This conversation repeats with every quote. The customer has picked the machine, agreed on price, and only then comes the question: will it fit in our building? Sometimes the answer is no, and weeks are lost.

Below is the checklist we work through on the phone, in the order that matters. Fill it in before you request a quote and the discussion drops from three calls to one.

1. Floor space is not the same as machine footprint

This is the measurement everyone gets wrong. The dimensions in the datasheet describe the machine’s envelope, not the space it needs in order to work.

Depending on the type, you also have to fit:

Loading and unloading areas — by hand or by forklift. On hook-type machines the part swings, so it needs clearance, not just length.
Service access, on the side where inspection doors open and wear parts are replaced. Push the machine against a wall on that side and your first service visit becomes a relocation job.
Auxiliary equipment — abrasive separator, dust collector, electrical cabinet, possibly a compressor. These rarely share the machine’s envelope.

The right question to your supplier is not “what are the dimensions”, it is “how much clear floor area do you require, including operating and service zones”.

2. Clear height — the most common surprise

Building height is measured to the first obstruction, not to the ridge. Beams, crane runway girders, ductwork, light fittings, sprinklers: all of them lower the usable ceiling.

For blasting equipment this matters at two separate points:

Machine height in working position, which can exceed transport height if it has lids or hoppers that open upwards.
Height required for installation — the clearance needed to lift sub-assemblies into place. This is almost always greater than the final height.

If you have an overhead crane, state its capacity and hook height up front. It changes the whole installation plan.

3. Access: the door, the route, what comes apart

The machine arrives on a truck. Between the truck and its final position are a ramp, the building door, possibly a gangway between other machines, sometimes a change in floor level.

Measure the clear door width, not the nominal one — hinges, guides and frames eat into it. And check the route for turns: a long sub-assembly may pass through the door and still be unable to turn inside.

Many installations ship dismantled for exactly this reason. Ask early how many pieces it ships in and how big the largest one is, because that piece dictates everything else.

4. Floor and foundation

A wheel blast machine generates vibration, and its weight is concentrated on a few support points rather than spread evenly. A sound industrial floor carries most equipment; a cracked one, one with joints in unfortunate places, or one poured thin, does not.

Note: for wheel blast machines, the concrete question to ask the supplier is whether a separate foundation is required or the existing floor is sufficient, and what load per support point results.

The second point customers discover late: some tunnel-type machines recover abrasive below floor level, which means a concrete pit. That is not an adjustment, it is construction work with its own lead time and permits. If you would rather not excavate, above-floor conveyor versions exist — but then the machine gets taller and point 2 becomes tighter.

5. Electrical supply

No room for approximation here. What you need to know before signing:

Total installed power, including the dust collector, the separator and, where applicable, the compressor. Not just the machine.
Spare capacity in your distribution board. If the board is already close to full, the real cost of the installation includes a board extension and possibly a new supply.
Where the connection point sits relative to the machine. Cable runs are paid by the metre.

For compressed-air machines, the same question applies to the compressor: do you have one, does it deliver the required flow, and what happens to the rest of the shop when blasting runs at full draw.

6. Ventilation and dust

Blasting generates fine dust. Filtration is not an optional accessory but part of the installation — for operator health, for visibility inside the enclosure, and because recovered abrasive has to be separated from dust to stay usable.

Decide from the start where the collector sits, how the ducting runs, where air is discharged and where dust is collected. A well-placed collector is invisible in daily use; one squeezed onto the wrong route becomes a daily problem.

Note: if the collector is installed outdoors, frost protection of the dust hopper also comes up. To confirm whether we raise this in current quotes.

What to ask before you sign

What to check	Why it matters	What happens if you skip it
Clear floor area required, with operating and service zones	Datasheet dimensions exclude working space	Machine fits but cannot be serviced
Height to the first obstruction	Installation needs more than final height	Installation stops on site
Largest single piece on delivery	Dictates door and route	Truck waits while it is dismantled on site
Separate foundation or existing floor	Construction work with its own lead time	Machine waits for concrete to cure
Pit for abrasive recovery	Not an adjustment, a project	Installation has to be reconfigured
Installed power and spare board capacity	Real cost includes electrical work	Budget overrun after signing
Collector position and duct route	Takes space and drives layout	An already-installed machine has to be moved

How to shorten the conversation

Send, together with your enquiry: a dimensioned sketch of the building (floor area, height to first obstruction, door width), available electrical power, and a photo of the intended location. With those three, the answer comes back as a configuration that actually fits, not a theoretical one.

And say up front what parts you want to process — maximum size, weight, batch. Layout is calculated from the part, not from the machine.

What you need before you install a blasting machine