BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - New Panama Canal Locks Have A Concrete Problem

Mr. Luddite

On 8/28/2015 3:51 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 15:10:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

When the pool was installed in our backyard they tried to pump the
concrete up over the house using a really high boom. Didn't work.
Our house is three stories and the pump wouldn't get it up and over
the house. Scary to watch. Anyway, after a few failed attempts the
driver of the concrete truck was getting nervous because he had to go
dump it or do something before the stuff started to set.

Yup they call that "turning and burning". You don't hear it very often
in residential but depending on temperature, you have the right to
look at the delivery ticket and refuse to accept concrete if it is too
old. Around here, that might be an hour or so. If they are adding
water to get the slump up, that is a warning.

They came back a couple of days later with another kind of pump that was
at ground level. The concrete truck filled a large container which was
then pumped through hoses to the backyard where the pool forms were.

Those are the pumps we see most often here. They pump a lot of
concrete in Florida.

They were getting nervous with the boom. It barely reached over the
ridge of the roof and when they started trying to pump the concrete, the
boom started dipping to within less than a foot from the ridge.
Then it stopped pumping. Fortunately, they got the hoses off and got
the boom back before any damage occurred. Lot's of nervous contractors
and one very nervous homeowner.