Druid's 'Drema's Druidfab Attachments !!

[245dlc]

"as popular as a fart in a space suit"

I'm going to have to remember that one Graeme that truly is a fantastic saying. Lol Really like what you have done there with your quick hitch adapter and that block grab. Are you getting in to Masonry work where you might need that kind of attachment? Or just something to tinker with? That grading beam should work really well with your VA-R I've often thought it would be nice to have something like that for mounting on a skid-steer or mini-excavator. Will you be adding some hard facing to the bottom flange of that I-beam or H-beam so it doesn't wear out to quickly? A number of years ago I had a chunk of I-beam from a building I demolished and I used it at a couple other demolition jobs before I had to toss it in the scrap bin because there wasn't much of a flange left. The excavator's we use here commonly have a hydraulic thumb so I can grab a beam between the bucket and the thumb and level or slope things off without having to put the ditcher bucket on.

[v8druid]

"as popular as a fart in a space suit"

I'm going to have to remember that one Graeme that truly is a fantastic saying. Lol Really like what you have done there with your quick hitch adapter and that block grab. Are you getting in to Masonry work where you might need that kind of attachment? Or just something to tinker with? That grading beam should work really well with your VA-R I've often thought it would be nice to have something like that for mounting on a skid-steer or mini-excavator. Will you be adding some hard facing to the bottom flange of that I-beam or H-beam so it doesn't wear out to quickly? A number of years ago I had a chunk of I-beam from a building I demolished and I used it at a couple other demolition jobs before I had to toss it in the scrap bin because there wasn't much of a flange left. The excavator's we use here commonly have a hydraulic thumb so I can grab a beam between the bucket and the thumb and level or slope things off without having to put the ditcher bucket on.

I've done quite a lot of "Masonry work" already Bert - `1200 9" hollows - never laid one before and they're bloody heavy old lumps!
Still got a couple of stacks sat about and will need a load more for shed construction eventually, so yon grab'll come in handy-ish-and for 100 quid it had to be bought!
The 4 ton rotator that was with it would make 250 to 300 quid on ebay

At the risk of boring you, here's some pix of the masonry job!!
before we bought the barn there was a retaining wall beside the drive that collapsed due to lack of adequate drainage



it got cleared up, graded off and the masonry got dumped up in't patch, where I'm digging back out



As you can see - something had to be doe with the 'situation'


so ......... new wall required ....... with adequate drainage



6" in top half and 10" in the lower half



you can just see the remnants of the pitiful original wall footings, beside the tarmac - the tarmac edge dictated the line of said new wall





Bit better founds for my double course 18" wall (old one was 6") and there's 9" of stone face to go on the outer face too, hence the extra found width - ought to keep yon bank put!!
the 40mm clean stone top to bottom provides excellent drainage to the pipes.







I've laid a few bricks before, but these muthas were a new one on me - OK once you get the hang of it and the mix right!!



trouble was, soon as I'd get a section up - SWMBO wanted to progress the bit behind it!!


we're on a spring here - the tank's for 'garden water' from the overflow off the catchment tanks, further up-line - essentially a.n.other catch/storage tank

















As I say the wall followed the line of the drive edge, hence some weird lines, in places ........ the hollow blocks were concrete filled, before getting covered/back-filled and the outer skin is also concrete filled now too!!



Although this is going to be stone faced, I have to look at it 'til then, so was intent on producing a wall face that was tidier than your average retainer ...... plus the 'engineers eye' meant it had to be right, as far as I was concerned - straight, true, level, etc.




And that's yer lot for tonight mate ......... just seen the time!!!!!

[ianoz]

Very tidy work Mate Certainly made the top level a lot more usable

[v8druid]

Very tidy work Mate Certainly made the top level a lot more usable

Thanks Ian ...... I try !!

It's made a huge difference to the upper level as you'll see ......... I'll bore you this time .... with some more

the chamber's a sump/attenuation storage for the land drains...











Like I said .... mrs D likes to get on ASAP with the levels once the
wall was up!!

[v8druid]

Apologies for the out of order/sequence and page position for the previous ones guys - trying to get the spacing right is a bugger when you blow 'em up with the double click trick!




squeaky-puss inspecting progress on the giant cat litter tray with the turf around it



attenuation sump rises ever taller


she's planting the flower beds before I've got the bloody turf down ..... see Sqeaky-puss giving it a try out



the water tank couldn't be any lower or i couldn't have got the water out the bottom .... it got dealt with though



and the other end .......... instructions were t'other end first as could be seen from the kitchen window!!!!

it was decided that 'we' needed a fence to screen the Druid's patch, but not just any ol' fence - it blows like f*** here and a solid fence'd've been down first blow

[v8druid]

Last ones for tonight -




Didn't like the sloping top and altered that
There are 352 screws in each one o' them panels and 17 panels! Plus a couple o' dozen more per panel as SWMBO has had me alter/add more to teh back of them since!
Thank f*** for leccy screwdrivers!





















the signs were for Pam's daughter's wedding weekend, after wedding family bash on the Sunday - to eat up the mountains of food that didn't get scoffed on the Saturday .... nice it all was too!!



different temperature here Ian

[ianoz]

The finished product looks very professional ,A credit to you mate .

[245dlc]

Excellent job there Graeme!

[v8druid]

Thanks guys.
It's never finished though with SWMBO around - always coming up with a new "can you just?"
I'll dig out some of the lower end - decked with the grade running front to back and side to side ....... 'twere a real head scratcher!!

The trellis has had 17 x 2.5 meter runs of brushwood screening attached to the back of it (my side) to make it a bit less 'visible' through it!!

There was a 'discussion' (well I listened ) yesterday 'bout a new rockery, 'til I pointed out that I've got a Hydrema not a Chinook and I could get there, but not without extensive collateral damage!!
A re-think is being had on that one for now

[AndrewMawson]

You missed a trick there Graeme, perfect opportunity for easing that Chinook into your plant inventory

Nice job on the ground works by the way - looks like a heavy investment in materials alone never mind your time

[v8druid]

You missed a trick there Graeme, perfect opportunity for easing that Chinook into your plant inventory

Nice job on the ground works by the way - looks like a heavy investment in materials alone never mind your time

Damn - didn't think o' that Andrew !! missed a trick there alright

Thanks for the kind words on the 'gardening' front. Yeah heavy investment in materials and 'Druidry' - psyching my self up for the stone facing - could be a while though - too bloody abstract for my engineering 'eye' !! Don't mind the laying of it so much, as all the bloody mixer feeding......jeez you get through some mortar with stone!!

Here's a few I snapped this morning as I couldn't find the ones I had in mind in the last post

This is the brushwood screening to the back of one half of the trellis fencing to 'block the view' a bit
Currently got an annoying whining noise in my ears - 'gates, gates, gates, gates, when you gonna make the gates?', for the gap between the two fence runs, top of the steps!!




this was the solution to the protruding water tank - its sealed so it got buried ...... in a flower bed - Mrs D likes sleepers
it's only about a foot down so accessible if necessary



you can see the decking in the background and here's a few more - real head-scratcher to get it following the two way slope of the ground! Got there eventually
you can see the trap door in the deck for the attenuation sump



Different angle giving you a better idea of the way the ground comes around .........


and lastly one back up the length - Not looking too shoddy - Pam's the gardener ........ I'm just the ground worker!!
Not looking forward to all that stone facing!!!! and still got a bit of the outer skin to concrete fill yet too!! More bloody mixing!

[AndrewMawson]

I bit the bullet recently and had a brickie put up a pig sty (well Pig Palace really) as I couldn't face the hand pain and cramps laying gives me. Frustrating watching something you could do yourself better, but worth it over all. I did the ground works, drains, concrete etc but drew the line at the bricks having suffered when I built the first one.

[v8druid]

I bit the bullet recently and had a brickie put up a pig sty (well Pig Palace really) as I couldn't face the hand pain and cramps laying gives me. Frustrating watching something you could do yourself better, but worth it over all. I did the ground works, drains, concrete etc but drew the line at the bricks having suffered when I built the first one.

WOW!!
Pig Palace indeed - some lovely work gone into those A thing of beauty! I've done a bit of straight forward brick walls and bits 'n bobs over the years but that is just something else!

The 9" hollows were a killer and very much a 'technique' to 'em - mix like butter, as the blocks suck it up like a sponge and get the placement right first time, or start again!! Careful distribution was also paramount and once I'd got it sussed (probably about 100 or so in) I was away - well as away as I could be - would not want to earn a living doing it though - I'm too fussy!!

The stone work's going to be a whole new ball game though but as you say, frustrating (and costly) watching someone else do a job that you're capable of (in theory, at least)!
My BIL's an awesome stone mason, but he's not cheap and there's no such thing as mate's rates with him, (unless he wants something doing)!! He's promised me a 'masterclass', but it ain't happened yet!!

[AndrewMawson]

So you need your better half to really need the stone work so she puts pressure on your bil and lo and behold you're out of the loop

[v8druid]

So you need your better half to really need the stone work so she puts pressure on your bil and lo and behold you're out of the loop

If only that simple
He's not long bought a small farm, with a house that essentially needs a complete rebuild and a huge barn, with consent, that his only daughter's giving him more earache about than you'd think possible in one lifetime to convert so her an' her 'brood' can come an' live for free (as if she don't get enough already - don't get me started )
The poor bugger'll pop off with a trowel in his hand, I swear!!

He an' I get on OK and have known him probably twice as long as I've known his sister (SWMBO), but he's got enough on and anything he does that's not 'home related' will be full price, or not at all and even then you'd have to beg for his attentions, due to the earache factor!!

As far "need" goes - you'd think we were looking at a collapsing, crumbling dry stone wall, about to spew its guts across the drive, every time you go out the door, not the solid, neatly pointed, fair-faced retainer that stands holding the gardens up!!

I'll get to it, but when I'm ready and fully psyched up for it ! (and I'm not so busy on other things)