How to Cut Patio Stones

Using a Power Saw

• 1

  Place the patio stone on stable, flat ground. Lay a straightedge on top of the stone and run a pencil or wax crayon along the straightedge to mark a cut line across the stone's surface. Flip the stone over and mark a corresponding cut line using the straightedge.

• 2

  Attach a masonry blade to the circular saw. Adjust the blade's depth of cut to 1/4 inch. Activate the saw and slice through the cut line on the stone's surface. Extend the blade's depth of cut to 1/2 inch and make a second pass through the cut line. Adjust the blade's depth of cut to 3/4 inch and make a third pass.

• 3

  Flip the stone over and adjust the blade's depth of cut to 1/4 inch. Slice through the stone's cut line. Make a pass at a depth of 1/2 inch and a final pass at 3/4 inch.

• 4

  Hold the stone firmly against the ground and strike the waste portion of the stone with a mini sledgehammer to cleanly break the unused portion of the patio stone along the scored lines. The waste portion of the stone is the side of the cut that you will not include in the final installation.

Using a Chisel

• 5

  Lay the patio stone on stable, flat ground. Mark a cut line across the stone's surface with a straightedge and a pencil or wax crayon. Flip the stone over and create a corresponding cut line with the straightedge.

• 6

  Align the chisel's blade along the cut line. Strike the butt of the chisel, using moderate force, with a mini sledgehammer to score a channel along the stone's cut line. Flip the stone over and score its opposite face with the hammer and chisel. Score 3/8 inch below the stone's surface.

• 7

  Lay a piece of scrap lumber on flat, stable ground. Place the scored stone on top of the lumber and hang the waste portion of the patio stone over the lumber's edge.

• 8

  Hold the stone against the lumber and strike the waste portion of the stone with a mini sledgehammer to break the stone along the score.