Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[V8Druid]

Druid,

I left Queensferry at half past midnight last night and drove under the lightning all the way back to Sheffield.

My arse cheeks were quite tightly clenched most of the way as I was carrying stuff that does not get on well with electricity

I have never been chased by ‘paparazzi’ but I can imagine it being similar. Mostly dark but every now and then you get about 1 Second of daylight and then dark again.

our turn tonight .... had just parked the roller up at eight, when the first very large splodges hit the back of my neck ... had been watching it getting grey-er, then blacker for an hour ...... and then it kicked off ..... and still going ...... got everything away just as it started to empty down .... some pretty spectacular lightning .. but now't like whatever was occurring over Gloucester/Worcester way last night ..... that looked like a munitions dump going up .... for hours on end ...... huge yellow flashes, with the odd electric blue thrown streak in ...... was a hell of a strike on the mountain opposite us 'bout an hour ago, but it's been mostly sheet illuminations

 

[V8Druid]

so the crap got covered up this morning .......

after I'd sorted the pressure washer out for Pam, who wanted to blast the drive off, of Reo's cement splodges and general stains .... nozzle must've gotten a bit of scale/grit in it ... air line soon removed that and good to go again
Was 33 in the shade, when I came down for some lunch .... and I wasn't in it ..... dropped her down and flipped the bonnet to let her have some air ...

whilst I stuck the roller round it, before i went and had some munchies ..... sat in front of a fan ....... and I was gone ........ was 35 in the shade when I woke up an hour or so later and so was the 'Drema.... so went and pulled some more black stuff around with the beam, where I'd been tracking back and fore, to fill up the tramlines, which weren't that bad really ..... this has gone down bloody hard today ... great temp.s for planings but not quite so great for Druids ... I only have to think about being hot to have it running off me ..... an' I was melting .......

gonna need to relocate several tonnes of heap tomorrow ........ after i've had another pull .... not the greatest of stuff, sadly ... too much in the way of lumps and not enough fines ...... 20 t of quarry dust'd be nice to top off with ... see what I can 'make' out of what's there tomorrow, when I shift yon heap

after I've given it a good tracking over ..... all this wet stuff is going to be a great help ...... coming down so hard the gutters can't cope .... glad we have some pretty big soffits, keeping the water off the walls .... like Niagara out there ATM ... you'd get pretty damned wet getting out the door
this was just as it was about to kick off earlier .......

was damned near dark at eight ...... instead of the more usual 9.30 ATM ... been hoping for it to ease off for a few minutes, to go have a look see if I've any standing water up there ...... but **** going out in this ..... you'd want a tent shaped umbrella

 

[V8Druid]

Bout time you washed them. Every pic i see i think they need a clean. Looks so much better for it.

My new yard has no water feed so mine are lacking in the clean dept...not happy but other benefits out weigh the no water at mo

cheers Boyo ...

totally agree ... feel sad to see them dirty like that, but a day's work to get around them .... jakie and Humper next .... they're both green ... need to cure jake's breathing issues first though ... think I'll get me diesel driven pressure washer out for them ... 's a beast and rips it off in some order, but needs the IBCs to keep it fed with H2O ... 15 l/m is three times what the spring produces ..... but 3500psi says they'm gonna be clean after

 

[V8Druid]

Phew, gotten caught up again. Must have missed an email.

My Disco3 died last week though
View attachment 17386
Further diagnosis once I got it recovered home was that the crank had snapped. So new engine time.

The Mini has been leaking oil again, so we have been without transport for a week now. The TD5 won't start - need to persuade it out of it's current spot to work on the fuse box, but that can wait till the weather is cooler.

So on Saturday I borrowed mum's golf, and went and test drove one of these;

View attachment 17387

So that's booked up for the 29th, 1.0T-GDI (Petrol) Picanto in Black, GT-Line spec (though I hope to retrofit the cruise buttons!). £13k new, but doing a PCP deal over 3 years for £250 a month with the service plan included. 7 Year warranty on Kia's so that should be a keeper for at least that long!

Landie is booked to go be looked at on the 24th - gonna cost me the best part of £4k that.

don't you mean you'd snapped the crank ?? over exuberant right foot-itis .....
tha's not a bad price for a motor for that I'd have thought?? who do you use?
have you ever tried Steve Clark in Ross http://www.wyevalleygarage.co.uk/ decent lad and known him a long time .... really knows Landies inside out

 

[Cyberprog]

don't you mean you'd snapped the crank ?? over exuberant right foot-itis .....
tha's not a bad price for a motor for that I'd have thought?? who do you use?
have you ever tried Steve Clark in Ross http://www.wyevalleygarage.co.uk/ decent lad and known him a long time .... really knows Landies inside out

Chap off one of the FB groups, he's done a number for various people and has had good reviews. I was just going round a roundabout when it let go

 

[V8Druid]

rang Reo last night, see if he had finished in Norfolk ... ansafone - no response, so assumed he'd not be here today ... usual MO .. doesn't answer his phone if he doesn't have the answer you want to hear
07.55 ... Pam digging me in the ribs ... "wake up ... Reo's outside " ..... an' 'e was !!
I hate 'emergancy starts'

Anyway, he was operational, by quarter past ... and he had a couple of pallets of stone in spot by half past

good job I'd stuck this extra light on the wall yesterday ..... just in case ...

had failed to find a black one, but managed an identical one in white ..... so the louvred front had had a coat of satin black ... or three

He was well on the way to having it built in by lunchtime ....

'fraid you'll have to wait for this afternoons progress, 'til the morning .... 's all covered up as we had the mother of all downpours 'bout half four ...
I was just running the roller round .....

having re-located the planing remnants pile to the dumper and where the Zetor'd been parked .... must have a good 14t left ATM ....
once round and the heavens opened .... and I chose the right moment to park yon roller and hide in a box

this small lake took all of three minutes to form/fill .... rest of it seemed to cope very well and this was gone almost as quick as it filled ... gert drain under there

water cleared pretty well everywhere and gave me plenty of 'notice' as to what's a tad low.
Rain stopped play by five
have had some sort of rain the last few days ....
this was Saturday night .....

all of it ... I emptied them Saturday morning
this must have accumulated a good 4" over night

but as it was overflowing i assume the 'bottle goblets' were a better indication ..... unreal rain
then they got topped up this afters ...

in twenty minutes
this is what i tipped out Saturday, from the previous night's deluges ...

makes a great rain gauge......

was going to go roll the planings again after tea, as they were drenched .... but it pee-ed down again .. so sod that .
Benches to move tomorrow, to finish pulling it all through and see what's left from the heap. ... pull a bit more through the centre too to crown it a bit more, nearer the boxes. ........ then relocate all the crud to where it came from .... might get a bit done then

 

[Cyberprog]

Aye, twas raining cats and dogs here too. Big rumbles of thunder too, which had Bailey quivering under my desk until they passed. Bless her, useless gun dog.

 

[V8Druid]

heard the rain on the Velux at the crack of ... 07.20 and thought .. "will he, won't he?" .... so hauled arse, fed the cats and made coffees / tea, then opened up .....
Reo's cup is now overflowing out on the wall .... it is LASHING it down ..... just been an' fed the fish and inspected the patch .... small lake at the bench and a few puddles where expected/not finished, but other wise ...... looking good. Gonna need another roll where I was tracking about yesterday, but has gone real hard .... plenty of rolling over the next few weeks and it'll be a great surface ..... this wet'll help again with some more roller action ... especially after it's had 16-17t of 'Drema back and fore.

Did not know WTF to start yesterday, with regards to putting all the tish back in the corner ....
forks at the ready ... after relocating Humperdumper's skip to a better spot on the bank

.... so dug out the heaviest first, which was also a decent fit in the very corner and started there ....

and BLOODY HEAVY it was too ... yes the blade is down getting that back in there ... was up against the blade to shift it about ... took a bit of getting out, cross carriage .. leg and blade required and was still a very careful balancing act
the rest was a POP in comparison ..... more going in .....

few more gaps than there were, but put everything back so that a few lifts with the forks and everything is accessible ....

still more to go back yet, but will all be on pallets and have left what was stuffed in the back, in need of attention, 'til last ... hopefully it'll get the required attention, being more accessible now ...

looking a lot clearer, with just smaller odds an' sods to palletise and row up ....... could go sit in a cab and fanny about, but in/out adjusting forks and squeezing stuff onto pallets can wait .... it is some bit wet out there .... goblet rain gauges are showing 40mm of rain, as are the collection of watertight vessels/tins sat about ... been seriously wet over night BTLs ...drains are all going ... WELL!!

this was end of play .. Monday ... spot Sparticus

Sparty inspecting progress .... they both take an interest in Reo and come to him looking for a fuss, now he's become a familiar figure.

lunchtime yesterday .....

and close of play ....... 'fore it got sheeted down ... thank **** we did !!

Sparts on patrol again, checking on the day's progress

Reo rang me at 11 to say he might see us this afters ... if it clears up a bit ... gonna be lucky, ATM ... otherwise.. have the kettle on for the morning

 

[Cyberprog]

Are you leaving access to the junction boxes?

 

[V8Druid]

Are you leaving access to the junction boxes?

OH YES!! ... have covered them to keep the tish out of the cover screw threads .. after filling them all with vaseline ... Gewiss boxes with very course threads ... they will be pocketed in the stonework and the covers cut off

 

[V8Druid]

10 o'clock this morning... box, boxed in

quarter to three

half four

says he's gonna be ripping along tomorrow, now he's got those fiddlies out the way (like he's not today ?!!) .... the guy's an artist, fair play

almost everything back in't corner ... in a different order and giving me access to the bits that need attention ... almost back to where i was 'fore I started ... apart from a nice new floor

banded or not .. that pallet of bricks is not going to stand another lift ... gonna have to repack them tomorrow .... the banding is all that's keeping 'em put ATM ........ 's either that or fanny about setting up me block grab to pick 'em wholesale
been waiting on the local tool boys for a stone cropper, going on three weeks .. chased 'em again this morning ... "er ... OK I'd better get it out and have a look at it then ... needs a bit of attention and the pack's oil cooler needs changing " "FFS !! I'd have gone and found another elsewhere if you'd said" WTF is wrong with people

 

[V8Druid]

ten to two last night ... a very rude awakening with a clap of thunder directly above us that sounded like the roof was coming in .... loud just doesn't define it ... followed a few seconds later by the instant start of a BIBLICAL deluge that just went on .. an' on ......... and on .... like a tropical monsoon rainstorm ... good job the wall was sheeted.

Reo and i took it off this morning half expecting to see 'some' damage ... but now't

blowing an absolute hooley all night and today .... bringing in some seeeeeeerious showers ... he tried 'til eleven, cutting some stone ... not worth putting a mix on ..... and called it a day ...

spot a couple of the 'cut blocks'

so I spent the rest of the day sorting and persuading electrical spaghetti ... just in case ... 'fore the wall set properly .. just in case
anyway ... no need to worry ..... pulled out (as much as i could) the cables under the one kitchen unit - seemed to recall there being longer tails than as found ...... and wrestled the end of a 16mm three core SWA cable into a gland ... not a great job in the easiest of circumstances .. this was a bitch ...

got it attached to one of my junction boxes ...

together with a supply and a 4 core lead out to a few switches, ready to wrestle back under the units and find a supply to pick up from - ideally the outside lighting circuits.

I'd been in this box before .... but it was far worse than I recalled it being

I mean, what self respecting leccy could possibly leave a job in this ****ing mess ..... AND sign off on it, after stuffing it all into a box and screwing the lid down. FFS !!

I am deffo going to spend some time on this soon and get it into some proper and decent order with some bus bars to replace all those shite boxes ... way too late today though ... found the right lighting circuit and let a fused switched spur into it to feed the new wall light circuits.

these three are on one switch, as'll get the most use

the rest, up the drive's length're on a.n.other switch ....

switches are on a temp. flying lead, tucked in the cupboard for tonight .... only one spot I can locate them permanently .... which isn't a bad spot in a 'boxing', which feeds that rat's nest of cabling, above it, from the consumer unit .... need a plaster board patress and a two gang switch fascia ... so's I can let it into it permanently

 

[Cyberprog]

Sweet Jesus that's a rat's nest!

 

[V8Druid]

Sweet Jesus that's a rat's nest!

absolutely ****ing appalling, isn't it ...... i have the paperwork signed off on that, when i bought the place, after a supposedly rewire of the kitchen / utility extension circuits ..... have a bloody good mind to send it all to the leccy's association on the bill head/sign off paperwork ..... the std. with which it has been done is worse than the rat's nest itself ...... a ten year old could've done better ... I certainly could've at ten years old
it WILL get remedied

 

[Smiffy]

absolutely ****ing appalling, isn't it ...... i have the paperwork signed off on that, when i bought the place, after a supposedly rewire of the kitchen / utility extension circuits ..... have a bloody good mind to send it all to the leccy's association on the bill head/sign off paperwork ..... the std. with which it has been done is worse than the rat's nest itself ...... a ten year old could've done better ... I certainly could've at ten years old
it WILL get remedied

The farm I used to work at had a lot of packing and sorting machinery and I spent alot of time in the winter doing maintenance on it part of which was helping a proper cabinet builder with building new control cabinets and running cables which I learnt a lot from he was absolutely meticulous
the a few years later I had some electrical work done at my house by a domestic electrician and it is rubbish tbh the wires are a mess but it was all sighned off and part p completed so I came to conclusion the spec of domestic electricals are pretty poor and everything else I have done myself

 

[GazCro]

The farm I used to work at had a lot of packing and sorting machinery and I spent alot of time in the winter doing maintenance on it part of which was helping a proper cabinet builder with building new control cabinets and running cables which I learnt a lot from he was absolutely meticulous
the a few years later I had some electrical work done at my house by a domestic electrician and it is rubbish tbh the wires are a mess but it was all sighned off and part p completed so I came to conclusion the spec of domestic electricals are pretty poor and everything else I have done myself

Thing about domestic electrics is you don't see any of it it's all behind socket fronts or in ceilings or under floors. 99% of people never see it so aren't bothered as long as it all works. It's no different with plumbers now and plastic pipe, absolutely horrendous the quality of a lot of work under floors which you don't see.

 

[pettsy]

99% of people never see it so aren't bothered as long as it all works. It's no different with plumbers now and plastic pipe, absolutely horrendous the quality of a lot of work under floors which you don't see.

Most have No pride in what they’re installing, it works what more do you want!?

 

[GazCro]

Most have No pride in what they’re installing, it works what more do you want!?

That's the problem though and often it works really poorly and they don't even know it or care.

 

[V8Druid]

sadly guys, you're all right .... but still does not defend the 'kin atrocious standards or the s**t connections within those junctions ... I'll take some pix next time i have a lid off 'em ... when they get changed out and tidied up
used to do all my own 3 phase in work and it was on show .. you learn to do it properly, for all manner of reasons, least of which was pride in a job well done, neatly and tidily and didn't attract unwanted attentions. Plus.... it don't take prisoners .. has to be right and secure.

 

[GazCro]

sadly guys, you're all right .... but still does not defend the 'kin atrocious standards or the s**t connections within those junctions ... I'll take some pix next time i have a lid off 'em ... when they get changed out and tidied up
used to do all my own 3 phase in work and it was on show .. you learn to do it properly, for all manner of reasons, least of which was pride in a job well done, neatly and tidily and didn't attract unwanted attentions. Plus.... it don't take prisoners .. has to be right and secure.

It's best when you see some of them back at their own work looking for a fault and they don't even know where to start cos it's such a disgrace.