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"Dump Box" Method Makes Concrete More Competitive
Oregon contractor Marty Richter lays concrete driveways and walkways without forms and without the hassles normally associated with concrete. He says the methods he has developed make concrete competitive with asphalt.
"We can pour 300 yards, 5 inches deep and 11 feet wide, in about 5 to 6 hours with just two gu
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"Dump Box" Method Makes Concrete More Competitive MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 26-5-9 Oregon contractor Marty Richter lays concrete driveways and walkways without forms and without the hassles normally associated with concrete. He says the methods he has developed make concrete competitive with asphalt.
"We can pour 300 yards, 5 inches deep and 11 feet wide, in about 5 to 6 hours with just two guys," says Richter.
Richter's secret is a concrete version of the kind of "box" asphalt companies use to spread their hot mix. He developed the unit at the suggestion of Scott Erickson, Quality Concrete, Salem, Oregon. Erickson had about given up competing with asphalt companies on bids for driveways.
"I always wondered why we couldn't handle concrete the same way they handle asphalt. When I mentioned that to Marty, he figured out how to do it," says Erickson.
Richter's concrete box lays strips from 5 to 15 feet wide. Removable sleeves in the box allow him to increase depth from 4 to 8 in. in 1/2-in. increments. The sled forms 1/2-in. grooves every 4 in. on center, and Richter cuts joints in the concrete every 12 feet, like a city sidewalk. Richter also adds a fiber mesh to the concrete during mixing for added strength.
"Asphalt sleds float over loose ground," explains Richter. "I prefer to pour on hard ground, so I built the box to slide on skids. We put down compacted rock and then skid over it."
Last fall, Richter paved nearly three miles of walkways for a Tillamook, Oregon dairyman who practices intensive grazing. The dairyman did it to reduce mud on the cow's bags, reduce hoof problems and eliminate muddy paths to and from the parlor. The concrete pathways accomplished all that and more.
"He also saved more than 1 1/2 hours each day bringing in the cows," adds Richter. "He has since added property and wants more pathways laid."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richter Concrete Construction, 4700 Hart Rd., Dalles Ore. 97338 (ph 503 999-2350).
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