New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya care?

[Flatlander]

Just curious what the current opinion is on this ongoing debate.

Gunite is dry mix with water and air added, takes a more experienced nozzle man and rebound material can't be used on the floor.
Shotcrete is wet mixed directly from the concrete truck with air added at the nozzle.

Which one should you use? Whatever is available in your area? Whatever your PB says? Seems like there is a lot of "trust me" here with an important part of the build.

 

[bpricedo]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

Mine was shotcrete. I spoke with the gunite guy (even though it was shotcrete, his company was called SW Gunite, go figure) about it and he said the dry gun was old technology and things had moved on from that. He did mention that the dry method had 30% waste in rebound but that shotcrete was 95-98% usable.

 

[DBfan187]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

Everyone here uses shotcrete (wet-mix method), it's easier, cheaper, and can be done faster.

 

[Azmp1]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

is that right? builder is telling me otherwise. he is saying shotcrete will be more expensive...

 

[JasonLion]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

The quality of the end result, and the total cost, depend far more on the skill and experience of the crew operating the equipment than on the specific method (gunite/shotcrete) they are using. There are pros and cons to each method, which is often what people pushing one approach over the other will focus on, but an experienced crew can easily deal with all of those issues and produce a quality product quickly and inexpensively either way.

 

[DBfan187]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

is that right? builder is telling me otherwise. he is saying shotcrete will be more expensive...

I don't see how as the wet mix uses less equipment, and from what I've seen less people.

Sounds like your PB is more comfortable with the dry method, so please let him use what he's used to working with.

 

[bpricedo]

Re: New Builds - Did you get gunite or shotcrete?? Do ya car

Wet mix is cheaper in that you have to have 30% more material to do dry mix since there is more in waste unless they just dump the rebound in the floor of your shell and cover it with good material which is of course not structurally sound. 30% more material adds up as it means more trucks to deliver, more material, more time, etc. If they do it right and don't dump the rebound in your shell, then that is a lot of material to clean up and remove as well.