M
Monkeybusiness
Well-known member
‘We didn’t burn him…’
B
bobthebuilder
Well-known member
just a local shop for ......
Routy56
Well-known member
Last week me and Ryan had a few days out with the old Neuson. This time back to Clacton-on-Sea to bury some SWA for Sailship TLL.
They are a registered charity who help people with disabilities learn practical skills on a former allotment site
Stripped off the vegetation - trench has to go down the edge of the gravel car park...
See I don't look any older
Chris (the site manager and friend) and Ryan hand dig across to the Site power box...
Then when I got fed up with waiting, I had to show them how to finish it off
SWA in and protected with sand, Ryan and Chris on the wheelbarrows....
Partial backfill before inserting marker tape. Ryan in young site worker pose - on his mobile phone
So on the next pull from the Shipping Container, we made a discovery.
Yellow marker tape "Electric Cable Below" popped out on 9" bucket.
2" below this was a fcuking blue MDPE pipe - WTF
Chris said, "that shouldn't be there!" They all say that
On checking with the old CAT 'n' Genny, it was established that the MDPE pipe had a mains cable inserted!
It went left and right to god knows where. But did NOT appear to be connected to power
So Ryan got the job of digging underneath while I carried on.
Note the nice reinstatement of the previous trench
Came across another blue MDPE. Chris, "Nah, it disconnected, rip it out!"
So Ryan inserted the cable and sanded it etc as I carried on.....
My mate Les, who is a volunteer at the Charity, came over and used his drone to record where we had put our nice SWA.
That's it - job jobbed after 2 days of fun and helping a local charity
They are a registered charity who help people with disabilities learn practical skills on a former allotment site
Stripped off the vegetation - trench has to go down the edge of the gravel car park...
See I don't look any older
Chris (the site manager and friend) and Ryan hand dig across to the Site power box...
Then when I got fed up with waiting, I had to show them how to finish it off
SWA in and protected with sand, Ryan and Chris on the wheelbarrows....
Partial backfill before inserting marker tape. Ryan in young site worker pose - on his mobile phone
So on the next pull from the Shipping Container, we made a discovery.
Yellow marker tape "Electric Cable Below" popped out on 9" bucket.
2" below this was a fcuking blue MDPE pipe - WTF
Chris said, "that shouldn't be there!" They all say that
On checking with the old CAT 'n' Genny, it was established that the MDPE pipe had a mains cable inserted!
It went left and right to god knows where. But did NOT appear to be connected to power
So Ryan got the job of digging underneath while I carried on.
Note the nice reinstatement of the previous trench
Came across another blue MDPE. Chris, "Nah, it disconnected, rip it out!"
So Ryan inserted the cable and sanded it etc as I carried on.....
My mate Les, who is a volunteer at the Charity, came over and used his drone to record where we had put our nice SWA.
That's it - job jobbed after 2 days of fun and helping a local charity
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
that's some drone
Lancs Lad
Well-known member
I thought that. .and studying it's actually airborne and nearer the camera than himthat's some drone
Looks huge
diggerjones
Well-known member
I suppose you did it all foc or at cost, well done. The marks on the dipper, are they depth markers. Good idea
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
well spotted ..... looks like the Antonov of the drone worldI thought that. .and studying it's actually airborne and nearer the camera than him
Looks huge
Routy56
Well-known member
Yep it's a Mavic Air 2 and the spec is herethat's some drone
Les is a Brother
and I see him often.He is a keen photographer and takes great shots.
BUT his big claim to fame is that he is a qualified Big Game Guide at a reserve in South Africa.
He spends half of the year over there. We look forward to popping over soon
Routy56
Well-known member
Yep generous discount for the Charity
And this is us putting pathways in last October.....
Wheelchair friendly pathways. Ryan in the zone
Well spotted with the marks on my dipper
It works well for me not being blessed with iDig or similar.
Put simply if the dipper is vertical and the bucket is tweaked to being flat then I mark it off with Line Marker Spray.
Give me a rough idea that I'm on grade in the trench
When working with a banksman (Ryan), I use a 2m length of 2x1 marked off at each 100mm and that too is sprayed off at various depths
If it's critical or when digging foundations then the Top Con laser comes out of it's box.
Have even got a Machine Laser Receiver that sticks to the dipper with powerful magnets.
That really does come into it's own when working solo and grading off Type 1 or similar.
The laser I use can even tweak to give a slope
Last edited:
Routy56
Well-known member
next month
Routy56
Well-known member
About 4 years ago aged 60 something I decided to return to running and started to go to the local Park Run
So, today having re-joined Harwich Runners last year, I competed in the local Bromley 10k Road race.....
Here I am, 175 at the start. Set a target time of sub 60 mins. Dunno why it just felt right - 2 x parks Runs back to back really
Sharon came along, enjoyed the sunshine and took a few photos....
Smashed it! Chip to chip time will be about 10-20s less when results are processed...
So there you go guys, another little gem that you now know about an old fart approaching his 66th birthday
So, today having re-joined Harwich Runners last year, I competed in the local Bromley 10k Road race.....
Here I am, 175 at the start. Set a target time of sub 60 mins. Dunno why it just felt right - 2 x parks Runs back to back really
Sharon came along, enjoyed the sunshine and took a few photos....
Smashed it! Chip to chip time will be about 10-20s less when results are processed...
So there you go guys, another little gem that you now know about an old fart approaching his 66th birthday
Mogman
What man as done, man can do, what never has,maybe
I couldn’t even run to the shopsAbout 4 years ago aged 60 something I decided to return to running and started to go to the local Park Run
So, today having re-joined Harwich Runners last year, I competed in the local Bromley 10k Road race.....
View attachment 34493
Here I am, 175 at the start. Set a target time of sub 60 mins. Dunno why it just felt right - 2 x parks Runs back to back really
Sharon came along, enjoyed the sunshine and took a few photos....
View attachment 34494
Smashed it! Chip to chip time will be about 10-20s less when results are processed...
So there you go guys, another little gem that you now know about an old fart approaching his 66th birthday
and I’m over 10 years younger
well done that man
Routy56
Well-known member
Thanks for that PaulI couldn’t even run to the shops
well done that man
Not too late to do anything about it buddy.
Back in the day when I was mid 30s I was unfit and could't run much, so I did something about it.
I am hoping that it will keep me healthy into old age
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
it's all the insidious sh1t that sneaks up on you, that you need to worry about DaveThanks for that Paul
Not too late to do anything about it buddy.
Back in the day when I was mid 30s I was unfit and could't run much, so I did something about it.
I am hoping that it will keep me healthy into old age
Routy56
Well-known member
Last week or so I was rather busy....
Started with a big complex dig out for a 'raft foundation'. For a large extension on the back of a large 300 year old house.
Bev said, "Can you just take out the concrete for the old conservatory and rear porch foundations"
First phase was to destroy the old slate floor and UFH...
....then we got down to the old foundations - DIY job about 2ft deep.
This is Chris, a local builder and friend, who is doing this build.
Time served chippie by trade who builds very nice cart Lodges
.....then the rear porch founds were revealed with the obligatory drainage snags to deal with.
All that lot was then smashed to fcuk with the Arrowhead S20
Thank God that I have my very nice Bose noise cancelling jobbies protecting my ears with Classic Rock Music
Pulled all of the concrete out with the 600 - my favourite for getting stuff done.
Fortunately a local farmer friend wanted all the 'hardcore' - so he left a 4T trailer on the drive.
After pumping up the usual flat tyre we managed to get at least twice as much loaded
Then roughed it out with the 600 while the TopCon kept an eye on things.
Being a sloping site meant that the dumper had to climb down about 3 feet for each load on my dirt slope
Chris soon got the hang of my Benford. Note the Cart Lodge in the background.
By the end of it we pulled out nearly 2 x grab lorries worth of dirt...
Grading down with the 450 for the 'ring beam section of the raft. Note the 45deg profiles required from the drawings..
Some of yer may understand this stuff....
Chris being old school is more at home with string lines, boning rods and travellers.
So after proving his methods with my Laser I let him get on with it as my banksman - it was all still spot on
Last few spoonfuls coming out - another job jobbed.
Feedback from Building Control and Customer was good
Bev kept us supplied with Tea - so now looking forward to coming back for the soakaway and extra drains etc.
I just know that there will be loads of "Can you just..." with this job
Started with a big complex dig out for a 'raft foundation'. For a large extension on the back of a large 300 year old house.
Bev said, "Can you just take out the concrete for the old conservatory and rear porch foundations"
First phase was to destroy the old slate floor and UFH...
....then we got down to the old foundations - DIY job about 2ft deep.
This is Chris, a local builder and friend, who is doing this build.
Time served chippie by trade who builds very nice cart Lodges
.....then the rear porch founds were revealed with the obligatory drainage snags to deal with.
All that lot was then smashed to fcuk with the Arrowhead S20
Thank God that I have my very nice Bose noise cancelling jobbies protecting my ears with Classic Rock Music
Pulled all of the concrete out with the 600 - my favourite for getting stuff done.
Fortunately a local farmer friend wanted all the 'hardcore' - so he left a 4T trailer on the drive.
After pumping up the usual flat tyre we managed to get at least twice as much loaded
Then roughed it out with the 600 while the TopCon kept an eye on things.
Being a sloping site meant that the dumper had to climb down about 3 feet for each load on my dirt slope
Chris soon got the hang of my Benford. Note the Cart Lodge in the background.
By the end of it we pulled out nearly 2 x grab lorries worth of dirt...
Grading down with the 450 for the 'ring beam section of the raft. Note the 45deg profiles required from the drawings..
Some of yer may understand this stuff....
Chris being old school is more at home with string lines, boning rods and travellers.
So after proving his methods with my Laser I let him get on with it as my banksman - it was all still spot on
Last few spoonfuls coming out - another job jobbed.
Feedback from Building Control and Customer was good
Bev kept us supplied with Tea - so now looking forward to coming back for the soakaway and extra drains etc.
I just know that there will be loads of "Can you just..." with this job
Routy56
Well-known member
So ths afternoon I loader the Neuson on Ifor and when strapping it down noticed something rather strange lurking behind one of the sprockets……
…took a bit of brute force to get it out - the more mechanically minded of you will know what it is
So WTF is an ‘effing brake pad doing behind my sprocket. It aint got disc brakes!
Then i realised that on last week job I was clearing rubbish dumper behind. garage workshop.
So a random brake pad must have sucked up in all the mud and crap
Good job I spotted it - something like that could have pushed a track off tomorrow
…took a bit of brute force to get it out - the more mechanically minded of you will know what it is
So WTF is an ‘effing brake pad doing behind my sprocket. It aint got disc brakes!
Then i realised that on last week job I was clearing rubbish dumper behind. garage workshop.
So a random brake pad must have sucked up in all the mud and crap
Good job I spotted it - something like that could have pushed a track off tomorrow
Routy56
Well-known member
Finished another "Mission Impossible" this week.
"Can you just dig out at the back of my Units - the embankment has slipped down"
the said embankment (and posts) is supposed to be 4"11" from the back of the building!
Access road dug out of the overgrown crap and shite stacked at the front for Muckaway
Excited to '4 below' and embankment battered back...
About 2 grab lorries worth of dirt came out of this one.
Another job jobbed for one happy customer
"Can you just dig out at the back of my Units - the embankment has slipped down"
the said embankment (and posts) is supposed to be 4"11" from the back of the building!
Access road dug out of the overgrown crap and shite stacked at the front for Muckaway
Excited to '4 below' and embankment battered back...
About 2 grab lorries worth of dirt came out of this one.
Another job jobbed for one happy customer
Routy56
Well-known member
Another few weeks of fun have passed with good weather helping get stuff done
"We're bringing forward the road closure to next week, can you get that trench opened up for UKPowerNetworks contractors?"
Q - "What have they specced for there trench?"
R - "It's gotta be 1050 deep by 300 and about 100m long"
Q - "OK, no problem, there an awful lot of material to come out and I know it's all clay on that land"
Here we go- top on the left and sub on the right......
.......so last time I was spading it out of my 9". BUT, this time, creaming it with a nice big knob on the front meant that it slopped out nicely. Thank goodness that I had my nice Bose noise cancelling headphones to listen to cool rock music on the two long days that I spent on this little jobette
.....which meant that I got quiet creative and arty farty with my clay sculptures
Q - "So what about that skinny bit up by the road and yer entrance?"
R - "Can you just bring your dumper over and move it away please?"
"What about backfilling it next week, you know I'm not available!"
R - "That's OK we'll use my digger to push it in"
He has a wanky old Kubota on sticks which overheats every 20 mins.
So I know that I'll be back to make good very very soon
"We're bringing forward the road closure to next week, can you get that trench opened up for UKPowerNetworks contractors?"
Q - "What have they specced for there trench?"
R - "It's gotta be 1050 deep by 300 and about 100m long"
Q - "OK, no problem, there an awful lot of material to come out and I know it's all clay on that land"
Here we go- top on the left and sub on the right......
.......so last time I was spading it out of my 9". BUT, this time, creaming it with a nice big knob on the front meant that it slopped out nicely. Thank goodness that I had my nice Bose noise cancelling headphones to listen to cool rock music on the two long days that I spent on this little jobette
.....which meant that I got quiet creative and arty farty with my clay sculptures
Q - "So what about that skinny bit up by the road and yer entrance?"
R - "Can you just bring your dumper over and move it away please?"
"What about backfilling it next week, you know I'm not available!"
R - "That's OK we'll use my digger to push it in"
He has a wanky old Kubota on sticks which overheats every 20 mins.
So I know that I'll be back to make good very very soon
Routy56
Well-known member
So we went on holiday for a few weeks up North and there was 'slippage' in the above job.
"They only just pulled the cable in last night. Can you come back as soon as possible to backfill it"
R - "Yes of course, I'll be there tomorrow"
Road closure was still in place but at least the road crossing was complete (just)...
100m or so of back 1050mm back fill to sort out...
And the contractors wanted the cable covered in sand "because there's stones in the soil"....
The above shows it left open for a joint.
Ryan was available for a day between his A level exams to help. Seen here is typical waiting around pose
To be fair he is an excellent dumper driver. We loaded and moved the sand into the trench. Then moved the backfill to the narrow section by the gates.
Always wears his seat belt and jumps off for loading etc
This job was spread over for two days because of loads of snags, such as, sanding the cable, moving shite, and
"can you just dig a sump to drain the footings where the brickies are working?...."
Pump sump dug out ready to drain for the brickies working in their slippers
So despite it being on agricultural land I DID manage to keep the soils separate.
"Just heap it up and when it settles a bit we will put the roller over it"
Another job jobbed - I'll be back to this site and similar very soon......
"They only just pulled the cable in last night. Can you come back as soon as possible to backfill it"
R - "Yes of course, I'll be there tomorrow"
Road closure was still in place but at least the road crossing was complete (just)...
100m or so of back 1050mm back fill to sort out...
And the contractors wanted the cable covered in sand "because there's stones in the soil"....
The above shows it left open for a joint.
Ryan was available for a day between his A level exams to help. Seen here is typical waiting around pose
To be fair he is an excellent dumper driver. We loaded and moved the sand into the trench. Then moved the backfill to the narrow section by the gates.
Always wears his seat belt and jumps off for loading etc
This job was spread over for two days because of loads of snags, such as, sanding the cable, moving shite, and
"can you just dig a sump to drain the footings where the brickies are working?...."
Pump sump dug out ready to drain for the brickies working in their slippers
So despite it being on agricultural land I DID manage to keep the soils separate.
"Just heap it up and when it settles a bit we will put the roller over it"
Another job jobbed - I'll be back to this site and similar very soon......
Last edited:
Routy56
Well-known member
Then last week it was back to Bev and Mark's extension project
Dug out the shrubbery for a new patio for Chris to lay later on......
Then got cracking with the new soakaway. Usual formula of plastic crates into good draining ground at least 5m from the building. In this case it was about 8m away......
Ryan got the job and making it all nice ready for pea and crates...
When Ryan wasn't looking Bev jumped on the dumper
Dug the trench with the good old Topcon set on slope at the correct grade.
Bev was so impressed that she was my banksman
So for now left it all tidy ready for Mark (he's plumber) to connect up the 110 over the weekend.
Back next week to finish off FWD ready for BC to sign off.......
Dug out the shrubbery for a new patio for Chris to lay later on......
Then got cracking with the new soakaway. Usual formula of plastic crates into good draining ground at least 5m from the building. In this case it was about 8m away......
Ryan got the job and making it all nice ready for pea and crates...
When Ryan wasn't looking Bev jumped on the dumper
Dug the trench with the good old Topcon set on slope at the correct grade.
Bev was so impressed that she was my banksman
So for now left it all tidy ready for Mark (he's plumber) to connect up the 110 over the weekend.
Back next week to finish off FWD ready for BC to sign off.......
Footer block 1