Workshop sooner?!

[Tinker]

JMB, of all the masonry jobs i did over course of 30+ years as mason contractor, i think brick paving work was the most destructive to my back. Pattern work was atleast interesting.  tearing up paving of any kind was not fun.  You have my sympathies for building that huge pile of pavers.  it had to be at least a little fun to use your articulated toy to do the lifting.
Tinker

 

[Tinker]

JMB, somewhere way back in those discussion, you showed a pic with your wife helping out with demolishing/crushing old blocks or bricks.  Now she is telling you to go ahead and get a new toy.  Hang on to that one.

Back shortly after we had married, i had to pour a boat ramp down into Long island sound.  we set up a date coinciding with perrogee tide so the water would retreat well out into the sound and give us as much time as possible to close in the exposed surface of the pour.  As it turned out, we got a surprise storm (weayher forecasters have a great job.  they can be wrong 50%+/- with their forecasts and still get paid.) on a day it was supposed to be cloudy but somewhere in the 50's.  By the time we started the pour, the temp, instead of rising, started to drop and the rain moved in.  We were in for a Nor'Easter and temps barely above freezing.  The water never cleared the base of the form work, but we kept on and covered the surface with planking as we poured.  We had hoped for a good three hours between pouring and covering, but the water was lapping at our heals the whole time.  By the time we finished the pour, the rain had let up a little but the temp was still around freezing and the wind was increasing.  we knew we were in big trouble.  We cleaned up and checked the planking as far down into the water as possible but could only hope we had enough nails and cleats holding the planks in place.  We took the backhoe off of the premises and headed for home. 

As the day wore on, the wind got worse.  i told my wife I had to go check the forms, but as i headed for the door, she informed me she was going with me.  She was not about to be talked out of it, so, as were heading for the possible disaster, i explained the problems of construction, the storm problems, the tidal problems and hoped that all was being held together.  As i got close to the ramp, i expected the works to have either disappeared or it would be riding the storm.  The high tide would be in about now.

As i stuck my head around to peek thru the bushes, i could see some of the planks poking one end or the other twards the sky.  The builder i was doing the job for (Oh yeah, there was a time limit for the job and we had both gambled that i could get it done on time.) lived about ten minutes away so i made a dash to his house.  I wanted some spikes and a good framing hammer.  In my rush and with agruing with my wifeabout her going with me, i had taken the car and forgotten to take tools and nails with me.  The builder had some 16d nails; but he did not ave a long handled framing hammer for me.  I did have a long handle striking hammer (36" handle for driving wedges and for stone work) in the trunk of the car.  I grabbed the nails and headed for the ramp.  The waves were coming in high.  I am thinking they were 3 feet high, but I am not really sure. 

This was over 40 years ago.  I gave my wife the bag of nails (luckilly, it was a canvas bag), grabbed one and headed for the waves.  I worked down into the waves as far as possible and holding a nail in my fist, aimed it at the end of a board.  At the same time, i was swinging the 10# hammer with my right hand and timing the operation so i was leaning into a wave at the same time I was swinging.  One tap and stand up, leaning away from the waves. Grab hammer with both hands and swing again.  Turn and reach for a nail being held out at arms length by my wife.  The same sequence again and again. 

Each time she handed me a nail, she was shouting above the wind and waves, "Wayne, get out of there!  I am afraid."  She never backed off one step as she kept supplying me with one nail at a time.  I kept on swinging that hammer like i was John Henry.  Nearly every nail had been driven in UNDER WATER.  i really had no idea if any of them got bent or not.  I had no idea how long it had taken me to use all of those nails, but we used the whole bag.  We left when there was othing more i could do.  My wife was starting to cry, more from relief, i think.  She was, she told me, afraid of the water.  She doesn't like storms of such magnitude.  I had already figured, long before marrying, that she was one gutsy lady.  That adventure confirmed it.

The next day, i sent my crew to the job to pull the forms apart.  The side forms we left for several more days, but my foreman told me it took most of the day pulling those planks off.  He also told me that there had been ZERO nails bent.  Every nail i had driven had a dimpled surface from the heavy hammer, but the nails had been straight and not one plank had loosened.  I did end up with some minor repairs to the concrete surface, but with the additives that were becoming available, we manage to end up with a durable surface.  I told the builder i would stand behind the job if there was any complaint down the road.  I did his work for another 3 or 4 years and never got any complaint about the ramp.

It has been over 40 years since that day and my wife still shudders whenever i mention the adventure.  I wouldn't trade her for a dozen of any others. 
Tinker

 

[jmbfestool]

Nice story Tinker. 

Every time I see your name in a post I gotta make sure I have time to read.  I'm sure they are getting
Longer lol  [big grin]

Jmb

 

[Alan m]

con grats jmb.
i didnt realise you finally got hitched.
definetly a keeper if she approves tool purchaces like that.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Congrats JMB I didn't realise you got married either.

 

[jmbfestool]

Not Married yet.    September time is the time I sign my freedom away lol.

[big grin] [big grin] [big grin] [big grin]

The wedding is going to cost me some and the honeymoon!  yay  [sad]

 

[jmbfestool]

A bit annoyed to day!   Few weeks ago bought some tanking to tank the building as its part underground!!  

Well cost £4100!  [scared]  Well thought Gotta do it so bought the stuff.

Well to day ran out of some of the stuff!  So called up to get some more got a price £1140    I was like thats just crazy really for one Roll of felt and 15kg tube of glue.  

DeanSocial found another Company which sold the same stuff!  So I gave them a call £500 loads cheaper!!!!    

So based on that I could of saved over £2000.   Cant believe I have been ripped of so badly!!!!!!    

Not only that this company Dean Social found said they will do next day delivery and gave me price over the phone in seconds.    

Bio Kill always took hours or so to get me a price on items which should be stock items which I found odd also they always asked me when I wanted it for before giving me a price because the more urgent I was for the stuff the more it would cost me.

The Company which Ripped me off is   BioKill Crown   website: http://www.esecure.co.uk/newbiokilshop/building.asp?menu=2    

Bio Kill Crown will tell you they make ALL their own stuff which is load of rubbish because when it arrives they just stick their own stickers calling it something completely different to what it actually says on the tin.    

They told me the other company must of made a mistake no way they can sell if for that cheap because we sell it to them at that price so they would be making a loss.  Which I find hard to believe.   Dean called up other day and got same price as I did to day so they must be making a mistake every day.  

AVOID Bio Kill Crown  MASSIVE RIP OFF and LAIRS!

 

[jmbfestool]

We ''won''  our boundary issue with JCB but JCB are contesting so even though the Land Registry have said its our Land etc JCB are still saying its not so thats still on going.

 

[jmbfestool]

Now on the Plus side!!!!   

The farmer which had said NO to digging into his field 2 metres said yes now so thats saved us £4000

also we are having progress with the build brick layers have done 1 and half days work on the build yay!!!

Pictures to Fallow!

 

[jmbfestool]

 

[Davej]

Cant believe the amount of steel and the grade of concrete specced , methinks your engineer just over specified rather than spend time doing any proper calcs . When i built an extension on my house i had to have it piled due to bad ground , I got 5 quotes and there was a £10 k difference between highest and lowest . You gotta shop around after all its has to be passed by building control and guaranteed .

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Looking good JMB! I'm delighted the land reg sided with you. Tell that JCB lad to Fcuk off. Land reg is the final word on that. Jesus that crowd royally ripped you off.  [mad]

 

[jmbfestool]

Cant believe the amount of steel and the grade of concrete specced , methinks your engineer just over specified rather than spend time doing any proper calcs . When i built an extension on my house i had to have it piled due to bad ground , I got 5 quotes and there was a £10 k difference between highest and lowest . You gotta shop around after all its has to be passed by building control and guaranteed .

Yeah Crazy innit.  

Building inspector said looks like they just took an old retaining wall spec from out the draw and gave it to me.   Just simply to lazy to work it out.     From what it was suppose to be to what it is now is just crazy to me.    Annoying thing is how it is now is how I wanted it in the first place but kept telling me wouldn't be strong enough.  

10k!  crazy how it can be so far out.  Well I didnt shop around with the structural engineer architect brought him over.   Plus price wouldnt off made a difference to how it would of been designed  a engineer charging me 600 or  1200 could still give me same results.  

JMB

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

I'd ask your solicitor about it. Sure if the land reg say its yours no one can say its not unless JCB gets it independently gets it surveyed and chances are they will come with land reg came up with. JCB is just acting a dick about. When I used to work in an architects office I never heard of anyone disputing what the land reg said.

 

[jmbfestool]

I'd ask your solicitor about it. Sure if the land reg say its yours no one can say its not unless JCB gets it independently gets it surveyed and chances are they will come with land reg came up with. JCB is just acting a dick about. When I used to work in an architects office I never heard of anyone disputing what the land reg said.

JCB did have their own surveyors and with their GPS system came up with a detailed map CLAIMING land PAST (about a metre past) the laid hedge which is OUR land as being JCB's Land now.    

JCB wants to charge us rent for any land which is passed the laid hedge at peppercorn rent with conditions because the GPS system says its their land.  Thing is if some one Buys a bit of land/field you use the Laid hedge as the boundary you don't then just go oh and I also get a metre of land on the other side of the hedge/fence etc  Well this is what JCB is trying to do.

We have lived here for 12 years and we have had paving there for 10 years the owner before us built the house him self as hes a builder!  He built this house on his parents land who use to live in the house next door, they owned a lot of the land including the land which is part of this house even BEFORE JCB existed.  They have written a letter saying its our land and will do so under oath.  

Oh its a she by the way whos being the B*tch in all of this.

JMB

 

[Davej]

10k!  crazy how it can be so far out.  Well I didnt shop around with the structural engineer architect brought him over.   Plus price wouldnt off made a difference to how it would of been designed  a engineer charging me 600 or  1200 could still give me same results.  

JMB

If the quotes where between £40-£50k i could expect it but it was £4-14k , made me laugh , maybe as it was 2 weeks before christmas someone was after a BIG bonus  [smile] . Engineer was probably his mate

 

[jeep jake]

thats killer!!! the footings are pretty big what was the PSF of the soil? I'am surprised there was no soil bracing. Why did you go with CMU?

 

[jeep jake]

maybe its the picture? but it doesn't look like you have rebar inside the CMU, and where you going to pour concrete in any of the CMU?

 

[fritter63]

Cant believe the amount of steel and the grade of concrete specced , methinks your engineer just over specified rather than spend time doing any proper calcs . When i built an extension on my house i had to have it piled due to bad ground , I got 5 quotes and there was a £10 k difference between highest and lowest . You gotta shop around after all its has to be passed by building control and guaranteed .

Ditto on that JMB. I built a house in earthquake country (maybe 60 miles form the San Andreas?) with concrete roof tiles and all, and didn't need near that amount of rebar in the ground. Course we're on 92% adobe clay too. Lemme see if I can dig up a picture you:

Here ya go, this was the worst of it, but it's the posts that hold up the only second floor room in the house.

[attachthumb=#]

[attachthumb=#]

 

[mattfc]

A bit annoyed to day!   Few weeks ago bought some tanking to tank the building as its part underground!!  

Well cost £4100!  [scared]  Well thought Gotta do it so bought the stuff.

Well to day ran out of some of the stuff!  So called up to get some more got a price £1140    I was like thats just crazy really for one Roll of felt and 15kg tube of glue.  

DeanSocial found another Company which sold the same stuff!  So I gave them a call £500 loads cheaper!!!!    

So based on that I could of saved over £2000.   Cant believe I have been ripped of so badly!!!!!!    

Not only that this company Dean Social found said they will do next day delivery and gave me price over the phone in seconds.    

Bio Kill always took hours or so to get me a price on items which should be stock items which I found odd also they always asked me when I wanted it for before giving me a price because the more urgent I was for the stuff the more it would cost me.

The Company which Ripped me off is   BioKill Crown   website: http://www.esecure.co.uk/newbiokilshop/building.asp?menu=2    

Bio Kill Crown will tell you they make ALL their own stuff which is load of rubbish because when it arrives they just stick their own stickers calling it something completely different to what it actually says on the tin.    

They told me the other company must of made a mistake no way they can sell if for that cheap because we sell it to them at that price so they would be making a loss.  Which I find hard to believe.   Dean called up other day and got same price as I did to day so they must be making a mistake every day.  

AVOID Bio Kill Crown  MASSIVE RIP OFF and LAIRS!

http://www.kingfisheruk.com/shop_waterproofing_membranes
This site has quite a good range
I presume given you mention felt that you are doing external tanking, are you putting in drainage round the back of the wall then gravel/some well draining material

Re rip off company, ask for a partial refund or some bad publicity.. Their choice, what you got to loose?