Looking for Input on MK Diamond BX-4 Brick Saw

I'll make this short and sweet.

2 things:

1) If you can find a used saw.....go for it. I would not pay much at all for a used hardscape saw. So much dust is created, you have no idea if that engine will start blowing smoke 2 months after you aquire it. With our hardscape saws, the lifespan of our engines is around 18 months. We work year round - and we certainly dont use water when we're cutting December - March.......BURR!!! The dust created takes it's toll on the piston's rings.

2) Dont buy that MK junk!

opp, make it 3 "things".....

3) Refer to this recent link: http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=326043

DVS - Thanks for the input. I do like the EDCO saws a lot, but I really don't have 4K to spend on one right now. I was hoping to get a cheaper electric one for now.

Also, on a personal note - I see you are from MD, same as me. Where do you operate and what is your company name? I would love to chat with you sometime if you have time. I noticed that you work year round which I thought would be very difficult in MD. How do you accomplish this? What types of jobs do you do? Who do you typically work for, high end residential I am assuming?

Any advice on marketing? I find our biggest problem is keeping steady sales for hardscaping.

Thanks!

Brian

westernmdlawn said:

I am looking for input on what you think about the MK Diamond BX-4 14" Brick Saw with the misting system. I'm thinking about purchasing one of these sometime in the near future for concrete cutting work. I already have a Stihl TS400 Cutoff saw. Here is what I mainly will be cutting:

1.) Standard concrete pavers - 2 3/8" thick.
2.) 3" and 4" Concrete Wall Caps
3.) 3", 6", and 8" Concrete Wall Units

I am wondering if I can use this saw to cut the 8" x 18" x 12" wall blocks? I know I'd have to cut in two passes, top half then flip over and cut bottom half. I would be okay with this since this would allow me to avoid buying a large super expensive gas saw, and would be more accurate than the demo saw.

For those of you who have experience with this saw I am wondering how well the "misting system" works. Does it keep the dust down to nearly zero?

It looks like this saw is available on Ebay with a stand and a blade for somewhere around 900-1000 dollars. Anyone know where to get one cheaper?

Thanks!

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I have an old MK Brick Xtreme saw and it is great. Even on a 6" block you have to flip it for the last bit unfortunately. I tried the newer version with the 'misting system' and it did not work at all, the saw/stand was awkward compared to the old one and maybe had a little bit less dust but not enough to justify buying it. I would not recommend it. I would love to find a way to lessen the dust but I guess it's the nature of the beast.

I've never used the BX-4, but would consider either that or the matching Clipper when it's time to replace our old MK Extreme. I have zero complaints with the MK, we've had it for 6-7 years and cut a ton of brick with it on certain jobs. Last house had about 18K brick (veneer), probably 8K of which were cut. I finally flipped the original brushes around on that job, and the saw works great again.

westernmdlawn said:

DVS - Thanks for the input. I do like the EDCO saws a lot, but I really don't have 4K to spend on one right now. I was hoping to get a cheaper electric one for now.

Also, on a personal note - I see you are from MD, same as me. Where do you operate and what is your company name? I would love to chat with you sometime if you have time. I noticed that you work year round which I thought would be very difficult in MD. How do you accomplish this? What types of jobs do you do? Who do you typically work for, high end residential I am assuming?

Any advice on marketing? I find our biggest problem is keeping steady sales for hardscaping.

Thanks!

Brian

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A 14" paver saw will probably run around $2300 - $3000. I'm not sure of the exact price for those things.

As far as hardscape and landscape design / construction, we operate in Frederick co., Washington co., Montgomery co., Howard co and Carroll Co, MD. Our main bread and butter in paver patios, walks, pool decks, driveways, and retaining walls.

The time of year has very little to do with hardscape construction. A wise customer knows they will get a better price if they have the work done during off peak season vs waiting till April to have the work done when the phone is ringing off the hook. Also, a wise customer would rather have us complete the job by March, rather than have the job completed in July when Summer is half over! A paver doesnt know the difference between May or January. The only thing that stops us is 1) Frozen soil 2) Snow. This past January we were building a retaining wall where we had a day we worked in 20-degree temps. Yeah, that was miserable.

We serve all. Low end, mid end, and high end residential. Our jobs range from $2000.00 to our biggest being $155k.

Successfully selling residential construction work is a whole different job. You have to be persistant, and you can't slack off. Even though you may have 30 days worth of work booked, you must keep hammering away to make sure you have work sold for when your current work load is done. It's never ending. And I'll be 100% honest - I've been a hardscape contractor for 14 years, YES - I do get burned out from chasing leads.

www.outdoorfinishes.com
www.poolsremoved.com

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DVS Hardscaper said:

Successfully selling residential construction work is a whole different job. You have to be persistant, and you can't slack off. Even though you may have 30 days worth of work booked, you must keep hammering away to make sure you have work sold for when your current work load is done. It's never ending.

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That i couldn't agree with more. Even while we're on a patio job, i'm out giving estimates, and talking with new and existing customers. Some of my customers know us from our lawn care, so i like to tell them that we're installing a patio, or wall, and let them know our range of work for future jobs. I always hear "i didn't know you did that"...

I personally like my MK saw, but i don't install everyday as i would like. This year we have seen a huge increase in hardscapes for my company. Our trigger went out on the biggest job this summer, and took a week to get a new one. I almost bought the MK saw we were renting, but i talked myself out of it, with the hopes to get a bigger EDCO saw.