5m concrete pour with C35 for a private hospital in South London - Rapid ReadyMix - Concrete mix suppliers in London and South East England

Restricted access concrete delivery

A hospital in Sutton, South London needed our help to extend and develop its facilities with a 5m pour of our C35 concrete mix – an industrial strength mix that is widely used for industrial floors and foundations – to be poured in a restricted access area. As a busy establishment that sees high numbers of patients, our client needed us to provide an out-of-hours service so they could go about their daily business with as little disruption as possible to their patients and staff.

Concrete Pump Hire and Vehicle Logistics

Rapid Readymix was required to organise everything for the out-of-hours service. Both a volumetric concrete mixer and a concrete pump would be required – so the team involved included the driver, transport manager, loader and a mechanic to ensure the mixer and pump were reliable for out-of-hours work. This all had to be done in advance, as the hospital needed to provide its security staff with exact information about the time of our arrival and the members of our team who would be doing the work.

Challenges

As a busy Sutton hospital, our client needed us to carry out the work quickly, efficiently and without any unnecessary disturbances – both in terms of noise and physical obstructions. Also, the area in which we were required to pump the concrete was narrow and hard to reach, which meant that we needed a flexible solution to help us navigate it effectively.

Techniques

As the area we were working in was tight and difficult to access, we used a landline concrete pump to pour the C35 concrete for our client. We were able to pass the pipe through the narrow area and direct the concrete to the exact cavity where the pour took place. For health and safety reasons, we blocked off the zone while the work was being carried out.
When using a concrete pump, we always need to take action to ensure no blockages can form, as these slow down the pumping process. To do so, we used a primer, which lubricates the pipes to ensure the pump can operate quickly and smoothly. By eliminating potential blockages we were ensuring the pour could take place as quickly as possible.