For plumbing contractors
Concrete Cutting for Plumbing Contractors
Your crew runs pipe; the slab is in the way. Whether it is a trench across a restaurant floor or forty stacked cores in a condo repipe, the cutting is priceable straight from your fixture layout.
- Cores sized from pipe spec + sleeve
- Trench cuts that follow the drain run
- Slope-aware layout on drains
- Night windows for occupied buildings
The two jobs plumbing scopes actually need
Holes: core drilling for stacks, risers, and sleeves — vertical through slabs, horizontal through walls and grade beams, sized from the pipe OD plus insulation and sleeve clearance. Trenches: slab sawing for in-floor drain runs — two parallel cuts along the route, break-out between them, and the trench is ready for pipe, bedding, and pour-back.
Both price directly off the documents you already have: the fixture plan, the isometric, or even a marked-up floor plan with pipe sizes. Attach it to the request and skip the phone-tag description phase.
Plumbing scopes this intake sees most
Restaurant & commercial kitchen work
Grease waste, floor sinks, and drain relocations — trench cuts through slab-on-grade, usually on night windows before opening.
Condo & multifamily repipes
Stacked riser cores floor over floor with containment for the unit below — see plumbing core drilling.
Bathroom additions & reconfigurations
New closet flanges, shower drains, and vent paths through existing slabs.
Sewer & water service entries
Cores through foundation walls and grade beams for service penetrations, drilled with the slope you spec.
What to send for a fast, tight price
- Pipe sizes per penetration (the core size follows from them)
- Trench route length and width, with the layout or a sketch
- Slab thickness if known; on-grade vs elevated deck
- Occupied or finished space below any core
- Whether you or the cutting crew handle break-out and debris
- The fixture plan, isometric, or a phone photo of your markup
Frequently asked questions
Can the trench spoil and cores be hauled off?
Yes — haul-off is a standard line item, or your crew takes it in your dumpster. Say which in the request; it is one of the bigger swings in floor-cut pricing.
We find out slab thickness only when we open it. How is that priced?
Estimators price from the likely range for the building type and state the assumption; the unit rate adjusts if reality differs. Stating “thickness unknown” honestly beats guessing.
Who marks the hole locations?
Usually your crew — you own the fit-up below. Drilling to your marks is the default; layout from drawings can be included if you ask for it in the request.
Project intake
Send the fixture plan
Pipe sizes, route, and drawings — an independent Miami-area operator prices cores and trench cuts from your documents.