Any tips for cutting an asphalt driveway?

I need to cut my driveway to install and invisible fence for the dog. My plan is to pick up a disposable 7 1/4" circular saw from Harbor Freight and a couple of masonry blades. The driveway is about 3 inches thick.

Any advice?

Rent a 10-12in concrete saw with a diamond blade. Be done in about 15 minutes or less. Use water to keep down the dust. Then enjoy the rest of your day.

I used a circular saw with an abrasive blade. By the time I realized the tar was melting more than cutting it was too late for the saw. The cut was made but the saw was trashed. (I still have it but I haven't had the inclination to clean it out).

Cut only needs to be an inch deep, put the wire in and seal it in place with driveway 'caulk' and call in a day.

Pro tip: you don't need to "dig" a trench for the wire, just use the shovel to "spread" a V in the soil 4"-6" deep, poke the wire in and step the seam shut.

The easy way. It will cost you a couple of hundred dollars but you will be done in minutes.

The cheap way would be a diamond blade in a 4.5" grinder, if you don't need to cut all the way through the pavement.

A cheap 7.25" saw and an blade would also be fairly cheap. It will be dusty, it will suck, it will be hard on the saw, but it will work.

I pick up second hand circular saws at garage sales and apply the very cheapest HF abrasive blade. My last patio project ate two of them.

I stopped at Lowes on the way to HF and found a Skil saw on clearance for $33 and a five pack of DeWalt blades for $13.

Asphalt is much easier to cut then concrete but I think a diamond blade on a worm drive saw will do best for you here.diamond blades are pretty cheap nowdays

Around here it's about $50 to rent a concrete saw. I don't remember if that includes the blade rental though. If the skil saw works - great! If not, give Home Depot tool rental a shot.

http://www.homedepot.com/c/concrete_equipment_rental#concrete-saws

the electric ones should work but check to see which ones if any come with blades.

Run the circular saw backwards that way the blade is climbing out of the cut. Easier on the saw. Cheap diamond blade with just enough water to stop the dust is better than abrasives. They don't loose diameter like abrasives. Still should be able to cut in less than hour. I used to cut bevel around overhead openings in about 10 min.

KyAllroad wrote: Cut only needs to be an inch deep, put the wire in and seal it in place with driveway 'caulk' and call in a day. Pro tip: you don't need to "dig" a trench for the wire, just use the shovel to "spread" a V in the soil 4"-6" deep, poke the wire in and step the seam shut.

This. For an invisible fence, don't have to get carried away with the trench. A cut or more precise, a groove just deep enough to hold the wire and sealed in place.

Zombie canoe

But, how did this work out woody?

Not awful. I think I only used one blade. I donated the saw to the firehouse got the occasional project that happens around there.

I cut the driveway in the late spring and then the project went on hiatus while I had knee surgery. I finally buried the wire for the Invisible Fence in August when the temp was in the 80s. By then, the asphalt had expanded and the gap got really tight. Getting the wire in there was a struggle. Once it was done, I filled the gap with silicone caulk to keep the water out. Yesterday it was 7 degrees and I noticed that the gap had opened back up and the silicone pulled away. I'll run another bead some day when it is cold and dry.

Light sabers work well.

I've always been pleasantly surprised how easy asphalt is to cut. Cutting concrete, on the other hand, is simply miserable.

Keep in mind, a 7-1/4 circ saw will only cut about 2.75" and most asphalt is 4"

Its not too much to rent one of these (link below) and it comes with a blade for something like $14 more. You do not want to use a concrete blade. It gets very frustrating. It melts and clogs. An asphalt blade has bigger gaps between the teeth and doesn't clog as easily. Note the difference in the blades pictured below. Its much like the difference between a wood blade for soft woods versus plywood/veneer, or cross-cut versus ripping.

Rent this from HD and ask for the asphalt blade

Asphalt blade:

Concrete blade:

Aw crap. Zombie thread. Sorry.

For my job, I only needed to cut a slot one inch deep to tuck the wire in. The 7 1/4" saw worked fine and the diameter of the blade looked about the same after a 30 foot cut.

Don't cut it, tunnel under. I used a pressure washer and a $6 Home Depot tunnel fitting on a piece of 3/4 pvc to tunnel 12' under a concrete slab to replace a sink drain - how wide is your driveway?

mlwebb wrote: Don't cut it, tunnel under. I used a pressure washer and a $6 Home Depot tunnel fitting on a piece of 3/4 pvc to tunnel 12' under a concrete slab to replace a sink drain - how wide is your driveway?

This sounds genius. More specifics and photos?