Slab Prep on a Cannon Beach Hillside: How a Remote-Controlled Conveyor Truck Made It Precise
The Job
An excavation contractor was building a custom home high in the hills above Cannon Beach, with a direct view of Haystack Rock and the Pacific. The foundation was cut into a steep hillside — which is exactly what gives a home like this its siting and its presence on the landscape. The next step was a slab pour, which meant the base material needed to be right: ¾” minus crushed rock, placed and compacted in lifts per spec.
A team of dump trucks had already been running loads to build up a material pile on site. The excavator was already there. The crew was ready to compact. What the contractor needed was a fast, continuous way to get 3/4-0" from that pile into the foundation below — and to place it precisely enough that the compaction crew could work it in lifts without rework.
How We Ran It
S1 staged the truck on the road above the foundation cut. The excavator — already on site, already in position — loaded our truck continuously from the material pile. No waiting for another delivery. No downtime between loads. The moment we were ready, the excavator was ready.
Here’s what made this job work at the precision level slab prep requires: our conveyor is remote-controlled. That meant the S1 operator didn’t have to stay at the truck — he climbed down into the foundation cut and directed placement from inside, watching exactly where the 3/4-0" was landing while operating the conveyor remotely from below. The crew compacted behind him in lifts as the material came in.
The excavator loaded. The conveyor placed. The operator directed from inside the cut. The crew compacted. The whole loop ran without a gap — and the material landed where it needed to land.
Working on a Hillside Site?
S1 Conveyors works with excavation contractors, GCs, and landscape contractors across Oregon and Washington. If access is the problem — or if the placement needs to be precise enough to matter — we’ve probably solved a version of it before.
Ready to talk about your project? Reach out to Jenna directly.
