Residential Concrete Pumping Is An Efficient Way To Install A Patio That A Mixer Truck Can't Reach
If you're putting in a backyard patio or concrete indoor flooring, you may wonder how to go about getting the concrete in place. If the slab you need is small, you or the contractor might mix the concrete on the spot. However, it's common to have a ready mix delivered for the project to get the best results. Even so, the contractor may not be able to get the mixing truck in your backyard.
In that case, pumping the concrete where you need it is often a better plan than moving the concrete with wheelbarrows. Here's how residential concrete pumping works and when you might need it done.
How Residential Concrete Pumping Works
Long before the contractor arrives, the area where the concrete has to be poured is prepped. This involves building the form and putting it in the rebar or mesh. Everything should be ready for the concrete so the work can go quickly. Concrete may harden if you can't get it spread around, so you or the crew need to be ready to go to work as soon as the mixer truck arrives.
Since the concrete is delivered through a long hose, the contractor can park the mixer truck in a convenient location. They also need to park the pump next to the mixer. The concrete mixture is dropped from the mixing truck into the pump and then pumped through a long hose to the place where the concrete slab is to be built.
The concrete doesn't harden in the hose due to the way the concrete was made and due to a coating in the hose. The contractor has to specify they want concrete for pumping when they place their order for your project.
When Residential Concrete Pumping Is Needed
If the slab you're building is in a location that the truck can't access, such as a backyard with a gate too narrow for the truck to pass through, then pumping in the concrete is a good idea. The other option is to dump the concrete in wheelbarrows and move it manually to the slab site.
However, there's a risk the concrete will be overhandled or that it will get too stiff before it can be spread out. If you'll be stamping the concrete, then the timing between removing it from the mix truck and getting it spread is important for being able to use the stamp designs.
Concrete pumping makes the slab installation go faster, and that could translate into a cheaper installation if you're paying for labor by the hour. It also makes installation easy since one person pours concrete out of a hose while others spread it around. Concrete pumping is an efficient way of installing residential concrete.
