Anyone ever pump a column from the bottom up? I got asked to do one today. It's 16"x16" by 14 feet high. I was thinking of welding a 2" ID male thread pipe to a metal plate with a hole cut of course and inserting it into the formwork then hooking my 2" trailer pump hose up and filling with a small line mix.

I've heard the it builds quite a bit of pressure, so the forms need to be EXTREMELY well built.  You will need a valve to close it off too. 

Conforms makes 'Column valves' for such purpose: http://www.conforms.com/products/laydown/valves/valvesman.html

If you treat it like your slab-jacking and pump slower as it gets filled to keep the pressure in check.  Another method might be to use a tremmie pipe inserted from the top and keep the pipe buried a couple feet into the mud.  What are they trying to accomplish?  A smoother, bug-hole free finish?   Is Lafarge's Agilia an option?

remember to leave an air gap at the top, go very slow on the last bit, and have it wet. get the contractors to use a bolt on vibrator and use a small dia. aggregate. the shut off valve is a must.

The column is 14' high and is under a concrete parking garage. As far as using a tremmie, wouldn't work with the deck in place. I might just have to drop it in from the top. Or maybe stick my 2" endless hose in from the top side as far down as possible and pull it out as we go? Perhaps leave a piece of the form work loose on top.

"B" It's not a big thing! Most bridge column retrofits in California were done this way after the '89 earthquake. They would weld up column casings, then fill them from the bottom! Use decent hose and pump slow. It's really no different than pumping up the side of a building. It just doesn't seem right, but it is! When you stop pumping, say waiting for a clean-up load, be sure to back stroke one full stroke before you start. If your connection isn't perfectly sealed,and most aren't, it might bleed out at the spade. The pressure at the wall usually clears the plug

NAH, I wouldn't stick the hose in the column, ever seen a vibrator stuck in a wall? Want that to happen to your hose? Have your customer buy the column valves (I hope he doesn't have a coronary condition!!) And really, deck before columns? WTF is that about?

It went well. We made a slide gate like drawn. It did however start to over pressure the forms when 3/4 of the way up , so we moved to the upper gate. the hammer in plates worked great. [URL=http://img407.imageshack.us/i/slidegate.jpg/] [IMG]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/6734/slidegate.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]

Pump Jockey, its a parking garage deck that was built in the early 60's at a local bank. After 50 years of harsh salt water dripping through its starting to show signs of deterioration. Once you get a crack and the road salt water drips through, covers the rebar, its only a mater of time.

OIC, A retrofit. I was thinking new construction, engineers get goofy ideas you know.