codlasher

Ha! LGP Eddie, yes banging and shaking out clay is not my favorite pastime. For shorter drain runs I have my smallest bucket which is a 12" toothless to dig. If you have a smaller machine you can use a 9". Be careful swinging a 1 ton bag though. I can do 30m runs @1.60 with a fall by eye and the help of my trusty level. I dangle a 1 ton bag of 20mm over the trench and using a weeding slasher, carefully, cut a small hole to allow the material to dribble out SLOWLY and cover the pipe to the correct depth. My machine is stable and can do this safely. Any drainage job bigger is contracted to the local specialists who have all the correct equipment; Land Drainage Contractor | Allan Collyer & Sons Ltd or similar in your area. The picture shows the start using a piece of solid pipe which is at the ditch end. codlasher

Post & rail with net on the outside so no problems with feet and mains powered 6mm electric top rope. Unless you have cattle barbed wire is unnecessary. The inner is solar battery. More £'s will result in the next two rails being fitted. The net keeps all the smaller stock in and even the best jumping dog won't jump the electrified fence! Hedge is then planted on the outside and will grow to form a good wind break. This is a picture from a ground-work play-day. Fence is in the background. In wet ground I have used 7' strainers for protecting other peoples gardens from hungry ponies. The most important part of fencing is the posts themselves as cheap posts will not last for more than five years! You need a minimum guarantee of FIFTEEN YEARS! Preferably creasoted from Batsford Sawmills. codlasher

Yes it was an interesting project. Made for some good thinking! I'll answer your Q's in order; Good loam over heavy clay. Yes there was signs damage that is why I was called in as I have experience and machinery. No engineer although I did put the Q on this forum. I did quite a lot of internet research on tree roots & root barriers. The property owner and I drew up a plan using what we knew of the local soil conditions whilst considering the best possible outcome for both the tree and the structure. I had trench-props and etc in case my soil sample had been wrong and we were digging on a midden! The owner had extensive knowlege of the properties structure as he'd taken it back to its bare shell some 20 years previously. I found four roots (as I posted) and two were certainly under the flank wall resulting in heave by the weakest part which was the entrance door. This may settle or if not can be rectified by some remedial work. I have been involved with similar projects in the past and there's one in Parktown, Oxford that I did 35 years ago on a brick arch structure. I visited this recently for the first time in a decade and it is still looking good.....I'll do the same with this as I like to keep long term notes:biggrin:

I installed a 2.1m root barrier recently using a 2.2m deep x .450 wide and 9.0m long trench. This was to protect a timber framed farm-house, built in approx 1641 from the roots of a mature willow tree. I used concrete and removed four 100mm roots that had already undermined the flank wall. We were originally going to a 3.0m depth but decided that as there were no signs of roots below the 2.2m depth the trench should stop there. I'd not complain at a depth 1.5m as this will stop virtually all roots. I found the majority of roots from this willow to be in the first .500mm of soil. The owner of the property and I felt that we'd covered any future ground heave in going to this depth. codlasher

This is turning into the classic H & S type argument here! Common sense has run out of the room and everyone is shouting. The old rules of read & write & reason have all but disappeared. Folk are not allowed to reason as they, firstly, have to be trained to do/perform certain operations by others who have no idea of reality. This leads to confusion and hence to accidents.......... There should be a procative asessment of any job, not a reactive one. Back to the OP, in all honesty I'd avoid and let someone else do this work if it is one that becomes involved with too much minutiae. You'll never actually be able to get on! codlasher

Will Screwfix offer any guarantee and will the lights last for 30,000 hours? Again it is what you pay.....I've had some good stuff from Screwfix and they do sell reasonable quality stuff..... codlasher

Sorry to take so long to reply Jon. My wife wanted the 'pooter and our youngest wanted a driving lesson. The spot over my bench lights up a 24' x 24' space in the work-shop. I can see a pencil mark on a piece of timber even with scratched glasses on in a 12' area. So a 100 Watt light should give plenty of usable light in a 20' work area and you'd be able to see well in a 30' area. codlasher

Well, with your skills Stompy, at least the timber will be used and make something interesting. Thanks. codlasher

Not sure on that one mate. I have a 80 Watt LED over my work-bench and it's brilliant. I need another opposite so I can get rid of the shadow. My electric meter now runs much slower so your genny will be very happy. I have a little 10 Watt LED flood mounted on a bit of wood so I can see to work under my old LR110. I replaced the hand-brake cable yesterday and I could see very well. 'Orrible fiddly job but I put a new genuine one on so this should last a long time. codlasher

Mornin' Jon. I'm looking in my Denmans trade catalogue and they have an IP65 100 Watt (7817 lumens) LED flood for £180.00 with a life expectancy of 30,000 hours. Part No 635642 They also do a 200 Watt for £375.00 These are quality items with a guarantee. I like dealing with Denmans as they never have problems with their guarantees and they don't sell sh1t! codlasher

Like! Well said that man. codlasher

Some years ago my dad was involved with the Chiltern open air museum. He was part of a historic buildings group which tried to preserve simple traditional buildings before the demolition crew got their hands on them. This is how the museum started and these buildings along with others are still in existance. The Weald & Downland is another brilliant place too. Does the area you operate in have a number of these wonderful structures? If so would it be possible to get a site for one to be preserved before they disappear....... codlasher

Like! Have you based 'him' on this;Old Bill (comics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia codlasher

Hello stevenf. You may be in the best place to get this type of training from a recognised expert; John Gubb. Do a search for his woodwork training courses and you may get just the right one. I hope this helps. codlasher

I've been chuckling all day today over this neil and the driveway! Cheers Jon. codlasher

I'd agree on the asking Euroforest. They may be very happy to sell you a one-off wagon load of one spec/size. Each area of the UK has its own manager and if you ask HQ for your area managers name and you can get to talk to that person you'll be moving forward. You may well have to pay a little more to divert a wagon and possible penalties from such as Giddings which is a BSW mill now. Another option is to find an independant round timber merchant and go that way. codlasher

Good big WRC will be best in 16' or 24' lengths. Note to allow 1/12" extra on a 16' and 3'' on the 24. This means they can be broken down again into 12', 8' & 6' respectively and not be short. codlasher

Mr Channer sells exactly what you have. His advantage is that he can load it into a tipper from a concrete pad. Job done & sold. There are folk who would happily pay for this, and the transport included, in a sensible price. I think you have two choices; Using a trailer bed as the dack and load this with whatever you can mechanically then split whith a wuality machine that you can add to. As above, into a big bulker and sell it as is. The match option seems just wrong. codlasher

Now that is FAST! Can they keep that up? The waste handling from that volume will be interesting. codlasher

53 feet was the longest I ever supplied. Transport was costly and 'interesting'. Hauling from the stand where they grew we had to miss the tops of the gate posts as the trailer swung onto the road and on corners. With a 16' trailer the centre of balance was way beyond the back so ratchet straps were used to keep in place. I believe the 80' climbing poles are put on the top of a timber load so they can lay over the tractor cab. The 53' had a flashing beacon tied on the rear end and it was only 4' from the cab of the articulated lorry hauling it. Yes there is a demand but it is not a regular thing. These were destined for ships spars. Larch or douglas was the choice, planted in 1890 & felled in 2010. codlasher

I have used this co in the past; Kahrs flooring | Engineered floors from Kahrs

I've had no problems with both my Honda's except someone taking the first late at night! codlasher

I have been out of full time tree work for two years now as I was officially 'retired' in '2012! I'm busier now than ever before and although I'm not/can't do the physical 'hard' bits I'm working all the fine days and there's plenty of those. I do find I need some 'youff' to help me and that gives me great pleasure as their keenness is infectious and I enjoy making the job run smoothly. I still do 11 hour days but I ache, particularly right now at the end of the week. I have taken on jobs that I'm good at and can do well irrespective of what they are (this includes some tree work and some digging too) and the best bit is the happy customer. I was given a big hug early this morning by a lovely lady for making a great job in her livery yard. Happy customer:thumbup: codlasher

I have a gravity system that works on our downstairs toilet, the tank holds 5000 gallions and is filled from the guttering on one side of the house and sits about four feet off the ground. Most winters are not a problem but if the temperature drops to -8 the pipes freeze and we use a bucket to flush. This has only happened once in seven years so not it's really a problem. I have a sediment filter and have not had any debris probs. I have been involved in another RWH system locally where they use UV light to sterilise but this is still only for the toilets. I agree that this should be part of any new-build because in the long run is will certainly save money and the costs of piped water. The proper pipe for this is coloured black with a green stripe to denote that it is rain-water. There were stock issues sometime back but I think it is readily available now. codlasher

Nice one! I'm sure this will pay in the long run and it's nice to hear too. codlasher