January is always a fun time to talk concrete because of the World of Concrete show at the end of the month. If you have a chance to go one interesting demonstrations you will probably see is the guys cutting perfect square windows in solid wall slabs of concrete using diamond chain saws. It still amazes us everytime we see it. There really is nothing that compares to these concrete chain saws when you are looking at cutting power to weight and the ability for one person to control it.
One thing that does often throw people off about the concrete chain saw is the price. The CS Unitec AirForce F4 ($4275, Ohio Power Tool) and the Hydraulic Force F4 ($4320, Ohio Power Tool) are both a good size investment but for 15” plunge cutting depth into concrete. However when you look at the other options they can actually be inexpensive alternatives vs say a wall or wire saw. The tools also require some serious power to operate, the pneumatic chain saw AirForce F4 for instance consumes 124 CFM at 90psi or basically needs its own dedicated trailer air compressor. While these are common on many job sites where you would be doing this type of work that means nothing else is getting done while this little baby is running. 
Diamond chains are also not cheap, typically in the $700+ range, with a rough estimate of 600 in-ft (75’ in 8” concrete) of cutting life. See the graphic below which explains the inch-feet measurement better than we could. Obviously with hard aggregate or more rebar the chain will have a much shorter life expectancy. Compared to a circular diamond saw blade the diamond chain is almost always going to cost more.
If you have any questions about which concrete saw is right for your needs you might want to give the pros at Ohio Power Tool a call 800-242-4424. There are many many factors that go into these systems; taking advantage of their experience could save you lots of time, money and frustration.
