The Construction Thread

[thør]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13754131_110434709398312_5609751524178240496_n.png?oh=cce9434ac0706f5cf9b2dafa1d9716a0&oe=58289A48

 

[thør]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13880246_1764215177193238_1250984745577624181_n.jpg?oh=72543ffe1a3b2e9980681e15524ce2e8&oe=58166034

 

[Conager]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13880246_1764215177193238_1250984745577624181_n.jpg?oh=72543ffe1a3b2e9980681e15524ce2e8&oe=58166034

Fun to think about engineers back then. Figuring force vectors and loads, digging through tables for strength specifications all by hand. Sketching it out. Draftsmen penciling out the working plans.

Wonder how much they just guesstimated and then added in a little extra?

 

[thør]

Fun to think about engineers back then. Figuring force vectors and loads, digging through tables for strength specifications all by hand. Sketching it out. Draftsmen penciling out the working plans.

Wonder how much they just guesstimated and then added in a little extra?

If you don't know how to do it by hand, you shouldn't be using a computer program to do it for you.

 

[thør]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13920894_1192596604135981_537232924404803639_n.jpg?oh=e17ca4a71ac4cf1bff135be79da64480&oe=581E844D

 

[thør]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13920593_1166465206743867_1233186723162799056_n.jpg?oh=ed643e727a0a941a5352553bffdb1b98&oe=5813D627

 

[thør]

It's tough to find people that want to make things.

 

[trysail]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13920894_1192596604135981_537232924404803639_n.jpg?oh=e17ca4a71ac4cf1bff135be79da64480&oe=581E844D

Now wait just a damn minute.

How'd he do that ?

​

 

[thør]

"Construction firms across the country are having a hard time finding qualified hourly craft workers to hire"

 

[Hard_Rom]

15' Tree Carving Mounted on Dolomite Base

18' Tree carving rotting at base now successfully mounted on slab of dolomite with a 2.5" galvanized pipe

http://i.imgur.com/0Vkp37B.jpg

Tree came down easy enough with pitman arm boom. Went back up just as easy. Before mounting on pole filled bored hole with window gap foam due to cavernous areas of rot and punky wood. Coated pole with construction adhesive.

Had to go with 2.5" pipe as that was largest diameter hole stone supplier could bore. Got dolomite slab almost half price (10 cents/lb as opposed to 18 cents/lb) slab had been sitting in yard for years

Bored 2.5" hole with saw toothed bit. Tree very rotten in places. When boring hole bit would start to go off center when punky area hit. Fashioned a supporting piece of wood to keep on center and straddle punky areas.

Hole in ground for pipe just as bad. Ground is 'clean fill' (yeah right). More bricks than clay. Hit water table at 3'. Three bags of ReadyMix.

http://i.imgur.com/zglRyWu.jpg

Lost 3' due to rot and blew nose of coyote half off with pressure washer (very rotten). Lots of wood filler used to refashion nose.

http://i.imgur.com/OcH5YaM.jpg

Coated tree with oil based semi-solid stain. Had a heck of a time removing Thompson Water-Seal. Tougher stuff than I first thought.

Deck stripper at full strength extremely caustic. Wear lots of protective gear (shield, goggles, long gloves and PVC rain coat.

All in all went not too bad. Used interlocking patio bricks to keep up a couple of inches from slab for air movement. Hole is 38" deep. Pole is 36". Bricks not actually holding much up. Foam and adhesive seem to be supporting tree weight. I expect it will settle.

Things learned:

Do not use poplar. Not near rot resistant.
http://www.plantra.com/Portals/0/docs/average-heartwood-decay-resistance-usda-forest-service.pdf
Do not use linseed oil as final coating. May work for small indoor wood pieces but outside use automotive polyurethane or maybe epoxy.
Plan on natural carving rotting and don't carve below 2-3' from ground.
Plan ahead on mounting to slab (it will be necessary)

Making this up as I went along. Hope to get 15 years life from carving. We have poplar trees in flooded areas that are still standing after 50 years.

Club seems happy and so is original carver (talented carver, knows nothing about preserving outdoor carvings though).

Joined the carving project after taking pity on 72 year old with circulation issues in feet working alone hefting scaffold sections around. Should have let him kill himself (jk).

May not be expert tree carver. But I do know what not to do now. Which I guess is half the thing.

 

[thør]

18' Tree carving rotting at base now successfully mounted on slab of dolomite with a 2.5" galvanized pipe

http://i.imgur.com/0Vkp37B.jpg

Tree came down easy enough with pitman arm boom. Went back up just as easy. Before mounting on pole filled bored hole with window gap foam due to cavernous areas of rot and punky wood. Coated pole with construction adhesive.

Had to go with 2.5" pipe as that was largest diameter hole stone supplier could bore. Got dolomite slab almost half price (10 cents/lb as opposed to 18 cents/lb) slab had been sitting in yard for years

Bored 2.5" hole with saw toothed bit. Tree very rotten in places. When boring hole bit would start to go off center when punky area hit. Fashioned a supporting piece of wood to keep on center and straddle punky areas.

Hole in ground for pipe just as bad. Ground is 'clean fill' (yeah right). More bricks than clay. Hit water table at 3'. Three bags of ReadyMix.

http://i.imgur.com/zglRyWu.jpg

Lost 3' due to rot and blew nose of coyote half off with pressure washer (very rotten). Lots of wood filler used to refashion nose.

http://i.imgur.com/OcH5YaM.jpg

Coated tree with oil based semi-solid stain. Had a heck of a time removing Thompson Water-Seal. Tougher stuff than I first thought.

Deck stripper at full strength extremely caustic. Wear lots of protective gear (shield, goggles, long gloves and PVC rain coat.

All in all went not too bad. Used interlocking patio bricks to keep up a couple of inches from slab for air movement. Hole is 38" deep. Pole is 36". Bricks not actually holding much up. Foam and adhesive seem to be supporting tree weight. I expect it will settle.

Things learned:

Do not use poplar. Not near rot resistant.
http://www.plantra.com/Portals/0/docs/average-heartwood-decay-resistance-usda-forest-service.pdf
Do not use linseed oil as final coating. May work for small indoor wood pieces but outside use automotive polyurethane or maybe epoxy.
Plan on natural carving rotting and don't carve below 2-3' from ground.
Plan ahead on mounting to slab (it will be necessary)

Making this up as I went along. Hope to get 15 years life from carving. We have poplar trees in flooded areas that are still standing after 50 years.

Club seems happy and so is original carver (talented carver, knows nothing about preserving outdoor carvings though).

Joined the carving project after taking pity on 72 year old with circulation issues in feet working alone hefting scaffold sections around. Should have let him kill himself (jk).

May not be expert tree carver. But I do know what not to do now. Which I guess is half the thing.

Hmmmmmm. The pipe size is non-standard? 2" pipe is 2.375" OD and 2 1/2" pipe is 2.875" OD.

Thompson's is very difficult to paint over properly.

I wouldn't recommend epoxy as a clear coating unless you covered it with a UV inhibitor. Otherwise, you will have a chalky coating.

With the high water table and poor soils you might have a frost heave problem.

But, it's just a tree.

 

[thør]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14352007_10154329055431815_2298352903513386282_o.jpg

 

[thør]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14264120_1543551432337239_8517633946883461988_n.jpg?oh=538e0c8ddc4d1ff98f5679f06d3b12cc&oe=588134F7

Guess which one is the State employee on this job.

 

[thør]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14195188_1532565483435834_1518661292424291515_o.jpg

 

[thør]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/327699_339447932747601_711862255_o.jpg

No really construction equipment, but the AK DOT does get out to the range, occasionally.

 

[Hard_Rom]

Hmmmmmm. The pipe size is non-standard? 2" pipe is 2.375" OD and 2 1/2" pipe is 2.875" OD.

Thompson's is very difficult to paint over properly.

I wouldn't recommend epoxy as a clear coating unless you covered it with a UV inhibitor. Otherwise, you will have a chalky coating.

With the high water table and poor soils you might have a frost heave problem.

But, it's just a tree.

This pipe was 2.5" OD. Might not technically be pipe but galvanized fence post. I believe black iron pipe for natural gas furnaces is measured ID while copper pipe for water is measured OD.

Stripped the Thompsons off with deck stripper and power washer.

Epoxy would have been cost prohibitive in this case. There is a carving downtown that is epoxy coated to withstand vandalism. Might have UV inhibitor. This carving has far too many large cracks that would allow water to get under almost any clear coat.

The heavy clay soil does not seem to heave much at all. I've found that lighter sandy soils seem to heave more. Much of the property was swamp but was filled in with fill from large subdivision being built in the area. Perhaps the high water table abates the heaving. At 3' you hit water and lots of it.

 

[thør]

This pipe was 2.5" OD. Might not technically be pipe but galvanized fence post. I believe black iron pipe for natural gas furnaces is measured ID while copper pipe for water is measured OD.

2 1/2" OD Steel galvanized material with a hole in the middle would be mechanical tubing. Typically not galvanized. But if used for fences, definitely a material that's inferior to normal steel pipe in strength. Fence people use the cheapest shit they can find, unless they buy fence posts from me.

The heavy clay soil does not seem to heave much at all. I've found that lighter sandy soils seem to heave more. Much of the property was swamp but was filled in with fill from large subdivision being built in the area. Perhaps the high water table abates the heaving. At 3' you hit water and lots of it.

Frost heave requires three things; a frost susceptible soil (and clay is that), freezing temperatures from the surface (you're in fucking Canada, eh?) and a supply of moisture below the freezing front (water at .914m qualifies).

 

[SkAoUt]

Guess which one is the State employee on this job.

The Inspector.

 

[thør]

The Inspector.

Hard to see, but his hands are in his pockets.

 

[Saint Peter]

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13920593_1166465206743867_1233186723162799056_n.jpg?oh=ed643e727a0a941a5352553bffdb1b98&oe=5813D627

Your tunnel is 90 degrees out.

 

[thør]

Your tunnel is 90 degrees out.

That is an access shaft. The tunnel is 170 feet below ground surface.

 

[thør]

Housebuilding with SIPs.

 

[thør]

http://cdn.iflscience.com/images/807d2b45-b420-550c-8007-d7e1e798da4b/extra_large-1474891688-cover-image.PNG

 

[trysail]

When thør posts in this thread, I always look forward to opening the post. It is frequently an image of some ginormous clusterfuck caused by some knucklehead's failure to employ simple common sense and judgment.


The last thing I expect to see is a goddamn motherfucking snake.



​

 

[thør]

When thør posts in this thread, I always look forward to opening the post. It is frequently an image of some ginormous clusterfuck caused by some knucklehead's failure to employ simple common sense and judgment.


The last thing I expect to see is a goddamn motherfucking snake.



​

"It looks like something straight out of a cheesy action B-movie, but this monstrous anaconda has reportedly been found by construction workers in Brazil.

It’s already being called “the biggest snake in history.” Although the figures are unconfirmed, it’s said to weigh around 400 kilograms (880 pounds), is 10 meters (32 feet) in length, and measures a chunky 1 meter (3.2 feet) in diameter."

Story