New restoration project - what have I done!
Discussion
budgie smuggler said:
How do you do water changes on your fish tank?
The tank has a remote sump in an outbuilding about 15m away from the main display tank. I do the water changes remotely so as to avoid any mess in the lounge / snug. It's easier as I have set it up with a link to a drain for getting rid of the old water, and a mixing tank where I can fill and prep new water ready to do the changeover gradually without the fish even knowing! Sump room
Mixing tank is top left, on the worktop is the quarantine tank, and in the second picture is the main sump with skimmers etc
Started some of the groundworks outside today! First job was to get some serious man sized gardening tools!
|http://thumbsnap.com/6nA1bZi0[/url][url]
Then made a serious mess of one of the parking areas!
Which left me with this huge pile of crap to get rid of.....
And then I've got to use this pile of 100 tonnes of top soil to make it into a garden again..... Phff I'll be finished by lunchtime tomorrow...... Maybe
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/6nA1bZi0[/url][url]Then made a serious mess of one of the parking areas!
Which left me with this huge pile of crap to get rid of.....
And then I've got to use this pile of 100 tonnes of top soil to make it into a garden again..... Phff I'll be finished by lunchtime tomorrow...... Maybe
[url]Podie said:
Having spent my weekend laying a laminate floor for the first time, I have nothing but awe for what you are doing.
Lol, I've just ordered some of the first floor flooring.... 115 packs at 1.77m2 per pack. Enough to do the kitchen, lounge, 1 x hall and the snug. My back really isn't going to like that job! Another day of 8 hours in a digger, Christ I would never have though sitting down for 8 hours would have been so tiring!
But, more progress!
Starting to look good, well better at least!
Downside is estimated spoil is now circa 150-180 tonnes, which is bloody expensive to get rid of.
Next job is to start lifting the hedges to open up the garden, I've done some research and it seems it may be possible to relocate the beech hedge, but I'm not convinced. Anyone with any experience of this?
There's a flower bed to dig at the back of the houses, but it's going to take awhile as it's 50m long x 1.5m wide, so more tonnes of crap to be removed before I can start putting stuff back in. At least I've got a few days to get it all done.
Also, done some initial estimates and it looks like we will need at least another 100 tonnes of top soil, which is a bit of a bummer for the budget!
But, more progress!
Starting to look good, well better at least!
Downside is estimated spoil is now circa 150-180 tonnes, which is bloody expensive to get rid of.
Next job is to start lifting the hedges to open up the garden, I've done some research and it seems it may be possible to relocate the beech hedge, but I'm not convinced. Anyone with any experience of this?
There's a flower bed to dig at the back of the houses, but it's going to take awhile as it's 50m long x 1.5m wide, so more tonnes of crap to be removed before I can start putting stuff back in. At least I've got a few days to get it all done.
Also, done some initial estimates and it looks like we will need at least another 100 tonnes of top soil, which is a bit of a bummer for the budget!
5potTurbo said:
If you can relocate that beech hedge to my boundary, that'd be great, thanks 
We've about 100 "twigs with some leaves" at the moment, so we're a little "exposed" for a few years!
Hmmm, North East Scotland to Luxemburg in a dumper track that does a max of 14mph full of beech hedges! Roughly 800 miles.... Only about 55 days to get there, not allowing for sleep, wee stops, food or refuelling..... Hmmmmm :-) We've about 100 "twigs with some leaves" at the moment, so we're a little "exposed" for a few years!
Dug a flower bed this afternoon, 45m x 1.5m.... Then back filled with 30 tonnes of top soil, ready for planting now.
Also, had a JCB on site today to load the spoil from the Tarmac, took 8 trips with a 20 tonne load on an 8 wheeler.
Was all going well until I hit an old mains cable for the house behind us! Bloody thing was under the Tarmac not on the SSE plans! Not taped or marked and only about 12" under the surface. Still bloody frustrating to hit it and break it. Even had a spotter watching for me! Still, after an apology to the neighbour and 3 hours for the Hydro to splice in a repair it's all sorted and done. Still something strange watching a guy handle a live 100 amp three phase cable with a pair of marigold (branded marigold honestly!) rubber gloves on! No chance of catching me doing that!
Also, had a JCB on site today to load the spoil from the Tarmac, took 8 trips with a 20 tonne load on an 8 wheeler.
Was all going well until I hit an old mains cable for the house behind us! Bloody thing was under the Tarmac not on the SSE plans! Not taped or marked and only about 12" under the surface. Still bloody frustrating to hit it and break it. Even had a spotter watching for me! Still, after an apology to the neighbour and 3 hours for the Hydro to splice in a repair it's all sorted and done. Still something strange watching a guy handle a live 100 amp three phase cable with a pair of marigold (branded marigold honestly!) rubber gloves on! No chance of catching me doing that!
hidetheelephants said:
Are you going to get stung for the bill, or will SSE swallow the cost on account of the duff plans?
That's the question! I've spoken to the local team leader about it, and he says I took due care and all correct precautions so I'll have to write to them when the bill comes in and explain all this, but I would imagine I will have to pay something towards it. Already cost me £25 for a bunch of flowers for the neighbour to apologise, which I think is the least I should do for her.skintemma said:
Good effort. Massive machinery is the only way to do serious gardening. As for the spoil, we created a very nice bund round the pond - saved us a fortune. We only had a bund because we'd already filled part of the (piped)dyke in and couldn't fit in any more. With a bit of grass over the top, it looks grand.
It's going to be a really splendid place. Just hope, with the size of it, your Mrs doesn't do Farrow & Ball!
Hey Emma, It's going to be a really splendid place. Just hope, with the size of it, your Mrs doesn't do Farrow & Ball!
We did think of something similar but the scale of the spoil coming out meant it was never going to work. Have so far removed over 180 tonnes of Tarmac and sub base out of the place. Also I've needed to drop the levels slightly in order to try to blend in the new lawn area to the old lawn area.
And no farrow and ball just yet, although she has started reading 'Period Homes' magazine which is a bit concerning!
Another digger update! Lost count if the days no with a flurry of digger induced mania!
Well, the original 100 tonnes delivered was no where near enough, so I had to get another 60 tonnes of soil in and roughly (and I mean Roughly!) levelled with the digger...
Hedges out, and most if the site cleared, you can see how it's starting to open the garden out more.
Next job was the graded top soil, sieved and round up treated. Got a good deal at 6 per tonne delivered from a local contractor I know, result! So another 80 tonnes of the graded top soil delivered. Must confess the digger mania had really set in when he arrived, came up to me and said "Hello mate, I've got a load of the "good stuff" for ya!' Felt like a drug dealer!
So this is the garden as of last night, guess what I'm doing today?
Also managed to get a friend over yesterday and do the job I've not been looking forward to, finding and exposing the main incoming cable to the house ready for the SSE to change over to the new supply next week. This was one of the triggers to get the digger in, which then grew arms and legs to doing the garden! Man maths at their best. Either pay 1000 to SSE for a digging team to drive up from Dundee to dig the pit and channel for the new supply on top of the 1200 I've already had to pay for the disconnection and new connection, or do it myself at a hire cost of 550 per week for the digger and dumper truck..... No brainer really!
Still, I didn't fancy the job of digging through Tarmac to find a 30-40 year old cable under the back of the house with a 5.5 tonne digger! For the record, I can now flip a 10p coin with a digger arm from 40 feet, I could even play operation with the bloody thing now!
So, found the cable using a CAT detector, after 30 mins of water divining, the started to dig down in 10mm layers (or at least seemed that way!) to confuse matters I found 4 cables all jumbled together, and old one, just cut off, two armoured and a huge beast of a cable, so good knows which one they need! This was all in amongst the drainage at the back of the house, which two down pipes and a soil pipe within the same 3 ft area! Bloody typical.
Anyway, pit dug, excavated, all personal still alive and kicking!
Well, the original 100 tonnes delivered was no where near enough, so I had to get another 60 tonnes of soil in and roughly (and I mean Roughly!) levelled with the digger...
Hedges out, and most if the site cleared, you can see how it's starting to open the garden out more.
Next job was the graded top soil, sieved and round up treated. Got a good deal at 6 per tonne delivered from a local contractor I know, result! So another 80 tonnes of the graded top soil delivered. Must confess the digger mania had really set in when he arrived, came up to me and said "Hello mate, I've got a load of the "good stuff" for ya!' Felt like a drug dealer!
So this is the garden as of last night, guess what I'm doing today?
Also managed to get a friend over yesterday and do the job I've not been looking forward to, finding and exposing the main incoming cable to the house ready for the SSE to change over to the new supply next week. This was one of the triggers to get the digger in, which then grew arms and legs to doing the garden! Man maths at their best. Either pay 1000 to SSE for a digging team to drive up from Dundee to dig the pit and channel for the new supply on top of the 1200 I've already had to pay for the disconnection and new connection, or do it myself at a hire cost of 550 per week for the digger and dumper truck..... No brainer really!
Still, I didn't fancy the job of digging through Tarmac to find a 30-40 year old cable under the back of the house with a 5.5 tonne digger! For the record, I can now flip a 10p coin with a digger arm from 40 feet, I could even play operation with the bloody thing now!
So, found the cable using a CAT detector, after 30 mins of water divining, the started to dig down in 10mm layers (or at least seemed that way!) to confuse matters I found 4 cables all jumbled together, and old one, just cut off, two armoured and a huge beast of a cable, so good knows which one they need! This was all in amongst the drainage at the back of the house, which two down pipes and a soil pipe within the same 3 ft area! Bloody typical.
Anyway, pit dug, excavated, all personal still alive and kicking!
Quick update, unfortunately the big boyz toys have had to go back to the hire company, for use by a proper builder instead!
Fortunately the timing worked out about right, I had the plant machinery for 6 1/2 days and worked them for at least 9 hours a day, so pretty much earned their keep. The planning worked out ok, as we managed to get everything done that needed done and even time to set up a washing station ready for them being picked up!
The decent top soil was moved out by the digger roughly, but although it's a great piece of kit, it's not a pecision tool and can only do so much. So once it was roughly spread, I didn't want to drive over it as I was concerned about compacting it too much. So it's out with the spade and rake! Started levelling an area roughly 250m2 with 80 tonnes of graded top soil. Just two of us working today, as my labourer buggered off to Glasgow for a weekend on the pish!
Didn't get it finished, but you can see the idea.
Also, finally managed to get a few things down, the holly bush has gone from the back of the garden. Nearly filling a 20ft roll on skip! It worked out about 40ft high and had 9 trunks. But wasn't a match for the digger!
Garden with the holly bush.
|http://thumbsnap.com/zNKchy4z[/url]
And as it went!
|http://thumbsnap.com/GSrhliMr[/url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/6uVAViPb[/url]
Also, tele tubby hill has gone, RIP. I found out it had been formed by a group of parents about 12 years ago in order to recreate the tele tubby hill for the kids, one of the parents who volunteered saw me digging it out and told me the story! Ooops!
Tele tubby hill
And starting to go on digger cam......
[url][url][url]
Fortunately the timing worked out about right, I had the plant machinery for 6 1/2 days and worked them for at least 9 hours a day, so pretty much earned their keep. The planning worked out ok, as we managed to get everything done that needed done and even time to set up a washing station ready for them being picked up!
The decent top soil was moved out by the digger roughly, but although it's a great piece of kit, it's not a pecision tool and can only do so much. So once it was roughly spread, I didn't want to drive over it as I was concerned about compacting it too much. So it's out with the spade and rake! Started levelling an area roughly 250m2 with 80 tonnes of graded top soil. Just two of us working today, as my labourer buggered off to Glasgow for a weekend on the pish!
Didn't get it finished, but you can see the idea.
Also, finally managed to get a few things down, the holly bush has gone from the back of the garden. Nearly filling a 20ft roll on skip! It worked out about 40ft high and had 9 trunks. But wasn't a match for the digger!
Garden with the holly bush.
|http://thumbsnap.com/zNKchy4z[/url]And as it went!
|http://thumbsnap.com/GSrhliMr[/url]|http://thumbsnap.com/6uVAViPb[/url]Also, tele tubby hill has gone, RIP. I found out it had been formed by a group of parents about 12 years ago in order to recreate the tele tubby hill for the kids, one of the parents who volunteered saw me digging it out and told me the story! Ooops!
Tele tubby hill
And starting to go on digger cam......
[url][url][url]Craikeybaby said:
Great work!
My jobs for the weekend are digging a trench for the electric cable to the garage, levelling a section of garden & building a raised bed, but as ever seeing what you're doing makes me realise that it is actually a small job. The difference in scale of our projects is nuts - as much as I'd like to have a go in a digger, I'll only be using a spade & wheelbarrow to save trashing the rest of the garden.
Get a digger in! You know you want to! My jobs for the weekend are digging a trench for the electric cable to the garage, levelling a section of garden & building a raised bed, but as ever seeing what you're doing makes me realise that it is actually a small job. The difference in scale of our projects is nuts - as much as I'd like to have a go in a digger, I'll only be using a spade & wheelbarrow to save trashing the rest of the garden.
Chocolate Teapot said:
Mammoths would be useful!
I did about 100sqm and it took me a couple of hours, it helps if you weigh the pallets down with some rocks but it will give a perfect spread and flat finish.
Similar to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va5Z6INoqnI
Thanks guys, I now have an image of my wife, an 8ft pallet, rope and me with a whip walking behind..... video to follow :-)I did about 100sqm and it took me a couple of hours, it helps if you weigh the pallets down with some rocks but it will give a perfect spread and flat finish.
Similar to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va5Z6INoqnI
renmure said:
Dragging a ladder is a great way to level topsoil on a large(ish) scale. I towed one behind a ride-on mower with really good results.
ps.. enjoying the updates
Well I've got a ride on mower, so could give that a try, think I might need the land rover discovery of ride on mowers just now though! ps.. enjoying the updates
Andrew[MG] said:
Ian, did I read that you are installing a pellet fuelled boiler? Where are you planning to buy the pellets from?
Hi Andrew, I was looking into it, but didn't go for it in the end, just went with two normal boilers linked together. Budget constraints in the short term I'm afraid.Ok, so had a go at levelling the earth today, tried the pallet trick, got bored with it, the wife tried to pull it but even substantial whipping didn't help!
So, I decided mechanical assistance was required! And a couple of concrete bases we dug out of the ground!
I may have "borrowed" my wife's car for doing the gardening... Not a phrase I thought I'd ever have to use!
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/AMEk94ZB[/url]
Got some strange looks doing laps of the garden towing an 8ft trailer loaded with 150kg of rocks! But had some great fun doing it!
So, I decided mechanical assistance was required! And a couple of concrete bases we dug out of the ground!
I may have "borrowed" my wife's car for doing the gardening... Not a phrase I thought I'd ever have to use!
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/AMEk94ZB[/url]Got some strange looks doing laps of the garden towing an 8ft trailer loaded with 150kg of rocks! But had some great fun doing it!
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