quote is unusually cheap, check whether dust control has been priced at all, because the cheap way is also the way that gets a site shut down.
Common jobs and what they actually cost
A plumber cutting a 6 metre trench across a 100mm house slab for a bathroom relocation typically pays $500 to $750 all up including the call out. Cutting a new doorway through a 200mm rendered blockwork wall, roughly 2.1 metres by 0.9 metres, generally runs $1,400 to $2,400 depending on lintel work and whether the cut panel removal is included.
Removing a 3 metre by 3 metre section of 150mm reinforced driveway for a new crossover sits around $900 to $1,500 for the cutting alone, before breaking out and carting away. A set of six 100mm cores through a suspended commercial slab for hydraulic services is commonly $900 to $1,400 including scanning.
Choosing an operator
Concrete cutting is a licensed, high risk trade in most states and the operator should be able to produce a current SWMS, public liability of at least $10 million and evidence of silica dust controls. Ask for these before the day, not on the day.
Get the scope written as metres and depth rather than as a description. A quote that says cut driveway is not comparable to one that says cut and remove 9 square metres of 150mm mesh reinforced slab, including scanning, slurry containment and stacking of spoil on site. The second one is a price you can hold someone to.
Frequently asked questions
How much does concrete cutting cost per metre in Australia?
Floor sawing a standard 100mm to 150mm slab costs $45 to $75 per lineal metre in metro areas. Wall sawing the same thickness runs $85 to $140 per metre. Every job also carries a minimum call out of roughly $450 to $700, so short cuts cost far more per metre than long ones.
What does core drilling cost per hole?
A 50mm core through a 100mm slab is $60 to $90, a 150mm core for sewer or stormwater is $120 to $180, and a 300mm core through a 250mm suspended slab reaches $350 to $500. The first hole absorbs the call out charge, so booking six cores in one visit is far cheaper per hole than booking them separately.
Do I need the slab scanned before cutting?
Yes for any structural, suspended or post tensioned slab, and strongly recommended for any slab containing hydronic heating or embedded conduit. Scanning adds $350 to $700 but cutting a post tensioned tendon can cause serious injury and a structural repair running well into five figures.
How long does a typical concrete cutting job take?
A 10 to 15 metre floor trench in a 150mm slab takes two to four hours including setup and pack down, which is why most jobs are booked as half day slots. A doorway opening through a block wall usually takes four to six hours including tracking the saw and rigging out the cut panel.
Is the concrete removal included in the cutting price?
Usually not. Cutting and removal are separate line items. Breaking out and carting away runs roughly $180 to $320 per cubic metre plus tipping fees of $90 to $180 a tonne, and a 3 metre by 1 metre section of 150mm driveway weighs close to a tonne on its own.
Can concrete be cut dry instead of wet?
It can with on tool dust extraction, and dry cutting is sometimes preferred indoors where slurry would damage finishes. Dry cutting is slower and wears blades faster though, so it typically costs 15 to 30 per cent more per metre, and it still requires H class extraction and respiratory protection under current silica dust rules.
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