Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[V8Druid]

real overcast morning .. dropped Pam down the village to meet her mate for their Wednesday excursion to where ever?
had some brekky and thought - nice cool(ish) morning to attack the drive ... loaded the strimmer, blower, fuel, gauntlets, loppers, water bottle, 5m spare cord roll, nippers, etc. into the Countax tug's lil' trailer and set off up the drive ...
parked by the barn, grabbed the strimmer and gave it a tug ... and the bloody cord stayed out
back to me patch and the bench to pull it apart
stupid anti snatch/kick back spring that gave me grief last year and had to repair, 'cos L&S couldn't source it
end had straightened out a little (not the end I'd reformed -t'other) and was causing the recoil to bind

suitably tweaked/man handled back into shape, re-assembled and started, to be sure, off I went again
drive is a tad out of hand

did a tankful, laid down a green carpet and blew that off the road

went and filled the Husqy, gave it a tug and it did it to me again ...
this time I had all the necessary tools in the trailer
pulled the starter off ... had some severe words with the spring ... put it all back together and it performed fine for several more hours
Pam and her mate turned up about half two and suggested a stop for lunch might be an idea ... needed another bottle of water anyway so came back down - scoffed and re-hydrated - grabbed another bottle of water and went back to it -- I've consumed 4 litres of water up there today

just re-fuelled it for the home run (for today) at quarter to five ... I'd had enough ... and it did it to me again
no shade where I was and it'd come out 'kin hot about 12 so it was a sod it job and headed for the bench ... had another 30 yards to do

got back and couldn't touch the bench - was anticipating some shade ... pulled it to bits AGAIN!!

the offending item

doesn't need much of a bend out of 90 to cause the problem .. also decided the carrier that contains it had worn about half a mil on its post, so took the same off the post and re-assembled it ... spring now contained nice and tight /sandwiched so'll hopefully not give any more issues for a while now it's back in shape and and can't escape into the free play it'd gained .....
now half five and I'm bollo-ed ... put it all away and continue the fight another day ... time for tea
Been wrapped up in a boiler suit all day ... thought I was gonna have to cut it off absolutely stuck to me!!
and now ....... it's time for a Magnum Eutopia

 

[V8Druid]

had to go to town last Friday for meds collections and got a few other things done while we were there
back by lunchtime, had a bite then decided to carry on where I left off Wed.s on the drive, so filled the Countax tug's lil' trailer with gear, tools, fuel, plenty of H2O and me little Ferex chainsaw mentioned else where and set off .... got to the end of our drive and I'd got a flat .. I'd stuck some air in the one back that I'd had off a while back as it looked soft .. with it running I'd not realised the valve was stuck ... so walked it back to avoid knackering the tube (walked alongside steering) sorted a new valve, blew it back up and set off again ... got up to the passing place and went and sorted the bit I'd had to leave when the pull cord had bitten me in the arse last time.

then worked my way up a bit more ... 6 o'clock came round quick and went down for tea .. didn't have a lot-(ish) left so came back up after tea and knocked off just before nine.
the (only) green patch on the lawn is still thriving - only bit that is ... gotta be a soakaway under there - but **** knows where the wet stuff is coming from ??

Saturday's challenge was ....

the latest fatberg .... having learnt on previous occasions that I'm not heavy enough to keep my 'contraption' in place, when I give it 150 psi I brought a good bar down with me and wedged an end in a course joint in the wall, then sat on t'other end - worked a treat
Excalibur in the man hole with Pam keeping it in place to trap whatever came out and set about it .... Druid 1 - Fatberg nil ... burnt a treat this afternoon

this morning's job was find our septic tank's lid ... I'd buried it inadvertently, thinking it was closer to the house direction -- in preparation for an emptying session shortly ... rang me usual guy, who used to be a customer of mine and is always very good/obliging ... busy as hell - 4th Aug. - earliest " OK Kev, see you then "

now I've been intending to raise this cover a couple of feet for a long time and as the weather is so dry, thought I ought to get on with it ... measured it up and decided on a plan ... either had to go into town and get 20 9" blocks or wrestle out a pallet of various bricks I've had here for a loooong time
want to raise the ground here and been banging spare stuff in here for a while -- 13 barrow fulls out of me water pipe hole and is a great place to dump all the green shite off the lawn too
so wound up the 'Drema, hung me bag lifter on the hook and got me sen in spot ... slung 'em and prayed ... good solid pallet, but has seen some weather, but it held together long enough for what I needed

got them out and sat them on the deck ...

dropped the bag lifter off and grabbed me big forks to get them off the slings

and put 'em where i wanted 'em

forks back off - lifter back on and slung a pallet of stuff that'd originally been parked on that brick pallet, but got stuck behind the Zetor ages ago when I was dealing with the downed oak, months ago

bit cock-eyed so sat it down and re-juggled the lift

then got it back where the bricks came from

Ummed and aahed about lifting one of my mixers out while I was there, but decided I'm not the fastest brick layer in the land, so'll mix up in a barrow I think ... in this temperature a mixer full 'll have gone off before I get it all down ... got a dumpy full of sand, but gonna have to slip into town for some cement ... got a few poly bags here but most of 'em seem a tad 'hard' .. been here a while .. will have a proper look in the morning .... and to finish off the afternoon, got a bin full of rubbish burnt, that's been sat a while, plus two barrows full and three 40lt buckets of Pam's weeding escapades burnt, together with three bags of bloody packaging and a load of cardboard boxes ..... amazing how it all accumulates, but didn't wanna burn it 'til the fields around us'd been baled and shifted .
and finally for Dave @Routy56 .... the south facing bank discussed elsewhere earlier this evening ... would make a good PV location -- could get a few strung out along there, eh?
the big bush far end'd have to go and a few plants'd need 're-locating'
the tall fir tree ain't long for this world, sadly, its roots've let go and it's got about a 40 deg lean on, out of plumb ATM -- pity, we've had it since we've been here and started at about 12" tall
biggest issue with locating panels there would be how to route the results into the house .... be easy if there was a shed where we were discussing earlier and i presume an array of that size'd need a battery wall of some description to make full use of returns??
Can't see Pam being keen on the idea though

 

[V8Druid]

amazed to find this morning, two soft poly bagged bags of cement
calculated how many bricks I was gonna need at 12 per course .... 96 for 8 courses so set about banging 'em in't tug's trailer for transport to 'site' ... bloody sight easier than a barrow
counted 'em into the trailer and guess how many I had? exactly 96 -- these were obviously destined for this job and not used them on anything else in 15 years

these came from alterations to my last house in Aber. ..
too good really for what I'm using them for ...
faced clay engineering brick - like cast iron to drill ... probably worth a couple of quid if you had need
they're 90 years old ..
previous house was built 1936
Little Mill Brick Co. - can recall going there as a very young kid with the old man - long gone now - don't make 'em lke this anymore

got 'em down to their new home and unloaded, then went and tried to knock up a mix ...

seemed fine so steamed on - bloody slab is out of level and is gonna take a couple of courses to correct
my fave mix bucket/trug'll do enough for a course, but hell it dries quick in this heat
got down there this morning to find my carefully cleaned and prep.ed area had been decimated by the bloody pheasants dust bathing - had to brush it all off again
got most of two courses laid between 'interuptions' this afters - then suddenly it was tea time
left everything where it was - don't usually leave gear out - but! CBA to stick it all away only to go get it all out again in the morning

so dropped the placcy frame and what does for a lid currently, on top to keep pheasants and cats out of the tish for the night
original lid rotted out a decade ago - piece of tin crap - will either cut this one down to a fit or make a secondary frame to fit it and the placcy surround

this is what's left on't pallet - the remains of 10 packs from Gryphon concrete (who had a massive sale a few weeks back - not sure if they'd gone tits/closed a yard or were just clearing back stock) that I used and laid at my last house and the remnants of the last pack that I used the bulk of building the storm/land drain sump that I had to re-lid a while back after Alex damned near fell in, when the wooden top gave way.

didn't count 'em but ain't gonna be binning them ... never know when you want the odd brick or six
smaller pallet required though I think

 

[Gecko]

my fave mix bucket/trug'll do enough for a course, but hell it dries quick in this heat

Try dipping the bricks underwater for a few min before laying (or hosing the pallet).
It'll cool the bricks slightly, but also, as the pores are already wet, the bricks won't suck the moisture out of the mix.

 

[V8Druid]

Try dipping the bricks underwater for a few min before laying (or hosing the pallet).
It'll cool the bricks slightly, but also, as the pores are already wet, the bricks won't suck the moisture out of the mix.

it's the mix going off in the bucket that's more the issue ... got it real wet to cope with the dry bricks - like butter ... learned to get it just right laying 1200 9" hollows down the side of the drive years ago

 

[William127]

OlTry dipping the bricks underwater for a few min before laying (or hosing the pallet).
It'll cool the bricks slightly, but also, as the pores are already wet, the bricks won't suck the moisture out of the mix.

Always used to do this years ago when my Dad had an old boy as his bricklayer and I was his labourer. Trug full of water and bricks, slow down the speed the laid muck set for a better/easier job

 

[Lancs Lad]

Always used to do this years ago when my Dad had an old boy as his bricklayer and I was his labourer. Trug full of water and bricks, slow down the speed the laid muck set for a better/easier job

Dad always said until youve carried a full hod up a wooden ladder you're not a proper labourer

 

[William127]

Dad always said until youve carried a full hod up a wooden ladder you're not a proper labourer

Another exam I never took

 

[V8Druid]

damn it's been warm today ... got at it again this morning ...

two more full courses by lunch time - never gonna earn a living laying bricks for sure

and had gotten it level both ways ... slab was 20mm low in the length and varying in the width .... nice though these bricks are they're all shapes - differing widths and heights and some have an enormous frog

butter mix still drying fast - just over a course -worth in the trug

ten to five and I'd had enough - six courses looked plenty high enough for the purpose .... bricks were absolute bar stewards to trim with a bolster and needed two 2/3rds per course ... but got there and all level in every direction

bit of pointing to finish and might render the inside of it ...
chucked the frame and lid on for the night and packed everything up ... trailer is a Godsend - no traipsing back and fore with a barrow

was considering mortaring the placcy bit down, but may make a shutter and concrete the bugger down -- might be an easier proposition and provide a 'skirt' around the lid -- gonna have to flat off the brick tops with some mortar first though

made the mistake of sitting down for a coffee half way back to the patch with the trailer full .... took some getting going again after .. bolloed .. been bloody warm here today and have to admit - I'm getting 'old' - body just won't perform like it used to