Types of Rollers Frequently Used In Construction Projects

Christiana Antiga
3 min readFeb 9, 2021

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Road rollers are a necessary piece of equipment to have in the construction industry as most building and construction sites require a stable and even ground to work on. Through the rolling process, materials in the foundation are compressed thoroughly to ensure that they do not come loose during construction.

The soil on a construction site needs to be compacted so there aren’t any pockets of air underground that can upset the construction procedure. For that to happen, you need gear that can appropriately smooth and compact the surface.

That’s where road rollers come in. It is the most commonly used compaction equipment on construction sites. Rollers are used on construction sites to compress soil, concrete, gravel, or asphalt, and there are even other kinds of rollers used in agriculture and landfills.

Types of Rollers

If you are working at a construction site, it’s important to know about the different types of rollers as they all possess different specialities and work capabilities.

Cylindrical Rollers:

Cylindrical rollers are lightweight, drawn by hand, and typically used for small-scale projects and yard work.

Sheep foot Roller:

Sheepsfoot rollers, also called Padfoot rollers or tamping rollers, consist of drums with rectangular lugs, or “feet,” that are used for compacting cohesive soil, heavy clay, and silty clay. For a more efficient job, the drum of the roller is filled with water or sand increasing the pressure.

Cylinder Rollers:

Cylinder rollers, also known as smooth wheeled rollers, are the most commonly used rollers today. Three-wheeled or single drum rollers are probably the most widely recognized heavy machinery. They commonly have a steel drum in the front and two wheels in the back.

Vibratory Rollers:

Vibratory rollers are similar in structure to cylinder rollers with one key difference in that they are equipped with a vibrating component that allows the roller to vibrate upon coming in contact with the ground and flattening the surface. Vibratory rollers are good at compacting materials such as soil, asphalt, and concrete that have natural empty pockets that can cause damage to the structure. Finding a vibratory roller for sale to use on your construction project could help maintain your building’s foundation.

Pneumatic Rollers:

Pneumatic rollers are a kind of huge, ride-on roller with a few columns of rubber tires on the front or backside. The rubber tires help by providing coverage and pushing with the same pressure all over the surface. They are regularly utilized for asphalts and can take care of smoothing out the ground.

Grid Rollers

Grid rollers use a network of steel bars shaped into a grid on the steel drum. The grid is often filled with concrete to increase pressure on the ground. Grid rollers are generally pulled behind tractors or other heavy machinery.

Grid-Rollers

Other Compactor Equipment

Besides rollers, there is other compactor equipment available for compaction work such as the rammer and the vibratory plate. Rammers are used for small-scale projects, and they are lightweight and thus can be handheld or machine operated which allows for deep vibratory compression.

Vibratory plate compactors are smaller walk-behind compactors that are mostly used in tight spaces where larger equipment cannot reach. They are used to increase soil density and remove any air pockets. You can easily find rammers, vibratory plates, or other used rental equipment for sale to ensure the foundation of your construction project is sturdy.

Finding the right road roller that fits your needs can really help maximize the potential of your construction project as they are great at repairing and smoothing surfaces, and understanding the functions of all of them will make choosing the right one for your project easier.

Originally published at https://voticle.com on February 9, 2021.

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Christiana Antiga
Christiana Antiga

Written by Christiana Antiga

My name is Christiana Antiga, and I’m a Content Creator and marketing specialist

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