Questions to ask a concrete cutting contractor in Jackson
Before hiring commercial concrete cutting in Jackson, ask eight things: how they scan for rebar and post-tension cables, how they control silica dust, where the slurry goes, their unit rates, insurance certificates, utility locates, who confirms layout, and what happens when the saw finds a surprise. The answers separate pros from men with rented saws.
How do they avoid hitting rebar, cables and conduit inside my slab?
The answer you want is scanning before cutting, priced into the quote. Ground penetrating radar reads what is buried in the concrete: rebar mats, post-tension cables, electrical conduit, radiant lines. On a slab-on-grade warehouse floor in Pearl, a missed conduit is an expensive repair. In a post-tensioned office deck, a severed tendon can whip through the slab edge and put the structure itself in question. Any crew quoting core drilling through a suspended or post-tensioned deck without scanning is gambling with your building. For exterior slab sawing, Mississippi law also puts a free call between you and buried utilities: Mississippi 811 locates public lines, and a private locate covers what 811 does not, like the site’s own feeders between buildings.
The eight questions, with the answers a good crew gives
- 1
Do you scan before you cut?
Yes on every suspended, post-tensioned or unknown slab, with GPR, and the scan is a line on the quote.
- 2
How do you control silica dust?
Wet cutting or shrouded vacuums per the federal silica rule, named specifically, because an occupied clinic in Flowood is not the place for a dry blade.
- 3
Where does the slurry go?
Contained with berms or vac systems, hauled off or dried and disposed of legally. Never into a storm drain or a landscaped bed.
- 4
What are your unit rates?
Per core by diameter and depth, per linear foot by slab thickness, per opening for walls. If a contractor cannot quote units, they are guessing.
- 5
Will you send insurance certificates?
Current general liability and workers comp, sent from the agent to your project file before anyone mobilizes.
- 6
Who handles utility locates?
The crew calls in the 811 ticket for exterior work and coordinates private locates inside the property line.
- 7
Who confirms the layout?
You mark it from the drawings, the crew verifies dimensions against the drawing and photographs the marks before cutting.
- 8
What happens on a surprise find?
Work stops, you get a call with photos, and the change gets priced before the blade moves again. Surprises are normal; silent improvisation is not.
The dust question deserves the most weight in occupied buildings. Respirable crystalline silica from dry concrete cutting is a regulated hazard with hard exposure limits, and OSHA’s construction silica standard spells out exactly which controls each saw type requires. A contractor who can name the control for the tool, wet blade, shroud and HEPA vac, or both, has read the rule. One who waves the question off will be waving it off inside your building.
Answers that pass, answers that fail
| Topic | A pro answers | A gamble answers |
|---|---|---|
| Scanning | GPR scan quoted for suspended or post-tensioned slabs | "We'll be careful" |
| Dust | Wet cutting or vacuum shrouds, named per OSHA Table 1 | "A little dust is unavoidable" |
| Slurry | Contained, vacuumed and hauled off, stated in the quote | Hosed to the nearest drain |
| Price | Per-core and per-foot unit rates you can check | Lump sum, no unit math |
| Utilities | 811 locate for exterior sawing, private locate inside | "The owner handles all that" |
| Insurance | Certificates sent from the agent before mobilization | "We're fully covered, trust us" |
How do I know the price I was quoted is fair?
Check it against published unit rates, which is the check almost no cutting contractor in the Jackson metro lets you run. Our rate sheet lists per-core, per-foot and per-opening numbers with their depth assumptions, so an estimator in Ridgeland can price a bid without a phone call and an owner in Clinton can sanity-check a competitor’s lump sum. When quotes differ wildly on the same scope, the spread usually hides a missing line: no scan, no slurry handling, or a depth assumption that changes once the crew arrives. Unit math exposes that before the contract does.
Who a cutting sub is the wrong call for
Straight answer: some jobs should not hire us or anyone like us. Decorative scoring on a residential patio belongs with a flatwork finisher. Structural demolition of a whole building wants a demo contractor with rigging and engineering, and cutting crews work under them, sectioning to the rigging plan. Removing load from a bearing wall needs an engineer’s letter before any saw shows up, ours included. And if a slab just needs one anchor hole, a hammer drill from the rental counter beats mobilizing a core rig. When the job is genuinely urgent, a water main under a slab or a trench that has to open tonight, that is what same-day cutting exists for.
Hiring questions, answered straight
Do concrete cutting contractors need a license in Mississippi?
Cutting as a subcontract trade generally rides under the project's commercial license requirements with the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, which kick in by contract size. What you should always verify regardless: current general liability and workers comp certificates sent from the agent, not screenshots from the bidder.
How far in advance should I book a cutting crew in the Jackson metro?
Two to five working days covers most core and slab work when the layout is ready. Same-day and next-morning slots exist for genuine emergencies like a burst line under a slab, and that is a separate service with its own pricing on our sheet.
Who marks the layout, me or the cutting contractor?
Your side marks where the openings go, because the marks come from your drawings. The cutting crew confirms the dimensions against the drawing before the blade starts and photographs the marks. Both halves matter, and a contractor who skips the confirmation step is trusting your tape measure with their liability.
What happens if a core hits rebar?
Ordinary rebar is normal and the diamond bit drills through it; that is priced into the work. Post-tension cables and embedded electrical conduit are the dangerous finds, which is why scanning happens before coring on suspended and post-tensioned slabs, not after something snaps.
Ask us all eight
Send the drawing section or photos of the slab and the answers come back in writing, with unit pricing off the published sheet.