Pissing about with only half a clue on the shed site.

[Giles]

Big commercial ones. 4 x 6v x 225ah About £600 + vat for base spec.
Pure electric (24v) and no computers.

This one is coming my way once Charles finds out why it has weak tracking . Kubota engine + 4WD + self levelling legs + no computers and 10 years newer. Hopefully much more suitable for my needs

I had one they’re a bugger for electric gremlins in the leg sensors really frustrating when engines running hydraulic pumps working but nothing is happening because it thinks it’s not level

Mine was 3500kg made an interesting tow

Had a nice new one on hire not long ago of a different make, narrower and hybrid still 26 foot but only 300kg basket not 500kg but only 2700kg total weight

 

[Stroppymonkey]

I had one they’re a bugger for electric gremlins in the leg sensors really frustrating when engines running hydraulic pumps working but nothing is happening because it thinks it’s not level

Mine was 3500kg made an interesting tow

Had a nice new one on hire not long ago of a different make, narrower and hybrid still 26 foot but only 300kg basket not 500kg but only 2700kg total weight

Not updated on here for a while. Not seen the new to me Scissor list yet, it’s finally made its way into Charles workshop and giving him some headaches. Think he’s nearly worked his way through a couple of bad sensors and faulty hydraulic valves. Then it caught fire but not terminally which is good as I had forgotten to insure it

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Couple of sessions back over at the shed site. Not heard back from planners to see if I need planning for containers and cabin.. no news is not necessarily good news with that lot though.
Dad needed a part load of concrete so I had to get organised for the other 4cube. Dan dug out the footings for my dividing masonry wall with KX613 which was awkward for him ,then I cleaned up with Iron bar and the E10.
In hindsight it would have been much better to dig that trench when the pads went in back in 2024.
Got the concrete in, pads also laid for the pedestrian door frames.
Struggling with one of the holes making a LOT of water. Pumped it out a few times first before concrete but filled with water straight after..
Collected the smaller concrete panels from the manufactures. The rest will be on Hiab lorry.
Got the rest of the columns grouted in. Tried a different technique this time as the timber formwork didn’t work well with the grout (kept floating)

Small operation on the Moffett (hose change) and de rust the protective panel. Nothing rusts as well as a Moffett Mounty.

Dads started bringing the silage bales in. Good crop this year so yard will be very full.

 

[Silversabre]

Got the rest of the columns grouted in. Tried a different technique this time as the timber formwork didn’t work well with the grout (kept floating)

Also put building sand or grit sand around your timber shutters, alternatively with building sand, can use a timber to provide the necessary spacing around the the baseplate and bund the sand around, using tge timber as a former.

Just got to be gentle pouring.

Assume your not column encasement to underside or finished slab? So will be blackjacking then, use a turks head brush if you do, much better for internal corners abd around bolts, could use a 4" roller for inside webbs

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Also put building sand or grit sand around your timber shutters, alternatively with building sand, can use a timber to provide the necessary spacing around the the baseplate and bund the sand around, using tge timber as a former.

Just got to be gentle pouring.

Assume your not column encasement to underside or finished slab? So will be blackjacking then, use a turks head brush if you do, much better for internal corners abd around bolts, could use a 4" roller for inside webbs

I tried timber formwork with a sand bund on the lower shed columns, and I found the formwork liked to float.
This time I mixed up some silver sand and rapid set to make the moats with a gauging trowel using a peice of timber as the former. Didn’t take any longer than making wooden formwork.
I assume blackjack you mean bitumen paint ?
I hadn’t planned on it as posts are galvanised, Bottom 200mm or so will be in the soil, then there will be a blinding layer / DPM / Insulation and poured concrete.
Now you’ve mentioned it .. I have gone off and googled it . probably will paint as well upto FFL internally.

Worrying now about where I have cast the panels into the webs of the steels on the lower shed 🫣. With no paint 🫣
As the thread title says - only half a clue

 

[Silversabre]

I tried timber formwork with a sand bund on the lower shed columns, and I found the formwork liked to float.
This time I mixed up some silver sand and rapid set to make the moats with a gauging trowel using a peice of timber as the former. Didn’t take any longer than making wooden formwork.
I assume blackjack you mean bitumen paint ?
I hadn’t planned on it as posts are galvanised, Bottom 200mm or so will be in the soil, then there will be a blinding layer / DPM / Insulation and poured concrete.
Now you’ve mentioned it .. I have gone off and googled it . probably will paint as well upto FFL internally.

Worrying now about where I have cast the panels into the webs of the steels on the lower shed 🫣. With no paint 🫣
As the thread title says - only half a clue

Sorry, never spotted they where galvanised, so would just be belt and braces. Ive had job that specified bitumen (blackjack) and column encasement, it's usually one or the other on primed steelwork

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Back over today to drop off some more heavy 14’8” gates that I picked up locally that I’ve been waiting for for a while. Nice heavy cattle gates and will use 2 of them to make a door for the lower shed .
Got the period correct (almost) ROPS for the Dexta dropped off. (Picked it up from Frome 2 weekends ago) That’s on tomorrow’s list to fit. Mother is frantic that I’m going to kill myself otherwise
It’s a Sirroco I think , same as the one on the Major that I learned to drive on.

Got the Moffet hydraulic hose refitted and mostly AOK, although not an exact replic. They never manage to make them match perfectly.

Top yard is filling up with Bales .. don’t get a photo.

My grouting efforts from Tuesday look good. Will do the last 2 columns tomorrow then I can start prepping for the plinths to support the concrete panels.

 

[V8Druid]

Back over today to drop off some more heavy 14’8” gates that I picked up locally that I’ve been waiting for for a while. Nice heavy cattle gates and will use 2 of them to make a door for the lower shed .
Got the period correct (almost) ROPS for the Dexta dropped off. (Picked it up from Frome 2 weekends ago) That’s on tomorrow’s list to fit. Mother is frantic that I’m going to kill myself otherwise
It’s a Sirroco I think , same as the one on the Major that I learned to drive on.

Got the Moffet hydraulic hose refitted and mostly AOK, although not an exact replic. They never manage to make them match perfectly.

Top yard is filling up with Bales .. don’t get a photo.

My grouting efforts from Tuesday look good. Will do the last 2 columns tomorrow then I can start prepping for the plinths to support the concrete panels.

what's the issue with the hose ? ... have said before the boys in Raglan showed me a trick a while ago .... if the orientation of an angled fitting isn't quite right it's possible to rotate it in the hose for a while when freshly made

 

[Stroppymonkey]

what's the issue with the hose ? ... have said before the boys in Raglan showed me a trick a while ago .... if the orientation of an angled fitting isn't quite right it's possible to rotate it in the hose for a while when freshly made

Yes it was half inch hose with a bent 90 swivel nut at each end , had to turn one to get angles right . About 90 degrees off. Slightly larger hose external diameter as well so sheathing very tight so they had cut and discarded some of that, which was mildly annoying. No big deal.
Looking at the condition of the rest of the hoses on the group that supplies the carriage , I’m going to be at this game on and off for the next few years . It’s 2003 so not bad. Think that all hoses (apart from the ones I have changed) are the originals.

Generally all hoses are nice and accessible compared to a mini or micro digger

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Been back for some more work on the shed site. BIL brought his machine over and returned my dumper which had been on loan. His new (DIY build) plant trailer is much nicer for loading than the dump trailer he had. I think this it’s 4th incarnation in life over the last 40-50 years.
Got the concrete pads set in around the base of my columns to support the concrete panels (waiting for them now )
Dug into the old perf drain that crosses the site and connected into it ready for a perimeter perf drain around the bottom of the panels.
We have baby oak trees popping up in all sorts of unlikely places due to the proliferation of acorns last year . 2025 was a ‘mast’ year. Need to mark them up so I can pot up a few dozen and grow on to fill some hedge gaps in future.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Spent Sunday on tree care. Got the wife out to work, watering session with forklift and IBC as it’s as dry as it can be currently. Even the established old Devon hedges are turning leaves up. Weeding, picking out the odd dead one and strimming where possible . Got the 6t to reach out over the bank and rub out all the 6ft high nettles and thistles. So dry and hard it was easy to do without making a mess. I didn’t Kerb these last winter and it’s been a pain keeping the weeds back . Will definitely be applying some this winter.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

My cousin was supposed to be labouring this week but unwell so I have been chief labourer. 7 days of slogging in the heat has left me pretty knackered. Skipped the gym and pool this week as not enough energy for it .
Getting the rest of my drainage sorted up to the back of the shed , so hopefully no more trenches needed for the foreseeable . Still found water in one place about 3ft below original ground level. The land drain we put in up through the site last summer is STILL running .
Got the 2 big twinwall chambers sorted. One all concreted and capped and the other has a ring on top for better access as we need to run a couple of down pipes into it .
Yard is starting to look more roomy now the kit is getting buried in.
Most of the drainage is all auction or marketplace deals , so a fraction of normal cost . Dear enough job as it is.
Not calculated it up but there must be over 500m of drainage we have put into this plot , and it’s less than an acre. Plus there are 3 different historical drainage systems, one from 2013, 1984 and a stone drain likely from 200 years ago.
Kubota dumper doing what it does best, precision dropping pipe bedding into a trench. Love that little machine , such a pleasure to use .

 

[Storrsy]

My cousin was supposed to be labouring this week but unwell so I have been chief labourer. 7 days of slogging in the heat has left me pretty knackered. Skipped the gym and pool this week as not enough energy for it .
Getting the rest of my drainage sorted up to the back of the shed , so hopefully no more trenches needed for the foreseeable . Still found water in one place about 3ft below original ground level. The land drain we put in up through the site last summer is STILL running .
Got the 2 big twinwall chambers sorted. One all concreted and capped and the other has a ring on top for better access as we need to run a couple of down pipes into it .
Yard is starting to look more roomy now the kit is getting buried in.
Most of the drainage is all auction or marketplace deals , so a fraction of normal cost . Dear enough job as it is.
Not calculated it up but there must be over 500m of drainage we have put into this plot , and it’s less than an acre. Plus there are 3 different historical drainage systems, one from 2013, 1984 and a stone drain likely from 200 years ago.
Kubota dumper doing what it does best, precision dropping pipe bedding into a trench. Love that little machine , such a pleasure to use .

What capacity (tonnage) is that kub dumper?

 

[Stroppymonkey]

What capacity (tonnage) is that kub dumper?

Officially 1t but needs to be concrete to get that weight in there. Needs greedy boards in my opinion as if moving soil it’s underloaded. Weighs nearly 1t empty and 3 cyl engine so plenty of power. Surprisingly stable and tips well so you can can track up a stockpile. Greedy boards are on the list to get made one day.
Nearly sold it to @Giles but glad I kept it for now. Pairs up with the micro too nicely .

 

[Giles]

Officially 1t but needs to be concrete to get that weight in there. Needs greedy boards in my opinion as if moving soil it’s underloaded. Weighs nearly 1t empty and 3 cyl engine so plenty of power. Surprisingly stable and tips well so you can can track up a stockpile. Greedy boards are on the list to get made one day.
Nearly sold it to @Giles but glad I kept it for now. Pairs up with the micro too nicely .

I nearly bought it before you off the original woman but she wasn't keen to stick it on a pallet and it was your neck of the woods haha

but im still looking for one look after it haha

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Satisfying week. BIL getting the levels around the side and end of the shed sorted and more drainages trenches for piping away roof water and future surface water. Ground falls away from the shed on all 4 sides now. Perimeter ditches reinstated where needs be.
Concrete panels delivered and installed . Floor re levelled and compacted hard. 20t of 803 spread on top to help keep things clean when it’s wet.
Hedges built up best as can be in this weather , ready for another 300-400? Hedge whips this winter.
Framework for pedestrian doors all set and bolted finally.
Starting to concrete my drainage chambers in.
I’ve a couple more days of sorting little bits of external drainage pipe and then I can finally start on the cladding which is all sitting there ready for me .

 

[Jimoz]

Some whacker that is

 

[V8Druid]

Satisfying week. BIL getting the levels around the side and end of the shed sorted and more drainages trenches for piping away roof water and future surface water. Ground falls away from the shed on all 4 sides now. Perimeter ditches reinstated where needs be.
Concrete panels delivered and installed . Floor re levelled and compacted hard. 20t of 803 spread on top to help keep things clean when it’s wet.
Hedges built up best as can be in this weather , ready for another 300-400? Hedge whips this winter.
Framework for pedestrian doors all set and bolted finally.
Starting to concrete my drainage chambers in.
I’ve a couple more days of sorting little bits of external drainage pipe and then I can finally start on the cladding which is all sitting there ready for me .

lovely shed

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Some whacker that is

I only have 2 whacker plates .. @Giles has one like this and many more!

Once I have finished laying the recycled concrete with it then I daresay I shall sell it and get something more modestly sized (and portable) .

 

[Stroppymonkey]

lovely shed

Will be better when it has actual sides on