ANNOUNCEMENT

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6911, 17 May 1929, Page 4

ANNOUNCEMENT

TO ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, PLASTERS AND CONTRACTORS.

The tendency now-a-days, as ground space becomes more congested, is to build higher structures. Reinforced concreto is the popular building material because of its strength, permanency and saving in depreciation. Realising that concrete construction would play a vital part in the building progress of Palmerston North, Messrs. Child Bros., have erected at their works in Albert 6treet, a most up-to-date stone crushing and gravel screening plant. The operation of this plant is extremely interesting. The metal is hauled from the river, half a yard at a time, with a slack lino excavator, the power being generated by a 40 h.p. Asea motor and winch. Rising to a height of 80 feet the excavator is automatically tripped, and deposits its load into a hopper. Gravitation does the rest. As the metal slides downward, all miniature boulders are directed to their particular hopper by means of a specially constructed grill, the smaller stones and sand fall to a one-eighth screen below. It is here, that water pumped from the river comes into operation and is played on what is now termed “concrete size” shingle. The action of the water tends to sluice a percentage of the sand from the shingle and force it through the one-eighth screen, where it passes down a chute to help increase the size of a miniature mountain of beautifully graded sand, recognised by plasterers as the ideal in plastering sand. All stones up to say, 2 inches in diameter, are, during the sluicing process, directed into another hopper alongside that containing the larger stones. The remaining shingle consisting of small stones, sand and grit, passes on its way to the huge dump, from which supplies are drawn for concrete purposes. This is really the reserve dump. Should a lorry need loading, it simply backs underneath the hopper and the shingle slides down until the right quantity has been secured. Directly beneath the hoppers containing the stones are two crushers, fed by gravitation and capable of crushing 18 tons per hour. After crushing, the metal passes through revolving cylindrical screens the mesh of which varies from Jin. to 2in. in diameter, thus enabling the different sizes to fall into their respective bins. With this up-to-date plant, and a plentiful supply of crushed and screened metal on hand at all times, Messrs. Child Bros., are in a position to fulfill orders immediately, and with their big fleet of lorries, can deliver anywhere. Naturally, .cost of material plays a big part in all building or road-making estimates, and. it is here that Messrs. Child Bros., claim that their prices go unchallenged. Inquiries per ’phone 6447 will have our immediate attention. In another part of this issue we illustrate just how the gravel is taken from the river, and screened into various sizes from sand up to miniature boulders*