A mini-conveyor system, hired from Kennards Lift and Shift , moved 27 tonne of building materials down a steep, rugged home site in less than nine hours.
Craig White Carpentry used the conveyors while building a timber crib retaining wall on a property at Bowen Mountain, west of Sydney.
Sixteen tonne of river stone, six tonne of blue metal and five tonne of sand were used in the structure, which was 6m wide, 1.9m high and 0.9m deep.
Craig, who undertakes a wide range of carpentry jobs from building frames, decks and pergolas to timber repairs, said that there was no way they could move all the material by hand, so the conveyors were a great solution.
Craig hired seven of the six-metre long units, so linked together they covered a distance of 42 metres.
The slope varied from about 18° to 35°, and they ran one section underneath a corner of the house where the clearance was less than half a metre.
Craig said that the process was a lot quicker than what they expected. They estimated it would take at least two days to move all that material down the block, but they did it in eight to nine hours.
The 240V powered conveyors are comparatively light because of their aluminium frame, but are also very sturdy. The conveyors have wheels, making them easier to move around.
Kennards Lift and Shift have hire centres in Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
