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How to Cut Pool Coping Curved?

No pool installation is finished without a beautiful coping paver to go along with it. Being a concrete, brick, travertine or porcelain paver, coping is important to give that finishing touch to your installation and to, of course, protect you while you enjoy your pool. So, how to cut pool coping curved to go along with a curved pool style?

Cutting pool coping is no different from cutting pavers, really. You will need some skill and either a circular saw or an angle grinder, as well as protection equipment to avoid accidents. So let’s go straight to the guide on how to make those curved cuts.

curved pool coping

Cutting Pool Coping: Preparation

To start our guide, let’s talk about the most important step of all: preparation.

Before you even begin thinking about having to cut copings, make sure you are working with the right kind of material and that it fits your project. There are so many options in the market nowadays that you are sure to find some form of coping where you don’t even need to cut it to fit into your pool.

The best way to make sure that happens, is to hire professional help when working on your project. Professionals in the hardscape field know exactly what kind of material you’ll need for each situation, and with the correct material, cutting won’t be a problem, because it can be completely avoided.

But, if you still will have to work on cutting coping, there are important precautions you have to take.

First, always use protective equipment. Protective googles and working gloves are essential when working with saws. And speaking of saws, the circular saw and angle grinder are the easiest options to find and work with. But if you can get your hands on a masonry wet saw, that’s the best thing you can use, as it allows for precise and safer cuts.

The “wet” in wet saw is important. When cutting pavers, you have to perform what is called in the industry as a wet cut. A wet cut is simply pouring water to the paver as you cut it. Some machines have a system to do that automatically.

This is done to prevent the dust from the cuts from spreading. The dust contains silica, which is a dangerous substance that can cause damage when breathed in. In some states, it is even against the law to performer cuts that are not wet. So don’t risk it, plan to make wet cuts.

With all this information out of the way, let’s go to the practical part of the guide.

How to Cut Pool Coping

  1. Place the Coping Around The Pool: You’re going to start by placing your coping around the pool, mapping out the area as you go. Drawing it can help a ton when working on that first step. As you move along the pool, you will be piecing together a puzzle, of sorts. Be sure to be optimal in the placement of the coping and avoid having to cut them as much as possible.
  2. Mark the Coping: With your “puzzle” put together, you’ll have a clearer idea of which copings you’ll have to cut. Get those copings and mark their cutting areas using a masonry pencil or chalk. These areas should be established in the form of guiding lines that you will cut along with your saw of choice.

    Make sure to mark every face of the coping. This is something people often forget, and it can be a problem during the actual cutting part, since you’ll have no line to follow.
  3. Cut the Copings: Time to cut the copings. Never forget to use protective googles and working gloves. If your saw of choice does not automatically do the wet cut option, you’ll probably need to ask for someone to help you. All that person has to do is to wet the coping as you cut it using a garden hose.

    Start by making shallow cuts on all the faces of the coping, following your guidelines. Slowly cut deeper, one face at a time. Patience and a steady hand are the secrets to success here.

And then you’re done. Is that simple. As long as you have patience, the right saw and maybe someone to help you along, you’ll be done in no time. Especially if you carefully prepared and planned to be optimal about your cuts, as we instructed.

Installing curved pool coping

Professional Pool Coping Installation

Of course, sometimes things are not as easy as they seem. You can never know what problems and particularities you’ll face during a coping installation.

The best way to make sure you’ll end up with a job well done is to hire professionals in the hardscape business to help you. They can not only help you choose the right kind of coping, but also make the installation for you.

And if you happen to be around the Sarasota and Manatee Counties, in FL, we here at S&S Pavers work alongside the best professionals in the market.

Give us a call anytime at 941-773-3098 or email us at sales@sspavers.com. Helping you reach your outdoor vision would be a pleasure to us.

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