Moving pallet of blocks around

[Tony K]

Hi

Does anyone have any clever tips for moving pallets of blocks around without a forklift? My plot has tricky access, and it will be necessary for me to have the blocks delivered about 50m away from the edge of the site, then carry them to site myself over a fairly good, though not totally level concrete surface. 

 

I had thought of buying a second hand pallet truck to drag the blocks around on the pallets they come on, though I am not sure if the weight will prove too great?

 

Any ideas / experiences gratefully received.

 

Thanks

[dpmiller]

Digger with forks on?

[Mr Punter]

I have borrowed a hand pallet truck in the past.  Lots of shops have them.  Used it to move an annoyingly parked car that was blocking the way and the more standard pallets of materials.  They weigh a fair amount and need a flat surface.

 

As you know blocks don't always arrive on a pallet.

[Onoff]

Hire a rough terrain pallet truck?

[ToughButterCup]

Hi, I had exactly the same problem.

I couldn't afford a rough terrian pallet truck. My answer was to put our blocks (Durisol) on a large trailer, and a front tow hook on my Landrover. While Landys have useless truning circles, the front tow hook helps a huge amount. Yes, it did mean handballing the blocks from their stack onto the trailer.

 

But what are wives for? She didn't complain once - or get her own back : yet.

[Adam2]

For one off big moves we used a hiab - also a difficult site on a hill. Have also checked with a builder on a site near me and for some cash he'll bring his tele-handler round.

[Tony K]

10 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Hire a rough terrain pallet truck?

 

They do look good, and the spec I've just looked at from one hire firm suggests they can handle the weight. If these maths are correct.. 

 

A block is 17kg, a pallet has 44 blocks, so that's about 750kgs a pallet. The truck can apparently handle that weight, but can I? I'll be dragging the pallets up a very mild slope. My instinct is that once the weight is on wheels it should be fine, but that's only a guess really. 

[Mr Punter]

Often 72 blocks in a pack.

[Dave Jones]

plan for getting them on the scaff ?

 

sometimes the cheapest, no telehandler, isn't the safest method.

[Tony K]

Just now, Mr Punter said:

Often 72 blocks in a pack.

 

Thanks. Even so it is inside the weight limits the pallet truck can handle, so it's more about whether a person can drag that weight around once it's on wheels. 

 

For what it's worth, I'm a fairly big bloke and not afraid of a bit of effort. I just have no clue whether dragging a pallet of blocks is feasible. I presume it is, or why invent the all terrain pallet truck? 

[Tony K]

Just now, Dave Jones said:

plan for getting them on the scaff ?

 

sometimes the cheapest, no telehandler, isn't the safest method.

 

Single storey, low walls, so shouldn't be a problem. 

[Mr Punter]

You will be fine if it is level or slightly down hill.

[epsilonGreedy]

57 minutes ago, Tony K said:

Does anyone have any clever tips for moving pallets of blocks around without a forklift? My plot has tricky access, and it will be necessary for me to have the blocks delivered about 50m away from the edge of the site, then carry them to site myself over a fairly good, though not totally level concrete surface. 

 

 

Can a builders merchant wagon with a crane on the trail access your site?

 

During one regular BM delivery I gave the driver £40 to move 8 packs of facing bricks, this involved him picking them up blind over a hedge from the public road and then driving back onto my site to drop the packs off at a more useful location for the brickies.

[Tony K]

46 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

Can a builders merchant wagon with a crane on the trail access your site?

 

 

Nope. I can get a car or a van to the edge of the site but not a lorry. Using a pallet truck seems best if only to avoid double handling the blocks (presuming they do come on pallets to begin with, though round here they seem to). 

[Pocster]

????????

[Conor]

By the sounds of it it might be worth buying or long term renting a small telehandler. There will be many, many more heavy and bulky deliveries during your build. Think of all the blocks, sand, insulation, steels, slates, stones, paving, kerbing etc.

 

We had a 7m manitou for a while, was brilliant. Stable and powerful enough for buckets of stone, pallets of bricks etc. Foot print no bigger than a mid sized car, but far more manoeuvrable. 

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, pocster said:

????????

 

With just your right hand?

[Pocster]

4 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

With just your right hand?

Left hand was busy 

[LA3222]

I bet you a pound to a pinch of shit that they won't be on a pallet. They will likely be shrink wrapped and banded. No way you're getting that with anything other than a hiab!

 

I didn't have a single pack of blocks arrive on a pallet, bricks yes but block no?‍♂️

 

Edit to say, you could.maybe get pallets in situ for them to drop the packs onto!

Edited May 25, 2021 by LA3222

[Construction Channel]

How far is it and how many blocks? 

 

Also what is the plan for the sand? 

[Russell griffiths]

1 hour ago, Tony K said:

 

They do look good, and the spec I've just looked at from one hire firm suggests they can handle the weight. If these maths are correct.. 

 

A block is 17kg, a pallet has 44 blocks, so that's about 750kgs a pallet. The truck can apparently handle that weight, but can I? I'll be dragging the pallets up a very mild slope. My instinct is that once the weight is on wheels it should be fine, but that's only a guess really. 

Nope, no chance you won’t budge it, if it hasn’t got an engine forget it, your not pulling it nowhere. 

 

If you are building a whole whole house you need to address this issue now as this will be one of 50-60-70 deliveries, so you need a method. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Russell griffiths

[Declan52]

I moved all mine round using a barrow. You can get 13 blocks in each trip so doesn't take that long to move a few straps of blocks. 

[Conor]

25 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

I moved all mine round using a barrow. You can get 13 blocks in each trip so doesn't take that long to move a few straps of blocks. 

You free on Saturday to help me drag a 150kg steel to the first floor?! ?

[Oz07]

If your nice to the driver and have 2 pallets for every pack of blocks he will drop them on pallets in halfs for you

[Declan52]

13 minutes ago, Conor said:

You free on Saturday to help me drag a 150kg steel to the first floor?! ?

My weekend in work or no bother. 

I used short round scaffold bars ( ones you use to tie scaffolding together) to roll my 4m concrete heads across my floor.