A new, electric-diesel powered mini loader from Kennards Concrete Care enabled a major concrete grinding job to be carried out inside St Mary’s Cathedral without an unholy amount of fumes and dust being created.
Contractor, Ring Us Group, had to remove up to 40mm of concrete from the floor of the Sydney cathedral, before new granite tiles could be laid.
The mini-loader with profiler attachment was driven on to the job site using the diesel engine before the 415V engine was connected to 32 amp 3 phase power.
As well as being fume-free, the electric motor was much quieter than diesel operation. The working environment remained virtually dust-free due to the use of a dust collector attached to the profiler.
Dual powered mini loaders are rare in Australia, and Kennards Concrete Care has one of the few machines available for hire.
The 415V supply can operate a range of attachments, including bucket, jackhammer, grinder, polyplaner and profiler.
This machine is expected to have wide appeal for contractors working indoors given the occupational health and safety benefits.
Bruce Poehlsen, who operates Ring Us Group, said it was a condition of their contract that the work be dust-free and fume-free.
The cathedral had continued to function, while the job was going on behind plastic covered partitions, so it was important that disruption be minimised.
“We could not have done it any other way – it was a good solution. The new 20mm think granite tiles needed a 40mm sand cement bed to sit in,” said Bruce Poehlsen.
“After the old tiles were removed, we had to grind between 10mm and 40mm off about 800 square metres of concrete floor.
“The profiler is good for this work, because it removes material quickly and the depth can be set accurately. Some of the area was suspended floor, so we had to be careful how much we took off,” said Bruce Poehlsen.
Kennards Concrete Care has a range of profilers suitable for all size jobs. The unit used at St Mary’s Cathedral was a 1500 model, which can cut to a depth of 38mm over a width of 150mm.
The unit weighs 370kg and needs a hydraulic flow of 47lpm + 150-205 bar. It can be used for milling concrete, asphalt, tiles and mortar.
Kennards Concrete Care hires a wide range of specialist concrete surface preparation and renovation tools and equipment from centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Equipment can also be delivered Australia-wide.
