Lime is a natural stabilizer: It prepares the soil for construction works

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Soil stabilizers convert apparently less bearing ground into highly suitable one for starting construction work like pavements, road beds, basement of canals, water reservoir, etc. Soil stabilizationis the method of strengthening the ground through pulverization and moisture conditioning. This job is efficiently done with different forms of lime and then compaction and trimming as necessary. This process improves the basic characteristics of soil that makes it suitable for a construction project. Lime is used in different percentage depending on the soil condition to adjust the parameters like moisture, density, plasticity, permeability, strength, etc.

Benefits of soil stabilization

Soil stabilization with lime before starting any construction work has the following benefits:

  • Apparently wet soil that is not suitable for construction work can be made suitable within one or two days.
  • Treatment with lime ensures production of long-lasting stable jobs comparable with graded aggregates.
  • The soil becomes hard wearing with greater toughness and strength that make it extremely suitable for a construction process.
  • It enables recycling ofinsitu materials and existing soil that ultimately provides financial benefits to the contractor or owner of the land. It takes less time to prepare the soil as also saves expenses in labor, transportation, and import of aggregates.
  • Soil stabilization with lime also reduces PI (Plasticity Index) of the existing soil significantly.
  • The ground gains strength significantly that is found to be more than 15% as per CBR test.
  • This process of soil stabilization is environmental-friendly too. The process requires very small quantities of other additives making less transportation of materials, less disturbance in busy areas, and lesser use of factory made binders.

 

Lime efficiently stabilizes weak soil

Use of lime as a stabilizer for road beds has been in practice over the century. Modern research works have proved behind doubt that lime can also be used for stabilizing the soil in the large construction sites. Lime is especially useful when expansive clay is present is a construction site. Expansive clays destabilize the base work and change the orientation of the concrete slabs with time. Whereas the soil treated with lime can solve the issue permanently. Lime actually performs a chemical stabilization process where the added lime compound reacts with the clay present in a ground in the following ways:

  • When lime is mixed with the soil, the clay particles come together forming stiffer silt, and reducing plasticity of the soil.
  • After the compaction job, life further reacts with the soil particles binding them firmly and increasing their strength.

Quicklime for soil stabilization in construction works

Many types of lime compounds are available, but quick lime or calcium oxide is mainly used for this work. Quicklime reacts with soil water forming calcium hydroxide which again reacts with some existing minerals like silica and alumina initiating an ionic exchange reaction forming a cement-like product naturally. In this reaction, called pozzolanic reaction, cannot retain water particles anymore and with the passage of time, it hardens like cement. Thus, quicklime provides the required stability to the soil.

 

Sell your old heavy equipment before it becomes unsellable

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It is hard to sell an asset that has been with us for many years. We get attached to it and when we think about selling it, it does pain a bit. While we use the equipment, we may not recognize the importance of it and the attachment that is getting developed with every passing day but we think about it the most on the day it is to go to the next buyer. Keeping aside your emotions, it nevertheless important to get rid of it. You can’t go along with a dead piece for long as it will after a certain point of time affect your activity. The same logic is applied in case of heavy equipment. If you have heavy equipment that is way too old and you are not able to function with it any longer, it makes no sense to drag it any further. You have to at some day or the other do away with it. But you should not take long to sell the old machine as you will not find any buyer if it gets completely redundant. You may then have to sell it as scrap and therefore might not even get a good value.

You have numerous options to sell your old heavy equipment. You can speak with people in your business circle and check if there is anybody who is looking for second hand heavy equipment. You will have a lot of buyers for second hand heavy equipment as long as it is in good condition. Nobody would like to buy a machine with defects and therefore you need to ensure that before you speak to people about selling your heavy equipment get it repaired and painted. You can then ask for a good price. Other than that, the person who is referring your machine to the next person also has certain degree of faith on you. You should keep up to his/her trust and give him/her the machine in working order.

Keeping the machine can make it unsellable:-

There are construction companies who after finding the heavy equipment outdated leave it to rot. They must be really busy with work to not get the time to sell it but if you do not sell it on time, there is a chance that it will then become an unsellable liability. You will no longer find any buyer for the machine and this is when you perhaps have to sell it as scrap. This will pinch you as you at least have not wanted that to happen. If you are neck deep busy with work, you can allot a person and give him the responsibility to get it sold. You can just appear on the final day to sign on the sale agreement and take the money.

No one works on outdated heavy equipment:-

As long as your machine is up to date, you will find buyers for it but as soon as it becomes completely outdated, getting buyers will be a challenge. You need to get rid of it before it gets too late.

Repo heavy equipment can be bought at a lower price

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Be it for business or for personal use we are often reluctant to buy expensive items as it can put us into a financial mess. In order to buy expensive equipment a lot of planning needs to be done in advance. A company needs to set up a strategy where they will allocate funds to buy items needs for business and then will spend accordingly. They will never want to move an inch away from their budget but will do so only if it really requires. It is however tough to follow a stringent budget but does small companies really have an option. The answer is no.

In the construction sector, small companies have a hard time in dealing with their finances when it comes to buying heavy equipment. Heavy equipment are expensive items and small construction companies normally have to hunt for lenders who can lend them money to buy the machines. If the business runs the way it is expected then the company can pay off the loan without any hassle. But the reality is always different from what we plan and if your business does not perform the way you have expected it to then you are encountered with more grave issues. If you are unable to pay the monthly installments of your heavy equipment in time then the lender has every right to repossess the heavy equipment from you and sell it in auction.

Having said this, there is also a flip side to the entire episode. There are definitely lenders who have lend money to plenty of small construction companies and contractors and out of the many there may be few who could not end up paying the money. Quite evidently, their heavy equipment are repossessed by the bank and this gives you the opportunity to become a part of the auction and buy the machine at a dirt cheap price. Now the challenge here is that you will not be informed about such auction via any media. It does not come in newspaper or any such media. People want to keep it as clandestine at they can so that less people turn up at the event and the ones who are there can buy more machines at a cheaper rate.

What you got to do is keep your eyes and ears open to such auctions. You can even approach one such lender whom you know deals with lending money to small construction companies. They will be in a position to tell you if they will carry any auction in the near future. The next reliable source is the guys who tow heavy equipment from the borrower. They might give you a brief idea about the venue and the date.

Heavy equipment that are repo by banks are sold at a far cheaper rate. This is done so that the banks are able to recover the money that they have lent and do not run into loss.

Sell heavy equipment using an online platform

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The advent of internet has simplified many things for us and has also made our lives easy. We can now get almost everything on the net. Whatever information we require is all available on the net. Similarly, one can also purchase and sell things on the net. This was perhaps not a possibility a couple of decades ago but now it is the trend. More and more people like to buy things from online platforms. They find it to be more convenient and hassle free. Also, your money is safe during the transaction. This means that you do not have to worry about internet frauds. Simultaneously, if the buyer does not get what he has asked for or gets the package completely damaged then he can always claim for refund or can ask to send a new one without having to pay any shipping cost. These days even the corporate sectors are buying things online. If they have to gift something to the entire staff, they just order it online and the items get delivered at the office door step.

The construction industry has also gained much from the online platform. They can now buy and sell heavy equipment using this platform. Other than that, they can also look for vital heavy equipment parts online and do not have to depend on stores to get that for them. They can get those parts at a cheaper price as compared to the price they pay to the store. Seeing the success of this new technique of selling things, many construction companies have opted to sell their used machines on the internet. They just do not want to go through the hassle of finding an agent who will search a person who would be interested to buy the item. All they have to do is list the heavy equipment on one such online platform and wait for the prospects call.

How to get started:-

In order to sell heavy equipment on its ancillary online you have to get yourself registered on one such website. Once you are registered, let the website know your desire to sell items and it will take you to the page where you can list the machines. Make sure that you have taken some good pictures of the heavy equipment that you want to sell. Upload the pictures on the page and write in detail about the machine. For instance, the overall age of the machine, any breakdowns or accidents that have recently occurred should be mentioned on the listing. Update your phone number so that viewers who are interested to buy the item can call you up and inquire about it. Do specify the shipping policy and who is going to bear the cost. Once that is done you are sorted.

Accept money first:-

If someone has shown his desire to buy the equipment they should pay you first and then you will ship the item to them. This should be the pre-requisite condition. Only once you have the money in your account that you can go ahead and ship the item.

Rent a motor grader

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Grading work in the construction industry is getting dominance with every passing day. As long as you do not have even paths for the workers to move they can’t do their work effectively. You can’t expect them to work in full swing when there are uneven ways where one finds it difficult to walk. You need to first make sure that the paths are sorted and once that is made even people can move easily and will be able to work swiftly. So the crux of the matter is to grade the road and make it even for people to walk with ease. You therefore require a motor grader to do this for you. A motor grader is undoubtedly expensive heavy equipment and contractors generally do not prefer to buy them because once you even the surface you may not need the machine again.

Other than winters when there is snow all over the road and you need a grader to cut through the snow you can then make full use of it. However, once the winter is over you may not need the machine other than grading purpose. So it does not make much sense for small time contractors to buy them. The most suitable option for them is to take it on rent. They will not mind paying rent on each month and once the work is done hand it over to its original buyer. In this way they only have to shell out few thousand dollars and not a mighty sum of money. This demand for grader gives immense scope to people and companies in particular who own motor graders rent them and earn money in return. So the owners now do not have to worry about their machines being idle and catching rust or developing complication due to no work. They can give it to these contractors who can make good use of the graders and it eventually turns out to be a win-win situation for both the parties.

Redo the motor grader before you let it out:-

Renting a motor grader will definitely give you good money but before you rent it out you must check if the grader is good to work. If it has not been at work for months then you need to first start the machine and check if it shows up with some problems. In case you see any issues, try to get that sorted first and then let it out. Call a mechanic or take the grader to one and redo the entire thing. Remember that you are not selling and it will come back to you. So if you give it in a bad state you may get it back in a worse state. Please do not get into a situation where you will not get any takers after having rented it for just once.

Online sites charges less fees:-

You can list the motor grader on an online platform. The website will charge you a nominal fee for listing the machine but that should not be a problem as long as viewers are able to view the machine. You can check the viewership details on the website and can understand the number of viewers visited your listing.

 

Vision and determination are facets important to achieve success in the construction domain

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If you think that having all the heavy equipment in the world can help you achieve success in the construction domain, then you perhaps need to rethink because there is something more important than a machine that is required to sustain in the construction domain and to defeat your competitors from taking away your business. You need to have a vision in your career and the determination to pursue it. If you fail to have either of them, then you and your business might come into big trouble someday or the other.

We often consider that having a sound financial backing is the most important thing after having the right set of heavy equipment but that is not the case. A person who does not know where he wants to take his business is walking in the dark and he may soon begin to face hurdles in his life and may also experience severe financial crunches which may even lead to the closure of the business. There are numerous examples where entrepreneurs who lacked focus were not able to sustain and were forced to shut their shops. Therefore, being focus should be our first priority. We often get help from institutions if we lack sound financial backing but no one can help a person who lacks vision in his career. A person with no goal can lead his business to dangerous paths and will eventually result in the demise of the business. Construction sector in particular is one of the most difficult sectors for people who lack vision.

Stay focused and always have a strategy in mind:-

Remaining focused to your job does not imply that you do not stop thinking about work but it means that you know where your business is heading. You keep a close watch on the ground realities and make sure that things go as per the plan chalked out by you. In case, if there is any deviation then that needs to be brought under control by chalking out a separate strategy that works more on the ground to keep things in your control. A business without a proper strategy is like sailing in a wrecked ship which has all the possibilities of getting drowned.

Know your project well before drawing a plan:-

You may have more than one project in hand and the requirements of both the projects may be different. You need to make sure that you know which project of yours require what. For this you need to do a thorough study of your projects and then draw a road map that takes to the completion of it.

Be determined of your success:-

Life in the construction domain is not a bed of roses and you do not get things that easily. You will come upon lot of hindrances from various corners that you may not even expect. In this situation, it is just your determination that will help you taste success. If you are determined in achieving something then there is no stopping you.

Tips for Choosing and Renting a Water Truck

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Water trucks (WTs) are an essential tool on any construction site. These trucks usually consist of a series of spray nozzles equipped with the mechanics to pump and spray water to remove dust from the air. The construction industry uses water trucks for compaction, dust control, fire-prevention and protection. Many construction industries, start ups and first time users prefer buying heavy equipment including WTs on rental basis (used) to decrease their expenses. However, one has to careful and observant while buying rented machines.

The following are some of the tips which may be useful for the buyer while choosing and renting water trucks:

  1. Purchase equipment which is in good working condition:

Although it is second hand vehicle, buyer must take care that water truck (WT) must be in good working condition. WT which is less old and is a solid sound vehicle in good mechanical shape is an ideal option to purchase.

2.  Perform a thorough physical and mechanical inspection of the equipment:

Buyer should perform physical inspection of the WT by investing sufficient time in it and taking it around in it.

  • WT’s body should be inspected during daylight.
  • The extent of wear and tear of the vehicle can be understood by inspecting its; tires, if any cracks are present on its body, from functioning of the engine and pump, and if any leakage problem exists.
  • Serial number should be checked to know the year of manufacturing.
  • The machine’s logs and maintenance records should be checked to know the service history.

3.  Know your needs of work:

Buyer should learn about application of WT. They should know the amount of water which is to be required for their type/s of work and if it can be supplied by the purchased WT. Further, it is essential that the buyer should know the required duration of its use since it is to be mentioned in the agreement.

4.  Product specifications:

Buyer should gain knowledge of different models of WT, since each model has its own specification which determine its strength and capability. Generally WT come in variety of configurations, from 1,000 gallons to 4000 gallons with different valve and spray nozzle numbers and spray bar configurations. By referring to product manuals and to company websites, the user can learn about different types of models and choose the right type of WT model. Further, it is important to learn if the chosen model of WT is supported by the manufacturer. Since old models are unsupported and it is difficult to get spare parts.

 

5.  Cost:

Buyer should know the expenses incurred due to rents (both of machine and its additional parts), maintenance, fuel used and greasing of the parts and expenses due to hired operator.

6.  Making of an agreement:

If the buyer is satisfied then will go ahead with buying of rental WT by making a legal agreement with the rental service provider.

 

Overall, renting a water truck is helpful since is cost-effective for construction companies. Following these tips can guide buyers in purchasing appropriate water truck on rental basis and increase job’s productivity.

Why heavy construction equipment is always vulnerable to theft!

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Heavy construction equipment is one of those inventions of the human beings that have made work easier and lesser. Regardless of how difficult or time consuming the work may be, the heavy construction equipment always makes it absolutely easy to complete the job –

  • Efficiently
  • Faster
  • Better.

Besides, the role of the heavy construction equipment is quite versatile. One single machine can perform a number of works. They can cut, excavate, load and carry. No type of heavy work, construction work or job specific work is difficult, if you have these.

However, the heavy construction equipment has a problem and that is the problem of theft. You will often hear the heavy construction equipment being stolen. There are many reasons, why this actually happens.

  • Expensive price:

 

The first reason, why the heavy construction equipment gets stolen so frequently is its price. The price of the equipment is extremely high. Not only the equipment, but also the parts of the equipment are very expensive. Therefore, the thieves are always in the trial of stealing the equipment and its parts.

  • Demand:

 

Despite the price of the heavy construction equipment being so high, the demand is never disturbed. Due to the high price and the constant demand, stealing is an activity that the dishonest businessmen indulge in. They steal the equipment and sell it for half the market price. However, it must be kept in mind that these stolen heavy construction equipment or machines do not come with valid papers and without this; you will neither get its license nor the permit to operate it.

  • Little chance of detection:

 

Why the stealers of the heavy construction equipment prefer stealing these machines, tools and equipment is because of the very little chance of these getting detected. The lesser is the chance of detection, the easier it is to steal.

  • Lack of surveillance:

 

In a jobsite, where there is the need or use of the heavy construction equipment, there is very little to no surveillance that makes it easier for the thieves to steal these. What is even easier is that the heavy construction equipment does not have a garage for parking them, once they have been stopped for the day of work. Lying open on the jobsite is an easy chance for the thieves to steal them.

  • Soft sentences for the thieves:

 

Even if the thieves are caught for stealing the heavy construction equipment, they get a very soft sentence for their deed.

These are the common reasons, why the chances of heavy construction equipment stealing are so high. Hence, if you own any of these heavy construction equipment, it is a must that you follow the anti-theft rules and regulations and make sure that your equipment does not stay vulnerable to stealing. It does not take a huge lot of money to prevent the equipment from stealing. But, if it is stolen, it can cost you huge and you might not be able to recover from the loss.

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Do not pay more to the lender for buying heavy equipment

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We always have to be cautious when we are looking for a loan from a lender. The lenders usually have some hidden charges attached on the loan which eventually has to be paid by the borrower. This means the borrower ends up paying much more for the item than he should have. It is therefore crucial that the borrower reads the terms and conditions minutely and understand what they mean and how it will impact him. If he does not understand something, he can always get back to the lender for it.

Never take important decisions in haste as there are higher chances that you may end up in a mess. For business owners who borrow money for business purpose needs to be more aware of what they need to pay back to the lender. Just because you are in dire need for the money, t certainly does not mean that the lender gets the right to fool you and extract more money out of you.

For construction business owners, they depend heavily on heavy equipment and in order to buy them they fall prey to lenders who are in hunt of people who will borrow money from them without reading all the clauses in detail. Heavy equipment is a much needed requirement of the construction industry but you got to be wiser when you approach a lender to borrower money to buy those machines. If the lender charges you exorbitantly and in an inappropriate manner then you may end up losing your machine and the money that you have already paid to the lender.

So the most important thing is to verify the credentials of the lender before you approach them for money. Check their reviews on internet by which you should be able to hunch what kind of lender are they. If you see anything dicey, you better not step into it. At times you do not get much information about a particular lender from internet. This is when you got to be smart enough to judge the lender after a couple of meetings with their representative.

They trick you because you allow them to do so:-

One of the most important things that you need to know is that the lenders can trick you only if you allow them to do so. However, not all lenders follow such malpractice. There are many banks and financial institutions that do business legitimately and do not think of conning the customers. This is where you got to take a call and you can do that only after you have done fair degree of research on your part. Talk to people who have borrowed money from banks at lesser interest rate and without much cost. You can also approach the bank where you keep your money. They will not take the risk of tricking you.

 Maintain a good credit score:-

You are forced to knock the door of untrustworthy lenders only if you do not have a good credit rating. Remember, good lenders do not offer loans to people with poor scores and these guys eventually fall in the trap of non-traditional financial institution for money. Hence, you need to ensure that you do not mess up your credit rating

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Sharing ideas on heavy equipment on blogs have proved to be helpful

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When you are dealing with a new thing in life you obviously need someone to guide you. A move in the right direction is all that you need to get going. However, you may not be able to find the person who can help you with the right sort of advice that you need. Moreover, it is difficult to identify such person who has expert knowledge on the subject that you are looking for an advice. Other than that, you do not know if the person will be ready to help you as no one likes to give helpful advices for free. Therefore, the most viable option you have is to follow a blog of a person who consistently writes on it and then probably ask questions on the blog. You might find some real good answers. Not only from the guy who owns the blog but also from other people who have interest in the same subject and are also following the blog like you do. They might also give you a couple of advices that might work wonders for you.

Heavy equipment is considered to be a complex subject and people often need expert advice on it. Be it the kind of machine they need to complete a particular type of work or if the machine is not functioning for some reason and have tried all that they can, one can expect some brilliant answers on the blog. People there come out with different kinds of options which you must have never heard about or have even thought about in the wildest of your dream. It is a place where people attached to the same line of business come together and tries to upgrade their knowledge by reading to what others have to say on a particular issue posed by a random member.

It has been seen that someone who has some issue with his heavy equipment just throws a question to check the kind of reply he can get from there and how useful it would be for him to get the machine fixed. Once the issue is posted, he gets multiple replies from people who are a constant follower of the blog. At times the administrator of the blog also gives his view point on the topic. This suggests that you need not have to be the administrator of a blog to pose a question. A person who is frequent to the blog can also put his question and wait for the reply.

People have managed their construction business well by asking for tips on the blogs. They were initially not doing well and a couple of advices from some expert have changed their fortune. There is multiple such success stories that one can find that are related to sharing ideas on the blog. A word of caution will be to not take everybody’s advice at face value. You got to learn to judge people’s advices out there. It must have worked for them but not necessarily will work for you.