What is the best way to move 10 yards of wet concrete?

Question

Hi friends. what is the best way to move 10 yards of concrete?

side walk is about 100 feet from where i need to pour. I can also hire guys at $10/hr to carry it in wheel barrows and dump it. which way do you think is cheaper? concrete pump, or guys and wheel barrows?

my other question is how fast can these pumps run? the premix companies allow 4 mins to unload 1 yard of concrete. i can also pay the time charge ($1.25/min), so maybe i can afford 6 mins per yard of concrete.

Answer 1

Obviously you can use any of the above methods.

The simplest would gave the truck back up and place (not pour) the concrete into the forms.  Concrete truck drivers have a lot of experience backing into places.

Another method is to use a concrete buggy. Two buggies maybe be better than one. One buggy can get concrete when one is dumping.  You should place plywood on the grass to minimize the damage to the grass when the buggies drive over it.

Any method you use, you should consider using some retarder to buy some time to place the concrete, and minimize  the adding of water.  You also may consider ordering a higher strength concrete than what  the drawings call for.  For the extra few dollars a yard, you will get a better strength - quality - concrete. By ordering only what is required you are taking a risk on how "economic" the plant is with the mix.

Cheers and good luck!

Answer 2

A concrete pumper truck is a big expense. If you are in a smaller city you probably won't find a truck - it will need to come in from a bigger city and that costs, so does the truck and operator.

If you don't want to wheel it in, you might be able to rent a motorized wheelbarrow (Geogia Buggy) to move it around to the back yard. We often wheelbarrow concrete  at about 5 cu yards at a time thats about 5 and 1/2 trips per yard of concrete so about 55 trips to do 10 yards.

For a good continuous pour get 4 wheelbarrows and 4 men or rent 2 of the georgia buggies.

* Remember if you keep the truck driver there too long they will charge you an add for driver wait time. It's also best to get a will call for the day you want it, check the weather the night before- then call your order in for the next day. Get 2 trucks but don't have them send it all at once. Get 6 yards on the first truck, and soon as it is empty call in with the measurements of the remaining area and they can tell  you how much you need. If you don't have a cement finisher lined up - you need to get one. 10 yards of bad concrete is something you don't want to experience.

Answer 3

guys and the wheelbarrows.

Answer 4

Concrete pumpers run at 25 yarrds an hour, so no problem keeping up with the dumper's 4 minutes per yard.  Rates vary regionally, so I won't guess at what you might pay for a pumper for an hour.

Unloading by hand - a contractor wheelbarrow is typically 6cuft -- but that's sitting flat and filled to the rim.  Figure 3cuft/load pushing concrete.  So 90 wheelbarrow loads in your 10 yard order, and you've got 40 minutes to do it in..  At 100' from the truck - if it's fairly flat and level - you might do 2 minutes/wheelbarrow load - but- call it 3 to be safe.  So that says you'll need 8 wheelbarrows going to unload the truck in 40 minutes.

A pump's going to cost more than wheelbarrow labor - but working by wheelbarrow is also going to take more guys doing the finishing.  With a pump, you can basically fill to the top of the form with minium screeding.  With wheelbarrows, you'll be doing a lot of shoveling and screeding - I'd guess 5-6 guys finishing to keep up with the 8 wheelbarrows.  So when you look at the cost and trouble of getting 14 guys and 8 wheelbarrows, a pump doesn't look nearly as expensive.

Answer 5

It will definately be cheaper to use wheel barrows to move the concrete. It doesn't sound like you have a critical pour to make, plus you have a fairly small quantity, so it should work out ok for you. You will probably need at least 3 wheel barrows working, and a guy helping man the truck to keep the driver from spilling the concrete all over the ground.

If you pump, remember to adjust your mix. Pumping needs a higher slump to allow the mix to flow without having a lot of plugs, and the slump after pumping will be lower. I usually pump around a slump of 5-6 to get a workable 4 out the other end.

Answer 6

rent a skid loader or hire a guy that has one.  

Answer 7

Why don't you order it premixed in a truck..and have them back right up to the waiting forms you have set..and dump it right in..this is what we usually do