Mortar Tubs
Mortar tubs are used to transport, store and dispose of building materials such as concrete, cement, mortar and mud, and are lifted around site by forklift, telehandler or crane. The range is moulded from UV-resistant polyethylene for daily heavy duty work. The 500 litre crane lift mortar tub is the largest tub in the range, with a rigid body for lifts through the air. For loading out by forklift or telehandler, the forklift mortar tub has fork channels in the base, stacks for storage and comes in more than one size.
Forklift and crane lift mortar tubs
The plant that will pick the tub up decides the type, so each format below is named by the way it is lifted.
Forklift mortar tubs
Our forklift mortar tubs have fork channels moulded into the base. They are the standard choice where a forklift or telehandler loads mortar out from the mixing point to the scaffold loading bays, which covers most housing and low-rise work. The eco forklift mortar tub is a further fork-only tub for contractors building up a larger fleet.
Fork and crane lift mortar tubs
The fork and crane lift mortar tub takes forks in its base channels and can also be lifted by crane, so the same tub works with either machine. It is the combi tub for sites where a telehandler and a crane both lift materials, and it is tested to a stated safe working load for those lifts.
Rim lift and pallet lift tubs
The rim lift and pallet lift mortar tub has a flat bottom, so it stands level on boards, slabs or a pallet. Forks pick it up under the rim, or it travels on a pallet with the rest of the load, which suits sites that move most of their materials palletised.
Top and base lift mortar tubs
The top and base lift mortar tub can be picked up by forks under the top rim or through the base. Two pick-up points help the driver where tubs stand close together on a loading bay or against a wall and the base cannot always be reached. It comes in two capacities.
Twin skin mortar tubs
The twin skin mortar tub is moulded in two layers of polymer for extra durability. It is the tub for fleets that are worked hard every day, loaded with forks and set down on scaffold boards many times a shift across a long job.
Crane lift mortar tubs
Our crane lift mortar tubs are built to be slung from a crane, and they are the format for high-rise frames, tower crane sites and lifts over buildings or hoarding that a telehandler cannot reach. The universal crane lift tub sits in a galvanised steel frame that carries the crane load, and the 500 litre crane lift mortar tub carries the most material per lift for sites where crane time is the limit.
Mortar tubs for telehandlers and cranes
The site lifting plan settles the choice between fork channels and crane lifting. A combi tub that takes both forks and a crane is the better buy on jobs where the plant changes as the work progresses: a telehandler may serve the slab and the first lifts of brickwork before a tower crane takes over the upper floors, or the crane may leave site before the external works are finished. One fleet of combi tubs keeps working through each change, and the site avoids running two sets of tubs or decanting mortar from one type into another.
250 litre, 300 litre and 500 litre mortar tubs
Tub size follows the mixer, the gang and the lifting plant, and the range runs from 250 to 500 litres. A tub that takes one full batch from the site's cement mixers, or a whole number of batches, avoids part-filled tubs and mortar left to go off in the drum. The bricklaying gang sets the rate of use: a large gang works through a big tub before site-mixed mortar stiffens, while a small gang is better served by smaller tubs topped up more often. A full tub is heavy, so its size also has to suit the rated load of the scaffold loading bay where it is set down and the rated capacity of the telehandler or crane at the reach the lift needs. For smaller batches of plaster and render mixed by hand, plasterers baths are the right container, and the recycled plasterers bath is moulded from recycled polyethylene.
Mortar tubs for mortar, concrete and site waste
What goes in the tub decides whether it needs a liner and how it is emptied.
Retarded and ready-to-use mortar
Retarded and ready-to-use mortar arrives from the mortar plant or a site silo and stays workable for a working day or longer, so it often sits in the tub on the scaffold from the first lift of the morning. Mortar tub liners are made for this work. The liner keeps mortar off the tub walls and helps it hold its water, which extends its working life on the board.
Concrete, plaster and render
Tubs carry small quantities of concrete for bedding kerbs, haunching drainage, setting posts and patch repairs, where the material is shovelled out at the point of use. Plaster, render and mud travel the same way from the mixing area to the floor or elevation being worked. Where concrete has to be placed straight into formwork or a foundation, concrete pouring skips are the container for the job.
Rubble and site waste
During strip-out and refurbishment, tubs collect rubble, broken block, offcuts and spoil where the work is done, and a forklift or crane then lifts them to the skip for disposal.
UV resistant plastic mortar tubs
Material and storage are the last points to settle once the lifting type and size are chosen.
Polyethylene and recyclable HDPE
The tubs are moulded from UV-resistant polyethylene, so a fleet left out in the yard or on the scaffold through the seasons does not fade or wear from sunlight. HERMEQ tubs are made in the UK. The black HDPE forklift mortar tub is moulded from fully recyclable HDPE, for contractors who want a tub that can go back into the recycling stream at the end of its working life.
Stacking and storage
The forklift and combi tubs stack inside one another when empty, so a fleet takes little room in the yard, on the back of a lorry or in a site compound.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is a mortar tub the same as a mortar bin or cement tub?
Yes. Mortar tub, mortar bin, cement tub and builders mortar tub are all names the trade uses for the same large open plastic container lifted by forklift or crane. A plasterers bath, sometimes called a mortar bath, is a smaller container moved by hand.
Can you mix mortar in a mortar tub?
Yes, mortar tubs are used to mix building materials such as mortar, cement and mud, and a small batch can be mixed in the tub by hand or with a paddle mixer. For the quantities a bricklaying gang uses through a day, the mortar is usually made in a cement mixer or delivered ready to use, and the tub carries and holds it.
Is a mortar tub the same as a concrete skip?
No. A mortar tub carries and holds material, and it is emptied by shovel or trowel where the work is done. A concrete pouring skip has a discharge gate that releases concrete at the pour while the crane holds it over the formwork.
How full can a mortar tub be when it is lifted?
The safe working load, not the capacity in litres, sets how full a tub can be for a lift. Wet mortar, concrete and rubble are much heavier than water, so a tub filled to the brim can weigh more than it is rated to lift. Each product page gives the safe working load, and the lift plan for the telehandler or crane sets the limit for every pick.
How do you clean a mortar tub?
Scrape and wash the tub out at the end of each shift, before any mortar or concrete left in it sets, using water and a stiff brush or plastic scraper. Set material is harder to remove and builds up in the corners over time. A mortar tub liner avoids most of the cleaning, because the residue comes out with the liner.
Can mortar tubs be delivered next day?
Yes. Mortar tubs are held in permanent UK stock and can be bought online with next day delivery available. HERMEQ delivers nationwide.