Building A Platform For Concrete Mixer - Pizza Oven Hearth - June 2024
A few days ago, I shared an update on our DIY backyard wood-fired pizza oven build that showed the latest progress: the installation of the final rebar and bracing (wires) for the raised, reinforced concrete hearth. I'm set to pour that 4.5" thick hearth (plus the filling of the pressed bond beam block cavities (so...around 8" deep around the perimeter and 12" deep across the opening spans), but the forms of the heart sit 42" above grade.
Like I did with the foundation slab, I'm planning on using the MudMixer to help pour the concrete. The problem that I'm facing is that the Mudmixer's chute stands just 16" from the ground.
That means....that I have to either use buckets to lift the mixed concrete up from the Mudmixer chute or....raise the Mudmixer to allow it to 'POUR' directly into the raised hearth.
I figured...it was going to be better - and maybe less labor - to figure out how to build a platform for the Mudmixer, then have the pour flow directly into the hearth forms. But that meant....that I had to figure out how to get the Mudmixer up *at least* 26" off the ground. And...on something that can handle A LOT of weight. The Mudmixer weighs 150 pounds. Add a 200+ pound person. And then...25+ 60 pound bags of dry mix. We're talking more than 2000 pounds of weight resting on this platform. That's LITERALLY a TON. A TON of weight.
That meant that the platform had to be....beefy.
Looking around the Web turned up nothing. But, when I started to think about DIY'ing a platform, I realized that I was sitting on the foundation materials: the pallets that the dry mix bags of concrete and cinder blocks arrived on. If the pallets could hold a ton of weight upon delivery, they could hold a ton of weight during the pour.
With four pallets on-hand, I started to realize I could get to that 26" mark with a little bit of scrap lumber and some ingenuity.
Using the front lip of the slab foundation, I rested the first pallet on the lip and then laid a board under the back strut of the bottom pallet. To help it from pushing into the ground and deflecting some of the weight. On top went a second pallet. Then, to help stiffen things, I laid down a sheet of 1/2" plywood and attached it on top of the second pallet to lock the floor-in. Then, I used some scrap 2x4 pieces to brace the pallets together and keep them from shifting.
On top of that plywood went two more pallets. Same thing. Screws to fix them, 2x4's on the edges to brace them.
But, I was still a little short. So, I went around and found some lumber and boards I had on-hand. First, a 2x6 - cut up into four 48" segments. Then a 2x4 cut the same way. On top went a mix of plywood cut-offs that I had in my shop and some 48" fence pickets from other projects. On the very top went two layers of 1/2" plywood - screwed down through the boards to lock-it in place. Then, up the sides went the final 2x4 braces to keep the whole platform from shifting around. I was up to 30" tall - which would set the bottom of the chute at 46" tall - 4 inches above the surface. That seemed like enough.
Below are a few photos showing this platform. First, the platform from the side - where you can see the layers. Then, a couple looks of where/how I stacked the bags of 4000 PSI concrete on the back of the platform. My goal was to be able to stand up on/next-to the platform and not have to go up-and-down to retreieve each bag during the pour. I moved the concrete to the platform the day before the pour - to divide the labor. Then, covered it with plastic to ensure it stays dry. (there was no rain).
Next up is the actual pour.
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