Boom pump vs line pump — which one do you need?

Boom pump: reach through the air

A boom pump parks, sets its outriggers, and unfolds an arm that carries concrete over whatever's in the way — fences, roofs, scaffold. If the site has room for the truck (roughly a parking space plus outrigger spread) and the pour is within the boom's reach, it's usually the faster, cleaner choice.

Common calls: house slabs, driveways poured over the fence line, suspended slabs, pools where the boom reaches over the house, and any multi-storey work.

Line pump: reach along the ground

A line pump (often a trailer unit or smaller truck) pushes concrete through rubber and steel hoses along the ground — 20 m, 50 m, sometimes well beyond 100 m with the right setup. The crew lays and joins the line, and it goes wherever a hose can: through the garage, down the side path, into a basement carpark.

Common calls: backyard pours with no crane or boom access, footings and piers behind existing houses, internal ground floors, tight urban blocks, and long horizontal runs.

How the costs compare

Line pumps generally charge less per hour than boom pumps, but the job can take longer once you allow for laying and cleaning the line, and you may need an extra line hand. Boom pumps cost more per hour and often carry a bigger call-out, but the pour itself is quicker. For most jobs the honest answer is: whichever machine matches the access will be cheapest overall — forcing the wrong machine onto a site is what blows budgets.

The 30-second decision

Can a truck park within reach of the pour, with nothing overhead like powerlines? Boom pump. Is the pour hidden behind or under something, or the block too tight for outriggers? Line pump. Not sure? Measure the straight-line distance from where a truck could park to the furthest corner of the pour, note anything overhead, and give those two facts to the pump company — they'll pick the machine in one phone call.

Quick answers

What boom size do I need for a house slab?

Most single-dwelling slabs are handled by a 28–36 m boom. Pouring over the house into a backyard usually needs 36–47 m depending on the setback. When in doubt, a bigger boom costs less than a stuck pour.

Can a line pump do a second-storey pour?

Yes — line pumps push concrete vertically too (that's how high-rise cores are done). For a typical two-storey house it's routine; the trade-off is running the line up and securing it versus a boom just reaching over.

Do I need both on one job?

Occasionally — a boom parked out front feeding a line run to a rear extension is a real setup for very tight sites. Your pump operator will tell you if the job needs it.

Keep reading

• What is a concrete pump and how does it work?
• What size concrete pump do I need?
• Types of concrete pumps: boom, line, trailer, city and static