Side Story: Staying Power

Some masonry equipment that has been available for several years is starting to come into its own and gain popularity as masonry contractors discover the benefits.

The Grout Grunt, a two-handled plastic scoop that holds 0.5 cubic feet of material, made its debut in 2005 when Giovanni Agazzi, a mason with more than 45 years of experience, saw a need to more effectively deliver grout. He invented the Grout Grunt, which allows masons to quickly scoop, handle and pour high density material, including grout, sand and mortar.

"They're very easy to use, and with two handles, your fingers are never dirty," says Morgan Agazzi, manager for Grout Grunt in Livonia, Mich. "It's a clean way to move grout, and it saves you time and money. Everyone stays on the scaffolding."

Kenrich Products Inc. in Portland, Ore., has found success with its line of compact, low-volume grout power pumps.

"We're serving a segment of the market that's not being met by anyone else," says Rick Rountree, company owner. The pumps evolved from hand-operated pumps to the GP-3A, an air operated pump with a 4.6-gallon hopper and an output capacity of five gallons per minute.

Last year, the company introduced the GP-8A, a low-pressure, air-powered grout pump. "The benefit of it is it has a higher volume than the GP-3," Rountree says. "It eliminates the manual labor, so you'll never get tired. For the amount of pressure it puts out, it's a pretty slick pump."

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