Half the cutting quotes that miss their number were doomed at RFQ stage. The scope did not carry the information the price depends on. Here is what a cutting contractor actually needs, and why each item moves the price.
The structure, as built, not as drawn
Element sizes, thicknesses, reinforcement details and post-tensioning if any. Drawings are the start, but on older assets the as-built condition rules: a wall drawn at 300 mm that measures 480 mm at the base changes the wire time, the panel weights and the crane. If drawings are unreliable, say so, and budget for scanning before anyone prices a cut.
What must survive
The most important line in a cutting RFQ is not what comes out, it is what stays. Retained slabs, waterstops, capping beams, anchors, services and finishes each demand standoffs, overcut protection and sometimes a different method entirely. A scope that lists the retained elements and their tolerances gets priced accurately. A scope that only describes the opening gets priced with contingency.
The site conditions that set the method
Live or offline. Hot work permitted or not. Vibration and noise limits. Plant exclusion rules. Working hours and whether 24 hour cutting is available. Access dimensions for equipment. Each of these can eliminate whole methods before cost is even considered, and the earlier the contractor knows, the fewer surprises reach site.
Water in, water out
Diamond cutting needs supply water and produces slurry that state EPAs treat as a pollutant. The RFQ should say what water is available and whether slurry can be treated on site or must be carted. On sensitive sites this line item is real money, and its absence from a quote should worry you rather than please you.
Lifting and removal
Cut concrete still has to leave. Who provides the crane, what capacity at what radius, and what the pieces may weigh: settle this jointly, because panel sizing is a shared decision between the cutting contractor and the lift engineer. Our Prospect case study shows what panel-by-panel planning looks like when it is done properly.
Ask for the methodology with the price
A number without a method is not a quote, it is a guess with a margin on it. Ask every tenderer for the cut sequence, the overcut protection, the water plan and the lift plan. The contractor who answers with a document is the one whose price will still be the price in the final account. More on how we approach this on our cutting engineering and methodologies page, or start with the FAQ.
DeconCut acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isander people as Traditional Custodians of the country on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders past, present and future, and honour their connection to the land and ongoing contribution to society.