[BassBuddha]

I had a new concrete driveway installed in July. It's 6 inches thick with wire mesh in it. It's a large driveway that was poured from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. It was cut the next morning around 8:00 am. The contractor used a soft-cut saw and cut the control joints 1 inch deep. The panels are about 7.5' x 7.5'. Are the saw cuts deep enough? Everything I'm reading says that an early entry saw has to be used within about 4 hours of finishing to be effective, otherwise you must cut the joints 1/4 to 1/3 the thickness of the slab. If the cuts aren't deep enough, can the joints be cut deeper? If so, is there benefit to doing so? Any advice is much appreciated!

[ma0641]

My slabs are about the same size, 8 yrs. old, joints cut about 5/8" deep, no cracks yet. You can always cut the joints deeper, rent a wet saw and diamond blade or have a concrete sawing company do it.

[BassBuddha]

Hi Ma0641. Were the joints cut within 4 hours of the concrete being finished or did the contractor wait until the next day to cut?

[ma0641]

Don't know, wasn't there. However, I did see similar jobs in the neighborhood and they were done after floating and some set time so 4 hours would be reasonable, definitely not the next day. . BTW, Concrete sets pretty fast in the Atlanta area.