workin man

[spinalcracker]

Keep the driveway ideas going. I've been going to do "something" for the last few years....... not found anything affordable that I like.

what is the length and width of your driveway?

does the driveway have a garage at the end of it?

does the driveway end at a street in front of your house and is it concrete or asphalt street?

stamped colored concrete when done properly is beautiful and if that is the preferred look , there are a lot of choices in design and colors

if you are anywhere in Colorado let me know so I can move cause I’m retired.......just kidding...if you were closer I would come over and give you a bid on pouring and finishing your driveway and we could work something out in gold or silver

 

[newmisty]

The old adage that 'form follows function' holds true even in this cluster'.

Looks like a typical third-world jobsite without the usual, harum-scarum scaffolding. But those stairs... Ain't no way I would get near them, let alone on them. The upper flight doesn't look strong enough to hold itself up. I would much rather be the electrician on the ladder, hanging the fan in Hammer's other post. At least the guy would have the possibility of a relatively soft landing.

I think a major factor is that the bottom stairs run into the bottom of the top stairs.

 

[newmisty]

Of course a whole building goes down on Christmas.

Large engineering building who also leases to other tenants. They designed the HVAC system. Two 60 ton rooftop units (no gas heat) that send 55 degree air to hot water reheats. Building also has baseboard. I perfectly remember the engineer who designed it at the time was so cocky about his system and building he didn't put gas to his rooftops or glycol in the system. Rooftop units are actually more expensive as a cooling only unit, since they are not stock. Two days and you could have gased the rooftops, so we are talking $5000 to have a backup.

Well the system is awesome until the economizer sticks open in -5 degree weather. Note also they did not put a $200 dollar freeze stat on the rooftops. So the hot water reheats freeze solid and crack.


Well I get there and water is pouring everywhere, ceiling tiles, and lights falling. Main pumps still running without any water so they blew the seals. After 10 hours of double time and me working my magic the building is cruising along at 65 degrees. Will be back Monday with a few other guys to see the real damage. The owner of my company even came out to give me a hand bleeding the system and checking for leaks.

Cant wait to see the engineers on Monday pointing the finger at everyone, but themselves.

Off to bed, was also out all night in the blizzard, on Wed. Two more days and my on call is over.

View attachment 194664

Double time!

 

[newmisty]

Got this text from client yesterday am. Started reading and thought "oh crap what'd i forget or mess up?" Then sighed in relief!

"(New), I checked out the doors and repair work again this morning. Really looks nice, thanks for your craftsmanship. Regards, Wayne"

 

[D-FENZ]

I think a major factor is that the bottom stairs run into the bottom of the top stairs.

Yes of course. But I wouldn't call that a bug, rather a feature - a safety feature. It would keep people off of the friggin' thing.

 

[hammerhead]

Yes of course. But I wouldn't call that a bug, rather a feature - a safety feature. It would keep people off of the friggin' thing.

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

 

[D-FENZ]

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

Stupid is supposed to hurt. Again- a feature.

 

[glockngold]

That sounds like my everyday regarding a lot of the work I see. No Pride anymore.

One thing I've been debating about in my mind is how to convert my grassy area to a more permanent driveway. So far I ended up throwing a bunch of wood chips and stuff which is made it more driveway like and I've been contemplating different ideas with concrete similar to these below

.

Those driveway ideas look cool,
but when I think about maintaining them, not so practical.
The patchwork with grass will be tricky to mow evenly, grass clippings will stain the concrete, & driving across will be kedonk-kedonk.
Small stone between slabs will collect leaves & dirt which will need maintained, & crabgrass will try to find a home.

 

[ttazzman]

Of course a whole building goes down on Christmas.

Large engineering building who also leases to other tenants. They designed the HVAC system. Two 60 ton rooftop units (no gas heat) that send 55 degree air to hot water reheats. Building also has baseboard. I perfectly remember the engineer who designed it at the time was so cocky about his system and building he didn't put gas to his rooftops or glycol in the system. Rooftop units are actually more expensive as a cooling only unit, since they are not stock. Two days and you could have gased the rooftops, so we are talking $5000 to have a backup.

Well the system is awesome until the economizer sticks open in -5 degree weather. Note also they did not put a $200 dollar freeze stat on the rooftops. So the hot water reheats freeze solid and crack.


Well I get there and water is pouring everywhere, ceiling tiles, and lights falling. Main pumps still running without any water so they blew the seals. After 10 hours of double time and me working my magic the building is cruising along at 65 degrees. Will be back Monday with a few other guys to see the real damage. The owner of my company even came out to give me a hand bleeding the system and checking for leaks.

Cant wait to see the engineers on Monday pointing the finger at everyone, but themselves.

Off to bed, was also out all night in the blizzard, on Wed. Two more days and my on call is over.

View attachment 194664

im sure it was perfect on paper in 60deg weather..........when we had issues with equipment it was always at the worst possible times but i had no problem including asking the designer out to be involved in the fix......how else will they learn about real life.....also it was wise to include the maintenance staff in system installs esp during plant work

 

[hammerhead]

Stupid is supposed to hurt. Again- a feature.

Like they say, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then it's hilarious.

For your viewing entertainment, here's a twatter link that will lead to other accounts.
https://twitter.com/holdmyale

 

[Brio]

Like they say, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then it's hilarious.

For your viewing entertainment, here's a twatter link that will lead to other accounts.
https://twitter.com/holdmyale

It's all fun until someone loses an eye then it's a game. lol

 

[newmisty]

Those driveway ideas look cool,
but when I think about maintaining them, not so practical.
The patchwork with grass will be tricky to mow evenly, grass clippings will stain the concrete, & driving across will be kedonk-kedonk.
Small stone between slabs will collect leaves & dirt which will need maintained, & crabgrass will try to find a home.

Excellent points.

im sure it was perfect on paper in 60deg weather..........when we had issues with equipment it was always at the worst possible times but i had no problem including asking the designer out to be involved in the fix......how else will they learn about real life.....also it was wise to include the maintenance staff in system installs esp during plant work

Usually its a paper pushing pompous prick who never spent more than three days out in the field in his life.

 

[Goldhedge]

Been watching these wheelwright videos. This guy really knows his stuff!

Here he's building replica 20 Mule Team Borax wagons...

This is how we built the heavy wheels for the Borax wagons, from turning 300 lb. hubs to setting 600 lb. tires. The complete wagon building is in the Borax Wagon playlist.

 

[D-FENZ]

Those driveway ideas look cool,
but when I think about maintaining them, not so practical.
The patchwork with grass will be tricky to mow evenly, grass clippings will stain the concrete, & driving across will be kedonk-kedonk.
Small stone between slabs will collect leaves & dirt which will need maintained, & crabgrass will try to find a home.

First thing that came to my mind was that it couldn't be anywhere north of about the 33rd parallel. Couldn't imagine trying to shovel snow off of those things... or any sort of truck traffic.

 

[hoarder]

Been watching these wheelwright videos. This guy really knows his stuff!

Here he's building replica 20 Mule Team Borax wagons...

This is how we built the heavy wheels for the Borax wagons, from turning 300 lb. hubs to setting 600 lb. tires. The complete wagon building is in the Borax Wagon playlist.

I recall that you had to pull the wheels off those wagons every time they needed grease, and swab some more on with a small mop. Considering that they didn't have roller bearings, must have been pretty often.
I wonder what the runout was on those wheels after assembly. Our ancestors were pretty awesome.

 

[davycoppitt]

Turns out for the past few weeks they were going up to the roof to reset the rooftops because the freeze stat was tripping. They installed CO2 sensors to bring national standard fresh air in for covid. Surprise that the national standard doesn't factor in -5 degree temp when bringing all that fresh air in. Coils probably only lasted minutes with how high the velocity is in the duct. Pretty cool system if they would have made a few simple changes. We are now making them. Adding glycol once we are finished with all the repairs. Disabled the economizers until then.

Changing out the pump seals in the big base mounted pumps tomorrow. They ran dry and wrecked the seals. Getting by with one only slightly leaking. Should be allot of good indoor work for me to get through January. It should at least keep me off a roof for the most part.

 

[hammerhead]

I'm sure you'll enjoy the indoor work.

 

[DodgebyDave]

 

[davycoppitt]

Burnt through the entire job this week. Got both base mounted pump seals replaced and all coils changed out. All we need to do is add glycol to the system and we are done. Adding glycol on the weekend so its two days of double time for two of us. Cake walk day. Pretty much watch a pump and bleed the system. Putting in 380 gallons of pure glycol which will sit us right at 30%. Burst point on that will be about -55.

These Grundfos pumps were amazingly engineered. Everything was set up perfect for changing the pump seal. Bid it for 2 days and only had 6 hours into them and that was taking my time.

 

[newmisty]

Davy, thought you may find this interesting.

 

[Silver]

Here's my contribution to workin man. I posted this on another thread, but here it is. Pipeline salvage - oak and hickory (rough stuff) and 150 year old long leaf pine. Mortise and Tenon and pegged.
BTW, the table is a baker's table (8' long), wood is the best material for handling dough.

 

[stonedywankanobe]

TOOLS EXPLAINED

DRILL PRESS : A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL : Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh*t'

DROP SAW : A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS : Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER : An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW : One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS : Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH : Used almost entirely for lighting on fire various flammable objects in your shop. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race..

TABLE SAW : A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK : Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW : A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST : A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER : Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER : A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR : A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER : A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER : Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE : Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

ADJUSTABLE WRENCH: aka "Another hammer", aka "the Swedish Nut Lathe", aka "Crescent Wrench". Commonly used as a one size fits all wrench, usually results in rounding off nut heads before the use of pliers. Will randomly adjust size between bolts, resulting in busted buckles, curse words, and multiple threats to any inanimate objects within the immediate vicinity.

Son of a bitch TOOL : Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a b*tch' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

 

[davycoppitt]

The cold is finally over for us. We got our asses handed to us at work. Been running like a mad man.

Best was a 8" sprinkler main bursting in a underground parking garage for one of our buildings. Filled the huge garage with 8 feet of water. 1.5 million gallons. All boilers, pump, makup air, and building automation were in that garage and all destroyed. That took 3 of our guys a week to get that building back online. The line burst over the electrical and elevators were stuck underwater, so it was a good thing nobody was on them.

The building that had the burst sprinkler was the same owner as the building that I had flood on Christmas. When it rains it pours.

 

[hammerhead]

The cold is finally over for us. We got our asses handed to us at work. Been running like a mad man.

Best was a 8" sprinkler main bursting in a underground parking garage for one of our buildings. Filled the huge garage with 8 feet of water. 1.5 million gallons. All boilers, pump, makup air, and building automation were in that garage and all destroyed. That took 3 of our guys a week to get that building back online. The line burst over the electrical and elevators were stuck underwater, so it was a good thing nobody was on them.

The building that had the burst sprinkler was the same owner as the building that I had flood on Christmas. When it rains it pours.

How long did it take to empty 1.5 million gallons? It get noticed right away?

 

[davycoppitt]

How long did it take to empty 1.5 million gallons? It get noticed right away?

Not sure. Wasn’t one on the job. Happened on a Friday night.

 

[hammerhead]

Not sure. Wasn’t one on the job. Happened on a Friday night.

1000 gallons a minute would be 25 hours?

 

[davycoppitt]

1000 gallons a minute would be 25 hours?

Believe they were thinking 1600 gallons a min. If it broke at night and found in the morning that would sound about the flow.

 

[hammerhead]

A one inch line feeding a resort pool ran for awhile. Cost owner 80 grand.

 

[stonedywankanobe]

 

[newmisty]

Nothing worth mentioning on the work front. Lots of handyman stuff lately.
-----
A business nearby recently moved into a building previously occupied by a wrecker service.

After adding a little roof these dragon skeletons emerged....i've been meaning to stop and take pics and finally did today. Looking forward to seeing the process of I can catch it.

 

[Uglytruth]

Chinese restaurant Dragons?

 

[newmisty]

Chinese restaurant Dragons?

Dude! Excellent guess. I never considered a restaurant going in there. I think you nailed it. Nothing else makes sense.

 

[engineear]

Off gas from the restrooms, will be the fire from dragon's mouth, only at night.

 

[spinalcracker]

had to buy this new to me tool

why didn’t they have these 40 years ago?

I can’t tell you how many curse words parsed my lips whitest lying upside down on my back and debris mixed with water showering my face as I try to take off a hundred year old calcium covered faucet!!

did I mention that there is only 3 4/32 inches in which to fit my fist and a pair of channel locks to loosen the nuts on the faucet?

and skinned up knuckles?

 

[glockngold]

had to buy this new to me tool

why didn’t they have these 40 years ago?

I can’t tell you how many curse words parsed my lips whitest lying upside down on my back and debris mixed with water showering my face as I try to take off a hundred year old calcium covered faucet!!

did I mention that there is only 3 4/32 inches in which to fit my fist and a pair of channel locks to loosen the nuts on the faucet?

and skinned up knuckles?

View attachment 203403

Ok I says, what can that goober do that a basin wrench can't do?
here is an advertizement.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="

" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I am getting ready to replace kitchen faucet.
Not very much metal to torque down.
Lots of plastic nuts & o-rings.
Hey, ... it was good enough for the space shuttle Challenger right?

 

[Uglytruth]

had to buy this new to me tool

why didn’t they have these 40 years ago?

I can’t tell you how many curse words parsed my lips whitest lying upside down on my back and debris mixed with water showering my face as I try to take off a hundred year old calcium covered faucet!!

did I mention that there is only 3 4/32 inches in which to fit my fist and a pair of channel locks to loosen the nuts on the faucet?

and skinned up knuckles?


View attachment 203403

Why didn't you invent it? I would have thought you were looking for an easier way.

 

[newmisty]

 

[newmisty]

Lumber prices soar, increasing home building costs

According to the National Association of Home Builders, lumber costs have spiked 108% since last April.

www.newscentermaine.com

 

[hammerhead]

Lumber prices soar, increasing home building costs

According to the National Association of Home Builders, lumber costs have spiked 108% since last April.

www.newscentermaine.com

Local rag had an article saying costs of new construction could add $16,000 to an estimate.

Not only are the materials expensive, they can be hard to come by. The manufacturers are saying they can't put people to work. Keep extending unenjoyment benefits and giving out dimulus digits, see how far that goes.

 

[hammerhead]

Building Products Assembly - manufacturing - job employment

Work with a team that manufactures cedar shingle panels for roofing and siding. Positions available include Machine Operator, Manual Assembly, Sorting / Grading, and Painting. A positive work ethic...

westernmass.craigslist.org

Positions available include Machine Operator, Manual Assembly, Sorting / Grading, and Painting. A positive work ethic is more important than prior experience.

We don't really need a complete resume, but please at least tell us a little about yourself. You could just send an email listing any job history, related experience, etc.

Relatively low Covid risk. We will have only 6 - 8 employees in a large well-ventilated space with plenty of distance between positions.

Or, how is this not a desperate plea?

Day Laborers Needed, just show up 7am M-F - manufacturing - job...

Plenty of work, not enough people. Physical labor - pulling lumber, etc. If you can pick up a piece of lumber and put it down in another spot - we can use you and we'll pay you a minimum of...

westernmass.craigslist.org

Plenty of work, not enough people. Physical labor - pulling lumber, etc.

If you can pick up a piece of lumber and put it down in another spot - we can use you and we'll pay you a minimum of $15/hour.

Many Day Laborers end up being full-time year-round employees with full benefits packages... Just saying - opportunities for continued employment exist but not necessary.

No phone calls. Just show up by 7am EST Monday-Friday and ask for Patrick or Kevin.
170 Winhall Station Road, South Londonderry, VT

Seriously. Just show up. We will put you to work.