Stable ground is an essential element for almost any construction to be executed as soil or a given surface must be compressed so that any pockets of air or water within them can be removed. Otherwise, these pockets destabilise any structure built upon them ne it a road or a building.
In order to achieve proper compaction of soil or any other material for construction special construction equipment is required and this equipment is commonly referred to as roller compactors which are generally available for hire. This particular heavy machine is crucial for compacting and smoothening surfaces which enhance the load bearing capacity of the surface and ensuring the stability of structures built upon them.
Compaction equipment comes in various shapes and sizes and among the more common compaction equipment is what is generally referred to as a road roller or steam roller albeit they are not powered by steam engines these days.
Different types of rollers are required for different applications due to the unique compacting methods and because of this a pneumatic roller does not actually work the same way a vibratory roller or sheep’s-foot roller works and therefore knowing and understanding the different types of rollers is crucial for project managers or contractors before they go out and take a roller hire.
Starting with lightweight roller compactors such as the walk-behind roller are small cylindrical rollers that are pushed by the operator by hand. The compaction is powered by small engines and the compaction configuration could be either high impact compaction, vibratory or weight driven.
These compactors are suitable for small projects such as yard work, walkways or driveways. Moving to larger compaction equipment, the grid roller comes next due to the unique configuration or rather design of grid rollers that is fitted with a network of steel bars around a steel drum, creating a grid-like pattern on it.
These machines are suitable for compacting coarse soils or weathered rocks attributed to the grid design which produces high contact pressure on surfaces. Next up we have pneumatic tired rollers which are basically compactors that depend on several rows of rubber tires for compaction and are in most case scenarios used for pavements or cold-laid bituminous.
Finally, we look at the most popular roller compactors which are the double drum roller and vibratory roller which are frequently taken for hire by contractors or project managers as these two rollers are suitable for a wider range of applications compared to other roller compactor types.
These types of rollers are perfect for flat or gradual surfaces and entire sections of highways may be compacted rather quickly with such rollers; however, it must be noted that due to the little traction that the steel drums of these rollers have with target surfaces, they are not recommended specialized compaction.
When it comes to rental compactors, it is crucial for project managers to understand soil configuration prior to taking a roller compactor for hire as the wrong type of compaction equipment could lead to inefficient or inadequate compaction.
Improper compaction could disrupt a project and, in some cases, even cause structures built on these surfaces to fail or rendered as poor quality.
