The test is simple. Our chute reaches about 3m from the back of the truck. If the pour is further than that, the concrete has to get there somehow, and your options are barrows, a dumper or a pump. On a small base a few metres from the drive, barrows are fine. Past that, pumping is usually cheaper than the labour it replaces.
Four situations that need a pump
The truck cannot get close. A back garden behind a terrace, a site down a footpath, a courtyard with no vehicle access. Anything where the concrete has to travel more than about 20m on the flat.
It has to go up or down. A first-floor slab, a basement, a lift pit, a roof terrace. Barrowing concrete up a ramp is slow and unpleasant; getting it down into a basement safely is worse.
Something is in the way. A house, a conservatory, a mature hedge, a ha-ha, a stream. A boom pump goes over the obstacle rather than around it.
The volume is too big for the clock. A barrow holds under 0.1m³. Two people move perhaps 2m³ an hour on a short run. If you are placing 10m³ and want it monolithic, barrowing will give you cold joints across the slab before you finish.
Boom pump or line pump
A boom pump is the right answer for a first-floor slab or for getting over a house into a rear garden. It needs solid, level ground to stand on and clear space to extend its outriggers, and it needs to be clear of overhead cables, which is worth checking on a residential street before the day.
A line pump wins where a boom cannot fit or cannot see the pour. Hose runs through a side alley, a doorway, a basement stairwell. Protect floors if the route goes through a finished building, and expect the setup and the wash-out to take longer than a boom.
What pumping is worth on the job
The mix has to suit the line
Pumped concrete needs to be workable and well graded. Too stiff and it blocks; too wet and you have given away strength. Aggregate size matters as well, because large stone in a small-bore line is what causes most blockages.
Batching on site helps here. We set the slump and the aggregate for the line before the pour starts, rather than someone adding water at the hopper to keep it moving. Water added on site is the most common reason a slab tests weaker than the grade on the ticket.
What we need to know to quote
- Volume and grade, and whether there is reinforcement
- Distance from where the truck can stand to the pour
- Any height to gain, and anything in the way
- Surface the pump will stand on, and overhead cables nearby
- Postcode and the date you want it
A couple of photos of the access and the pour answer most of that faster than a description. Send them over and we will tell you which pump fits, or whether you do not need one at all. We will say so if barrows will do the job.
One call, one supplier, one invoice
We supply the concrete and arrange the pump, so there is nobody to co-ordinate and nobody standing waiting to be paid by the hour. Same and next-day delivery across Surrey and the surrounding areas.
Quick answers
Can you pump over a house?
Yes, that is what a boom pump is for. It needs firm standing at the front and clearance from overhead cables.
How far can a line pump run?
Well over 100m of hose in practice, depending on the mix, the rises and the number of bends.
Is a pump worth it on a small pour?
Sometimes. Compare the pump against the hours and the people barrowing. Past about 3m³ over any distance, the pump usually costs less than the labour.
How long does a pumped pour take?
Allow time for setting up and washing out either side of the pour itself. A domestic slab is normally a morning from arrival to clear.
Do you supply the concrete as well?
Yes. Every grade from C8 to C50 batched on site, with the pump arranged alongside it on one order.
Advice you can act on
Surex Concrete is based in Effingham, minutes from Leatherhead, and we came into supply from site work rather than from haulage. That is why we will tell you when a pump is unnecessary. Selling you plant you do not need is a poor way to keep a customer who orders every month.
Builders, groundworkers and landscapers across Surrey and the surrounding areas order concrete and pumping from us on the same call. Delivery from 1m³, two-hour windows, and business accounts available if you order regularly.