Concrete by the wheelbarrow, mixer, trailer or pump Tools, Tips and Techniques Discuss Concrete by the wheelbarrow, mixer, trailer or pump in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; To fill my cores I used wheelbarrow and for the hearth I went to a local retailer who sells concrete ...

[dalucca2003]

To fill my cores I used wheelbarrow and for the hearth I went to a local retailer who sells concrete as needed. They mix and sell concrete down to a 1/4 yard if that is all you need. They then pour into a mixing trailer or non-mixing one with no extra charge for the trailer. I purchased 3/4 of a yard for my hearth and two of us unloaded in less than 20 minutes.

[rlf5]

I mixed the concrete for my first two cores in a bucket using a hammer drill with a special paddle bit. This sucked bit time. For the rest of the cores I used a wheelbarrow which was much easier. For the hearth slab, I plan on renting a mixer from home depot or one of the other equipment rental places in my area. Hopefully they'll have one that does more than one bag at at time seeing as how I plan on using about 24 or so.

[Pannabecker]

My husband and I have mixed 95 80lb bags of concrete in a wheelbarrow for our WFO and BBQ. All we have left is pouring the concrete countertop and bar which will take another 10-15 bags. Who needs a gym membership? Now I'm mixing bucket after bucket of surface bonding cement to cover 550 square feet of outdoor kitchen areas. People say we have too much time on our hands. Actually, we're just too cheap to pay someone else to do the work. Karen

[sarah h]

We mixed the concrete for the foundation in a rental mixer from Home Depot for $40. When the time came to pour the hearth we realized it would be hard to use the same mixer and transfer the concrete up to that level.

The solution for us was something called the Odjob Mixer, a rigid and tough plastic container in which you add the water, the bag of concrete (30 kg / 66 lbs), put the lid on, then roll on the ground for 30 seconds. It mixed each batch perfectly in 30 second, as promised! My husband lifted and poured it himself the first few times, then we switched to a two-person lift & pour that worked much better (more control tipping & pouring). While we got a fair workout, it really wasn't too bad and was relatively quick. That mixer also cost $40 but now we're set if we ever need to mix concrete again and it's very compact to store.

The mixer is available from Lee Valley Tools (they're a top-notch company with really good tools and other great products, have an on-line catalogue and ship in Canada & the U.S., maybe elsewhere too) if anyone is interested in getting one. Definitely better than a wheelbarrow and shovel!

Sarah

[Xabia Jim]

I got a kick out of this concrete delivery method!

[gjbingham]

XJ - what the heck is that? They deliver the concrete in tubs and you and a friend carry to the site and dump it in? They look heavy!

[Xabia Jim]

George, I'm guessing that the truck comes by and fills the tubs, then leaves!

They then transfer the tub to the hopper and lift for a pour somewhere.

....they definately do a lot of things differently here....

[brokencookie]

Originally Posted by sarah h

The solution for us was something called the Odjob Mixer, a rigid and tough plastic container in which you add the water, the bag of concrete (30 kg / 66 lbs), put the lid on, then roll on the ground for 30 seconds.

I have had one of these for years and it works great for small jobs. Last year I had 10 yrds of sand and 5 yds of gravel delivered and used about 80 bags of portland cement in the front yard. For about the same price ( $50 US) I found an electric cement mixer on Craigslist that mixes about 3 bags worth at a time. The seller even threw in a second motor for it. Given the choice of the Oddjob or an electric....the electric wins hands down for any job over 10 sq ft.

[Monte]

I work for the company that builds the little concrete trailers (Cart-Away). I also have poured many yards with the little 1/3 yard mixers, and out of the big trucks. Then I started with Cart-Away, and now of course I use them. Not because I work there, we manufacture the unites, but we don't make concrete, so I have to buy it like everyone else. But because it is so much easier. I had my own concrete precast company, and I wish I knew about them back then. They are great. If you look in your local yellow pages under ready-mix, you will probably find someone that owns either one of our mixers or our competitors. Good luck with your project.

[larrya1049]

It's hard to believe that we are in hard times. I've been calling around the last few days trying to find somebody that will come and pour my slab for me. I have it all formed out and the metal is in all they have to do is pour about a yard of concrete. I'm now faced with the prospect of getting a pallet of concrete from Homedepot and renting a mixer. Monte I would be curious if your company has sold any Cart-Aways in the southeast florida area. Please let me know since this seems like it might be a better solution.
Thanks
Larry