Site report: Pumping concrete for new ground floor Warehouse using four section M20 pump at Ardra Road, Enfield

As we predicted, the new Putzmeister M20 4-section concrete pump has rapidly become one of the most popular pumps in the fleet. It has been in such great demand that we have had to order more to meet customer demand.

It is a popular pump because it is so versatile. Mounted on a short wheel-base Mercedes 1829 and having a very narrow footprint when set-up, it can be used in the tightest of city sites and also in residential areas. The 4-section boom, with low unfolding height makes it perfect for working in industrial buildings.

And even when the boom cannot be used to its full advantage, the 90 cubic metre per hour / 78 bar pump unit is well suited to pipeline jobs. At Ardra Road, Enfield, P.J. Carey (Contractors) Ltd used the M20/4 to pump concrete into the ground floor office of their warehouse contract for Bestway Holdings.

The easiest way to place the concrete was for the pump to remain outside the building, boom in through the doorway and then extend the line by 24 metres – 5 steel pipes and 3 hoses. The experienced concrete gang were adept at moving the hoses around the floor and stripping back the pipes towards the pump, as the floor progressed.

By the end of the day the gang had put down and sealed the membrane, installed 2 layers of mesh, placed and float finished 65 cubic metres of concrete to construct the slab. There were no complaints about productivity here!

The main warehouse floor is to be constructed using steel-fibre reinforced concrete. This is used for super-flat floors where durability and high abrasion resistance is required. The high-strength concrete base mix is delivered to site and a superplasticiser and steel fibres are then added to the mix. After thorough mixing, the load is ready to be pumped.

Camfaud conducts these floor pours on a regular basis – one such pour being the distribution centre for Turners (Soham) Ltd. To check the access for the main floor pour the pump was driven into the building and with a travel height of only 3400 mm there was room to spare.

• Pump: M20/4

• Customer: P.J. Carey (Contractors) Ltd

• Site: Ardra Road, Enfield

• Concrete Supplier: Hanson Premix

• Date: July 2007