Masonry Magazine September 2007 Page. 28
MATERIAL DELIVERY
Silos are designed to hold up to 10 super sack 3,000-pound bulk bags of masonry mortar or grout and can be used with augers.
"[Augers] deliver the dry, pre-blended mix. It eliminates the labor - the backbreaking labor - of mixing," said Jeff Leonard, vice president of bulk materials for Atlanta-based The QUIKRETE Companies. "We're making the labor more efficient."
And since there's very little downtime with silos, masons aren't waiting for more grout or mortar, making them more productive.
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"The only time a contractor makes any money is when he's setting units on the wall. Any time he's not doing that, he's not making money," Blohowiak said. "These silo systems get the mortar to the wall and help masons make money by eliminating wait times."
Contractors usually won't need a worker dedicated to just running a silo, unless there are about 40 masons working on a wall and need a lot of mortar and grout, he said.
"If there's a guy standing there by the silo, he needs to be doing something else or he'll be doing a lot of standing around," Blohowiak said.
Bulk materials have a precisely proportioned mixture of additives, so all the mason contractor's crew has to do is add water. Laborers don't have to count shovelfuls of materials as they mix them, Leonard explained. With the bulk products, masons are ensured of getting the exact same mix every time.
"It adds a level of quality control. You're taking a human element out of it," he said, noting that when laborers mix batches, the amount of sand per batch can change. Those changes can be the result of putting different amounts of material on the shovel each time, the worker's energy level, or even the worker losing count of shovelfuls. The mixture content of that sand proportion will change when done by the [laborer). There are too many elements that can affect the mixture."
Using Silo Systems Efficiently
BUDDY EQUIPMENT in Jacksonville, Fla., has Mix-N-Master silos systems (starting at $22,500) that cut down on dust and offer consistent mortar and grout, said company President Jim Swisher.
"The consistency that you get with this system is fabulous," Swisher said. "These men like consistent mixtures because they can get into a rhythm. The masonry contractor stays in this rhythm. He never has to take his guys off the wall and move them."
Some contractors put two systems side by side; one for grout and one for mortar, he said, adding that mason contractors can save up to 50 percent by mixing the mortar and grout themselves.
"There's no waste. You never have to throw anything away because of 'hot grout," Swisher said. "It puts more money in their pockets, which is what's driving this thing. Believe me, it is a money maker for the contractors."