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Posted by on July 23, 2007, 11:23 pm
Hi, I'm an owner/builder about to hire my first concrete pumper to
pour my footing. (It's a heavily wooded lot so a ready mix chute
won't
reach.) There is precious little on the internet about this.
I really don't know what to expect. Would some of you more
experienced
contractors care to comment?
My job in brief: 22 cubic yards, 3000 psi, vert rebar (with safety
caps)
every 16", wooden forms, water available, engineered (stamped)
drawings,
western NC.
My questions run the gamut:
1) How do they normally charge? What are rates like in your state?
2) Is "wash out" ever a problem?
3) Who orders the mix, me or them?
4) Will the mix need vibrating?
5) Should I allow the pumper to adjust the mix?
6) The tradesmen are fairly honest out here, but what to watch out
for?
7) What are the questions I forgot the ask? ;)
I just want to be informed before I start asking for estimates.
--zeb
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Posted by DanG on July 24, 2007, 6:35 am
> 1) How do they normally charge? What are rates like in your
> state?
Morning pumps cost more than afternoons. Ground pumps cost less
than aerial pumps.
> 2) Is "wash out" ever a problem?
Washing out the pump? Not any more so than the concrete trucks,
but you will certainly need a place for the initial slime and the
hose and pump clean up.
> 3) Who orders the mix, me or them?
Who is paying the bill? If you order, make sure you tell the
batch plant that you are pouring with xyz pumping company and you
will need pump mix. If there are any questions, let the
pumper work out the details.
> 4) Will the mix need vibrating?
Yes
> 5) Should I allow the pumper to adjust the mix?
Insist on desired slump. Discuss before contract. Write into
contract. Defer to the pumper's expertise.
> 6) The tradesmen are fairly honest out here, but what to watch
> out
> for?
> 7) What are the questions I forgot the ask? ;)
>
> I just want to be informed before I start asking for estimates.
>
> --zeb
>
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Posted by marson on July 24, 2007, 7:03 am
> > 1) How do they normally charge? What are rates like in your
> > state?
>
> Morning pumps cost more than afternoons. Ground pumps cost less
> than aerial pumps.
>
> > 2) Is "wash out" ever a problem?
>
> Washing out the pump? Not any more so than the concrete trucks,
> but you will certainly need a place for the initial slime and the
> hose and pump clean up.
>
> > 3) Who orders the mix, me or them?
>
> Who is paying the bill? If you order, make sure you tell the
> batch plant that you are pouring with xyz pumping company and you
> will need pump mix. If there are any questions, let the
> pumper work out the details.
>
> > 4) Will the mix need vibrating?
>
> Yes
>
> > 5) Should I allow the pumper to adjust the mix?
>
> Insist on desired slump. Discuss before contract. Write into
> contract. Defer to the pumper's expertise.
>
> > 6) The tradesmen are fairly honest out here, but what to watch
> > out
> > for?
> > 7) What are the questions I forgot the ask? ;)
>
> > I just want to be informed before I start asking for estimates.
>
> > --zeb
You also have to add a 1/2 yard extra for the pumper. Also, when they
clean out, they have about a 1/2 yard of waste concrete to dump on
your site.
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Posted by HerHusband on July 24, 2007, 11:12 am
Hi Zeb,
> Hi, I'm an owner/builder about to hire my first concrete pumper to
> pour my footing. (It's a heavily wooded lot so a ready mix chute
> won't reach.)
It's probably too late now, but we had a similar situation when we built
our house. Our house is surrounded by trees on two sides, a garage on
another, and our septic system on the fourth. The only access was from
one corner of the building site.
I considered hiring a pumper, but was concerned the trucks wouldn't be
able to navigate down our driveway to the building site. Not to mention
the added expense.
So, I poured our foundation in four stages: Rear footings first, then the
rear walls, front footings, and then the front walls. This allowed the
truck to back right up to the forms for each pour, and it also allowed us
to reuse the forms so we only needed half the form materials. It also
meant we could do each section with a single truck load, so no problems
trying to coordinate multiple trucks coming and going out our drive.
I extended rebar a few feet from the first pours, so the second pour
would tie into the first. I expected cracks to form where the sections
joined, but we've lived in our house about 4 years now, and there still
aren't any signs of cracking at the joints.
We used a company with a truck that mixed the concrete right on site. No
waste, and he was able to supply extra if I undercalculated a little. We
got exactly what we needed, and only paid for the concrete we used.
It was still kind of wet and muddy around here when we poured the rear
footings, so the driver didn't want to back his truck in too far and get
stuck. So, we had to wheelbarrow a few loads to the back corner. But it
wasn't too bad.
Things had dried out by the time we got to the rear walls, and I had put
a layer of gravel in the crawlspace area too, so he was able to back
right in. There was only a few feet in the back corner he couldn't reach
(because of interior footings), but we were able to paddle it into the
corner without difficulties.
Our foundation is just a crawlspace, so we simply used boards to work the
air bubbles out of the concrete, especially around foundation vents and
other obstructions. It worked out very nice. I think I only had one small
void at the bottom of one of the walls, that was easily patched after I
stripped the forms.
It was just my wife and I doing the work, with a bit of help from the
concrete driver (don't expect help from them. :) ). We repaid his help by
giving him lots of repeat business over the years, doing the foundations,
sidewalks, etc.
Anthony
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Posted by Robert Allison on July 24, 2007, 11:30 pm
zeb7k@hotmail.com wrote:
> Hi, I'm an owner/builder about to hire my first concrete pumper to
> pour my footing. (It's a heavily wooded lot so a ready mix chute
> won't
> reach.) There is precious little on the internet about this.
>
> I really don't know what to expect. Would some of you more
> experienced
> contractors care to comment?
>
> My job in brief: 22 cubic yards, 3000 psi, vert rebar (with safety
> caps)
> every 16", wooden forms, water available, engineered (stamped)
> drawings,
> western NC.
>
> My questions run the gamut:
> 1) How do they normally charge? What are rates like in your state?
There is a base charge, then either an hourly charge or charge
by cubic yard pumped. Rates depend upon whether you are
getting a line pump or an overhead boom pump. Rates vary too
much to be of use. Call a pump company and ask.
> 2) Is "wash out" ever a problem?
What do you mean by wash out? If you mean blow out, then yes,
it can be a problem if the forms aren't braced well enough to
hold the concrete or if you pump too much in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
> 3) Who orders the mix, me or them?
You do. You must discuss with your pump company what they
require in order to pump your ready mix. Then order the
concrete and tell them it is for your pump company.
> 4) Will the mix need vibrating?
Not if the forms are less than a foot deep. Anything over
that and you will probably need to vibrate.
> 5) Should I allow the pumper to adjust the mix?
Only under your supervision.
> 6) The tradesmen are fairly honest out here, but what to watch out
> for?
Bad concrete mix, incorrect concrete mix, adding water,
concrete too old, etc.
> 7) What are the questions I forgot the ask? ;)
When you decide on a pump company, have the rep come to your
site to determine the size of the pump needed, where to locate
it, where to clean out, where to position trucks, etc.
You are not going to get estimates. You are going to get
rates. They are all pretty much the same unless you are
pouring more than 500 yards a month, then you can make some deals.
You might try to find someone that is experienced in this sort
of thing to oversee the pour for you. It can save alot of
heartaches and wasted money.
>
> I just want to be informed before I start asking for estimates.
>
> --zeb
--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX
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