You may have secured a commercial property that's situated in a prime location "downtown" and surrounded by popular, high-end establishments that are clearly doing well. You have big aspirations here and want to completely renovate the building so that you can open your own goldmine and take advantage of your excellent position. Yet to do so you will need to do quite a lot of heavy construction as you build an extension to the rear, and you're a little worried about accessibility, especially when it comes to delivering concrete and other materials. How can you get around this issue?

Solutions for All Situations

If you've never been involved in this level of construction before, you may not understand how the concrete delivery process works. In your mind's eye, you may picture a traditional concrete mixing truck, but you know that this type of vehicle is too cumbersome and will not be able to reach the job site itself. Thankfully, there are various different pumps available that can help you to deliver the raw material efficiently, no matter how far it is from the source or how high it is off the ground.

Direct Acting Pumps

For example, you may be able to use a direct-acting pump that has a series of valves and pistons and relies on the forces of gravity to help it work. This pump goes underneath the main hopper, which can be set at a distance from your work site and which will receive the liquid concrete from those mixers. As the pump is set below the hopper, the concrete will naturally flow down and as it does so will be accelerated by a piston. As this piston moves back and forth, the individual valves open and close in alternate sequence to develop pressure that pushes the concrete through a sequence of pipelines.

You will be able to choose from a variety of pipes that have different diameters, according to the amount of aggregate required for the job. If you can imagine a piston in action, then you can visualise how this type of pump works. The initial stroke opens a valve and pulls concrete into a chamber, while the second stroke opens a subsequent valve while closing the first and thus pushes the solution down to your work site.

Squeeze Pumps

If your requirement is more complex or additional pressure is required, then you may need to choose a squeeze pump instead. This includes a sequence of rotating blades within the hopper that forces aggregate through rollers and into a vacuum pump chamber. These rollers squeeze the aggregate and then release it under pressure, through the pipe to your destination.

Figuring out Your Needs

To determine what type of configuration you will need, chat with your equipment suppliers first. They will be able to help you calculate how much concrete per hour is required and the appropriate level of pressure. In turn, you'll be able to choose the power of the pump so that the concrete will be transferred carefully over the entire distance and delivered at the right volume for your workers.

For more information, contact your local commercial concrete pumping company.