Best Concrete Attachments for Demolition, Mixing and Pouring

Howdy, neighbor!

You know, Tim Taylor would be in "Tool Time" heaven if he were to get into the concrete business today with his excavator and/or skid steer (yes, he'd have at least one of those by now). He always wanted to tear out that old '70s concrete patio of his and do some real “Home Improvement” by pouring himself a nice 21st-century replacement.

And with the attachments available these days, he would likely be a kid in a candy store shopping for the right tools. He wouldn't need to worry about finishing the concrete; he could get artificial intelligence and Wilson to do that for him. Just turn him loose and let him do what he does best: break things. And he would have more power to do so nowadays than he ever needed. After all, demolition is his middle name.

So, let's take a look at a few of the fun attachments he would now have available to do concrete work. There might even be a couple of them that he never even knew existed.

Demolition

Oftentimes demoing existing concrete is the first step in a new installation job. A concrete contractor is going to be spending a good deal of his time doing demolition work. If it's just a small slab, perhaps an electric or gas-powered jackhammer will do the job, but for larger jobs, he is not going to want to spend days doing it by hand.

There are several tools available to make the job quicker and easier – the most common being the concrete breaker.

Excavator-mounted hydraulic impact hammers can be fitted with an 18-inch to well over 8-foot spike called a nail-point (also called moil-point) chisel. Some that produce from 400 blows to an astounding 1,800 blows per minute will make short work of large slabs and walls. You will find similar bolt-on attachments for your skid steer. Used on smaller machines, they are able to do great demo work in more confined spaces. To make these hammer attachments even more versatile, you can also purchase attachments for your attachments. Some manufacturers have put together combos that include, not only the nail-point chisel, but others such as a blunt breaker, post driver, asphalt cutter and tamper all in one package. Used with your machinery, there is literally a tool for every job.

Debris Processing

Once the concrete is removed, it has to be relocated. There are a number of attachments that convert the broken concrete into smaller pieces so that they can be dumped or repurposed. For example, there is a huge bolt-on called a drop hammer. It is the hydraulic equivalent of a sledgehammer.

Drop hammers have the added advantages of being virtually maintenance-free and causing less vibration damage to the machinery than regular hydraulic hammers. Other tools known as concrete processors come in attachments called shears, crushers, nibblers, crackers and pulverizers.

Then there is the rock and concrete grinder that looks like something from the latest Transformers movies. With two large wheels covered with pointed heavy-duty “fingers,” it resembles a rototiller for concrete. Many builders have used these types of accessories to break down concrete so it can be used as fill for other areas of development.

Sometimes just a small area of concrete needs to be removed or a slab must be cut down to a smaller size. This is a perfect spot to bolt-on the concrete saw. Like a huge version of a tile saw, these versatile tools can cut a straight line in a slab many yards long or cut a small 2-by-2 section out of the middle of a slab. At times, a slab needs to be removed in large pieces, or several pre-poured slabs need to be moved into place. That’s where the slab bucket comes in. With large, thin, pointed fingers, the slab bucket is easily able to slide under the slab and lift it into position to be moved.

Mixing and Pouring

Once all the demo and cleanup is done, then comes the fun part: mixing and pouring the concrete. And, yes, there are numerous sizes and configurations of attachments available for this part of the project — one to fit almost any type of job.

There are small bowl mixers that look just like the kind you get at the rental yard. Perfect for smaller jobs or for pouring a number of post holes. For larger jobs, you might opt for the mix-and-go style of mixer. Resembling a skid steer bucket with a heavy-duty grate, this big boy can hold over three cubic feet of material and has a side gate for pouring. All the ingredients can be scooped up in the bucket, and after adding water, they will mix while travelling to the pour site.

To mix on a grand scale, consider using a Mobile Mud Hog or similar machine. It holds a whopping 20 cubic feet and has a side chute which is ideal for pouring long runs of post holes without having to reload as often. There are also many plain concrete buckets available in various shapes and sizes for pouring concrete when the mixing is done another way.

One type is known as a “chuter” (not to be confused with the adult beverage of the same name, but spelled differently) that, as its name implies, has a front or side chute so that concrete can be precisely directed, such as into a post hole.

Specialty Attachments

A couple of cool but very specialized accessories also bear mention.

One is a manhole repair saw that can remove the manhole collar and surrounding area in less than five minutes. The entire job of removal, concrete pouring and collar replacement can be accomplished in 15 to 20 minutes by one or two workers, compared with two to three hours and six workers when done the traditional way.

A truly amazing newcomer to the concrete construction world is the Dragon Screed. This amazing large-pour attachment can be used with both the excavator and the skid steer. It has the ability to screed both concrete and subgrade from six feet up to 22 feet. It drags, floats and vibrates concrete with every pass. The hydraulic pivot allows pouring on a pitch or uneven surface, and it can even screed circular pads up to 70 feet in diameter. It’s going to be interesting to see how this bad boy fares in the competitive concrete working world.

Whether you're a seasoned professional with your own concrete business or just a newbie starting out on a big, new adventure, the attachment options are wide open.

So, fire up your favorite concrete tool website, and go ahead and channel your inner Tim Taylor. More power to you!