Two Concrete Trucks Fill a Trench for a Botched Water Main Valve Repair 

Let me just say, I love me a front loader with an experienced driver. We had a job one time and we harldy had to touch it... leveled it out, pictureframed it and done in record time. I tipped the driver $100 cash. I still dont think it was enough. That driver saved us so much time and work.

That is properly called “flowable backfill”. It is a mainly sand, gravel, water mixture with only 1 bag of cement. It is used primarily when it is a high traffic road or when mechanical compaction is not an option. That looked like ductile iron pipe (DIP) and it looked a little sketch. This was probably the best option for backfill. No need to worry about voids and it’ll be stiff enough for blacktop in a day or so. If they ever need to excavate around that valve again, that fill will break apart pretty easily. That being said, I saw some things OSHA would have a field day with.

Shoutout to the ladder manufacturer for such a tough ladder!

It’s hilarious to read the comments from folks who are oblivious to what’s going on. And kudos who know.

In some localities, the cement mixture is called two sack. It does not encase the valve like regular concrete and can be easily broken apart if necessary. Typically, this mixture is used in electrical work were conduit is laid under a parking lot or driveway with vehicular traffic. It provides good support to keep the conduit from being crushed and the ditch where conduit is set from sinking since the ground will never be compacted to 100% like what nature does.

You would have thought that they would have established the finished height of the riser pipe before they started pouring the fill.

It's flowable fill... A sandy mix with a cement ratio that keeps its compressive strength low enough to dig after setting, yet firm enough to equal mechanical compacted processed stone...and installed quickly.... without voids or the vibration that can compromise the water main..

To all the comments about the uses of concrete its not concrete, read the above telling you what the video is about its an engineered method of back fill that requires no compaction tools. It's a brilliant idea as there is less chance of disturbing the water mains connection. Now if a simple bricklayer from Yorkshire can work this out why can't the rest who have watched this video. I have never seen a truck or a method of back filling like it anywhere in the world but, I for one think it a really good way of repairing the infer structure . Just not sure about there H and S methods though 🤓

hope they never have to repair or replace that valve again

Hahaha I can spot a Chicopee truck from a mile away. I'm from Amherst. That's flowable fill. Pretty cool stuff.

Awesome video!

Nicely videod makes a change from the normal 👍

Sehr gute Idee, ein Ventil einer Wasserleitung einzubetonieren, damit man auch ganz sicher nicht mehr dran kommt. Klasse!

Wow, this is so cool! I love seeing how things are done. The little kids loved it too, especially being able to watch it while sitting on a big ole muddy mountain...what a great day.

Looks like fillcrete to me. Pretty standard, don’t have to worry about compaction under or over the pipe.

interesting looking concrete truck. Very different to what we have Down Under.

Brilliant idea. Thank you for sharing this video and have a blessed day 👠

good job 😀😀😀😀😀

To all the keyboard construction workers/ civil engineers- ITS NOT CONCRETE! Excavatable flow fill.

Interesting idea of ​​preventing another failure :)

Looks like an insertion valve, they add a valve to a water main where there was no valve before, and they do this while the line is pressurized aka "hot". This typically is done to isolate the lines "downstream".

Love these USA cement trucks! Far better idea than seemingly everywhere else.

This was one of many videos that convinced me to go get my CDL.

Flowable fill💯

muy pronto para sacar ese tubo van a bloquear y tapar 100% la valvula?

Love those front discharge Oshkosh trucks

good video work

It’s not concrete it’s CDf . No compaction needed but you are still able to dig through it fairly easy with a machine after it cures

Flowable fill is great stuff. Drive on in an hour or so.

Would NOT Let my child get that close to this project. That preschool boy is too darn close.

Thanks for inserting a valve that can't be keyed because its full of flowable fill

Kid's love big trucks.

O my god who passed that job off...be diggin it all back up again in a few years to renew that fitting. God help who gets that job....

Wow..🤔 I drive a concrete truck in Australia and the way these trucks are set up blow my mind (What with their backwads barrels and all) So bizarre.. But I definitely wish our chutes were hydraulically actuated instead of having to place them and swing them around by hand like a mug! Hahah

Great jobs

I'm glad it's just flowable fill,& not concrete!

Whoops, wrong truck got sent to the job… oh well, at least the jack hammer guys got work!

worker gets home : now where did I put my wallet? moments later worker: SHIT!

Always fun pouring flowable fill

lmfao omg the ladder setup has portuguesee written all over it. we called this u-fill its pea gravel and concrete sand and i believe ours was 7% portland cement. it gets pretty hard 100% compaction. with saying that it is more money than using a ho-pack, and you can lay ashphalt right away if you wanted to or had to, this stuff takes a while to set up, we would leave over night usually. but most cities prefer this in roads because people suck at packing if they even do it lol. in our town we are required to cover the bolts on the joint restraint so if need to ever take apart you can, you need jack hammer to get the u-fill off. we would this stuff was like small 1/4 inch styrofoam balls and some type of thick paste/clay type mix, would come in kilo block form, than wrap denso tape around the restraint, and weld an anode to the water main connecting both with a tracer wire, and weld another anode to the valve, and just lay the anodes on the ground on edge of trenches backfill around the pipe with clear stone to just over the top of pipe and around the valve cover the top the valve and base of the valve stem with something (garbage aka old portland bags, card board, plastic etc) so u fill doesn't stick to everything and fill her up!! this is ductile iron pipe, cast iron pipe with a cement lining on the inside circumference.

Não e só no brasil tem gabiarra o ocara em cima de uma escada e 1 copessado para fazer concretagem .

Very nice and hard work

Cool video

como van hacer cuando necesitan cambiar la valvula por motivo de un daño?

Hello Sheldon, an interesting video, (not only for kids). Here in Germany I worked for several years for water companies so I found the video so interesting. One of the biggest differences here is the used (and especially the huge amount of) concrete. That would not even be done in Germany with high pressure lines. Reason: The concrete used makes later possible repairs impossible. And the restoration of the former surface (sidewalk and street) will only be more complicated. Best regards from Germany.

Curious method in determining the elevation for the valve shut off riser.

Unless I’m seeing wrong I believe that is a full sized saddled valve assembly that appears to have to be able to shut off into the bottom of the ductile main. I’ve never seen this before but I’ve been out of this field of work for a few years now.

It's beautiful watching 2 guys do nothing and truck does all the work

Esto es otro nivel , asi se puede trabajar sin volverse loco

I was hoping that ladder could support that ONE guy. It looks about to break any minute and the guy would be in cement. Guess what, another man came.

That ladder and plywood deal is extremely dangerous. Wow. It is barely spanning the hole. Improper use of a ladder in the first place. If that guy falls in I don't know if there is any chance of getting him out. Stay safe!

So cool how often do you get to see this up front

Different Agitator ..love to see the state of the cab after a blowback from a static concrete pump..

So who's the poor bastard who gets to fix it next time?

Flowable fill concrete.

Thanks

lean concrete (flowable fill) faster repair than compacting soil, easily removed if access needed.

At least the comments are on the ball with the exact detail of this method of backfill…sand itself is non compactable and the binder basically keeps it in place for the duration…it can easily be RE excavated if required for future maintenance but it’s quick, almost permanent, and self flowing and leveling…a no brainer…

Wow! Don't let OSHA see this video. Looks like fun!

Mixer mixer ... Good truck

The next worker who has to make a repair on the pipe in the future will be cursing them out.

That's one big thrust block.

First of all , they are Concrete mixers, NOT Cement Trucks. Second, it looks like a low sack 3/8 slurry which will be easier to remove in the future. Third: The valve should have been wrapped in plastic. Low bid contractors no doubt.

Never heard of this flowabke fill stuff but from the comments it seems like the right choice. My only questions why not install some type of access vault around the valve for any future maintenance or repairs that may arise? Burning a valve in my nest any type fill doesn’t seem like a bright idea no matter how easy it may be to dig up.

More fill please...we don't need that ladder anymore.

madre mía dos cubas para enterrar una válvula que ingenieros hay en ese pais

Who would have thought it would be worth watching when you don't have to work that job?? Kinda relaxing actually.. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

That's a MILK SHAKE !!!😂😂😂😂😂

El señor se pudo caer al hueco con cemento !!

hope that dosen't have to be repaired again. Why not crushed stone?

I've never seen that type of cement truck before. that is so weird. the ones we have in Arizona are standard trucks with the chute in the back.

Why is the dude balancing on that 2x4??? I keep waiting for the Fail to happen.

Any clue why that zig zag design is so common on cement trucks? Here in Indy, our IMI trucks have the same thing, although the colors are reversed of these here.

What climate is this in ? Are you worried about frost moving the road differently around the hole?

I’m not sure that “brave” is the term that I would use for the two guys standing on that ladder over top of 8’ of fresh flowable fill.

These guys never heard of OSHA. Fly-by-night contractor from out of state? Short sighted decision-making in the Water Dept. management. You just know that plumbing will need service again!

That’s flowable fill. The way we do it out here is as followed: Bed the pipe with 57 rock 1 foot around the whole pipe and then flowable fill all the way up after that.

I have seen some crazy construction methods. How can every involved in this repair allow it to go sideways like this. Good luck for the next one to repair or replace this valve.

they screwed that up real good:)

Concrete must be cheap there!😯

Absolutely unbelievable what a bunch of hacks these guys are unreal

Qué manera de ahorrar concrete !!! 🤔

the ladder is my concern here

It's called FloBo, flowable fill, not concrete...

Easy pour for the driver

good work

這些不是混凝土,是泥漿和沙及水的混合物,裡面是沒有英泥的！

S'il vous plait, pourquoi vous utilisez tout ce béton pour une canalisation d'eau ? Merci.

It's called flowabil fill

It is also possible to fill the trench with sand but, along the time the settlement could cause a subsidence of the asphalt layer. The sand is used in other situation like to burry drainage hoses underground. This is really an economic solution to the problem. Don't blame the workers without knowing the matter.

Guy on the plywood is not the brightest cookie if only that ladder gave away

コンクリで埋戻す理由はなんだろう 強度に不安があるのか？ 次の補修で苦労しそう

Rookies that valve surround is that hard to set u always set it first if not backfilled will a dry hard fill if concrete or stabe sand u set it first its also meant to finish under the ashphalt not level with it now it has to b scraped or dug low enough so road is level once fixed so many lil mistakes wich cost time and money

Super wet! What's the slump of that goop?

My friend taught me about this when we had a water main with a crack in it he just threw a few dry bags of concrete in there and we haven’t had problems since

Good luck if it ever needs repairs again...

That is not cement, it is stone and sand mix. It's called washing in a hole

Why though? There's less concrete in Hoover Dam.

Flow fil is a mix of sand concrete and fibers and super hot water mix it burns if it catches you

Now I see it takes forever to fix our streets everything is in concrete😀😀😀😀