Moving Concrete Blocks

[Flyboy]

G'day all,

Building a retaining wall out of 1200x600x600 concrete blocks which weigh about 1 tonne each. Just wondering what you guys think would be the best way to get them from the front of the house to the back. Side access is restricted and wouldn't be able to get a dingo (not that a dingo could lift one) or similar size machine through.

I was thinking of using a 2 tonne hand winch and dragging them along the ground, possibly on some kind of sled. Painful, I know, but I'm struggling to think of an alternative.

Cheers

[journeyman Mick]

Flyboy,
if you're going to winch them along the ground it would be a lot easier if you used some 200mm dia koppers logs as rollers. If you can't get a machine in and can't get access through a friendly neighbour's yard the only other alternative is a big crane over the top.

Mick

[scooter]

Ring the Egyptian embassy... ;)

[johnc]

Like Mick said rollers are fairly easy. You could also lay some timber like a railway line, 4" x 2" hardwood nothing fancy and use small diameter rollers of around 50mm either pipe or timber. The smaller rollers are less likely to take off and the timber "rails" stop the rollers sinking. Try the bigger ones first, and don't stand in front of the moving block.

John

[bsrlee]

There are a couple of ways to move the blocks - just watch out for the grade.

The first method is documentable to the Classical Greek temple builders - make a pair of solid wheels with a block sized cutout in the middle. Jack up the block (levers & blocks) then slide a wheel onto each end - you will need some connecting rods to bolt the wheels at a fixed distance apart. Then just roll the contrapition into place & reverse the wheel process - you can use levers or ropes to push or pull the thing into place.

Another interesting method I have seen on video is to make a track of arc shaped sections, the length of each curved section being equal to the length of a side of the cube, and about the width of the block. There is a trick here that I don't have a ready formula for - the height of the arc. You will have to calculate how high to make it so that the centre of the block travels in as straight a line as possible. Again levers or a rope wrapped round the block should allow you to push/pull the block.

The second method should be quicker as there is less per-block setup & knock down, but there is more calculation involved. Who said a classical education is wasted :D

[Dan_574]

Do you have any access to the back at all if so all you need is 760mm and the link at the bottom should help, do google search for mini crawler cranes, awesome bits of engineering, they even go through doorways, dont know if the missus would want 1.5 ton machine in the lounge room though. I dont know if they can carry and move at the same time though, give them a call and they may be able to help, they are in sydney and they hire as well.

http://www.pacecranes.com.au/maeda_crane_hire_mc274.html

[Flyboy]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Quite a few good ideas to keep me going:)
Cheers

[Bally]

I had to move some very heavy I-Beams via a similar access and trust me rolling them on some koppers logs is not as silly or archaic as it seems. I actually had to push mine up a slight grade and it was not that hard at all. I'd recommend putting a slab on, get a few mates over and try the log method first before shelling out for a crane who will charge like a wounded bull. It's easier with a few blokes as someone can pick up and place the logs in front as you roll over them. You can even turn corners with clever log placement and a bit of effort. Hell, who wouldn't push a few blocks round for a slab.

[HJ0]

This link should give you some encouragement.

http://www.parascope.com/en/articles/coralCastle.htm



HJ0