ToughButterCup

That image was taken in Calvi, Corsica. Where we went on honeymoon. It's taken just outside the gates of the 2nd Battalion French Foreign Legion - where I threatened to walk through the gates unless SWMBO bought me an ice cream.

I bought it to make my cladding with. I can assure you, as soon as that's done, it's going. The guy at the wood yard has already made me an offer.....

It's easier to use than the other ones I use, better balanced, easier to start, less vibration, and just a little bit frightening. It coped with the root bowl of that Hemlock tree in short order - and in that sense it's less hard work.

You are going to tell me you use it for curling now aren't ya?

Got it in one Declan. There's two shackles; one U shaped with a locked nut (rated at 4 tonnes) on the bucket mounting (not the bucket) and a largish shackle hooked up to that: one big enough for four strop loops. I'm being veeerrrry careful moving heavy things - I can make a heavy weight swing all too easily. The other thing I'm trying to do is -where I can- move heavy stuff just a few inches off the ground. And all the time keep the weight as close to the digger as possible. That said the piece of cedar in the photo was lifted at full stretch (3 meters) without fuss or noise from the hydraulics at half-full revs. I thought that distance (stretch) was pushing it a bit. But the digger makes so many things so much easier. I'm starting to think about how to solve a problem with a digger now, rather than think for a while, and then realise - Oh yes! I could sort that with the digger.

Just to illustrate my point earlier in the thread have a look at this.... The 'pillars' were inserted by using the digger - the holes dug, the hemlock tree sawn in two and 'posted' into the holes - both back-filled by the digger , the cedar tree off loaded from the trailer (at full 3 meter stretch) and dropped onto the rails (4 by 4s). All on my own with no help. And I thought diggers were for digging holes. And that's Tess, the Chicken Dog. She spends all day rounding up chickens and herding them into the branches of a Bay tree. Yep, I dunno why either.

I'm not grey, I'm silver, silver, OK?

Instructions in my PM....

Welcome here. I used to teach in Bicester way back last century! God, I'm old.....

Hello Vijay. Here's the original post on the matter I have a 2 tonner. The thing that nobody tells you is the way your mind changes as you come to start thinking about how to solve problems with a digger - as opposed to without a digger which for me was the normal way until a few weeks ago. ConstructionChannel puts it best: '...See a problem, turn the key...' Jobs which in my minds eye would take a whole day (move a newt hibernacular) took 10 minutes with the dozer blade. Jobs which were impossible on my own - make a woodmill work-bed out of two large (500+ kg) tree stumps took me an hour on my own. I've always wanted a land drain across our lawn - but couldn't face the job with a shovel. It's a nice-to have, but not essential. It took an hour.

This checklist is copied from a post we made on ebuild. It is a summary of the authors' collective wisdom. Unfortunately the links are dead - but the author's name is always listed. And since most of the usernames have been preserved, they are still relevant. This (and every) checklist will benefit greatly from your comment and experience. Bring a tame fitter with you / or ask for a recommendation from him or her. (Triassic#10) A digger from a hire yard will be better looked after and will have always been serviced. (Declan #5) Stolen? Paper work, service history: check serial numbers (Declan#8) Cab? (Ed#9) If so then : window covers (GRP / metal) Hydraulics Pipes will burst; local hose supplier - easy to swap, you just need big spanners. Have a 25 litre drum of hydraulic fluid as a second hand digger will leak Check track depth : new tracks cost about £200: (proDave #3) Check teeth on the Drive Pinions (proDave #3) Track Motors: Hydraulics Leaks? (proDave #3) Engine service history ? None? Immediate service (proDave #3) Pins: play? If an old machine re-bush. (prodave#2) Joints: play? Slew: play? If it's going you will hear grinding, popping or clicking noises. Check the grease on the bearings. If it's got metal filings in it then it's been grinding. (Declan#8) Check for clean grease around nipples, all the pins should look like they have clean grease on them. Over-greasing is good! Check it will hold the arm extended/bucket raised for a length of time, if hydraulics are on the way out then the arm gradually lowers. (proDave #3) If you have a choice, get one with the main boom ram mounted on top of the arm - the older ones that have it below the arm are prone to damage and bending when something gets caught between the bucket and the ram. (PeterW#3) Fully extend Spool valves and Rams - you may need an assistant to push the levers as far out/back as possible and look for weeps on the joints and also on the ram end seals. (PeterW#3) Equipment: What does it come with? Quick hitch? Right buckets for your needs (Ed #9) Need to buy a bucket? Where from? Check before purchase (proDave #3) Check engine start FROM COLD; easy, hesitant, non-starter? Get the seller to show you how to drive it. (proDave #2) Can machine easily lift itself off the ground with the dozer blade lifting one end and the bucket lifting the other? (proDave #4) Water in fuel? Check fuel filter Water in the oil? Look for mayonnaise-type emulsion on oil filler cap Use red diesel - and don't be tempted to use it in your car. Leaks of oil and hydraulic fluid : get a drip tray Keep it (and spare buckets) secure

Well, Barney, if you don't get a tipper - or have a digger- (and up til recently I didn't) I found myself choosing easier-to-shovel stuff if I had the choice. In terms of reversing, I have a Defender. The standard mirrors are poor. A wide-angle view mirror will help I'm sure. Twisting round in the seat is OK, but reversing while scanning both wing mirrors is much easier. So, wide-angle mirrors for me if I can source them. Just a quick note on straps and chains. 5000Kg straps are excellent - nobody taught me to use them, until the other day at the wood yard. The hooks seem to be the sensible way to attach the strap to the hook on the trailer bed. But if , on the strap, you use the loop of metal from which the hooks are formed, there is no chance whatsoever of it slipping. Strapping in a zig zag fashion (cross and re-cross) the bed is a nightmare. Because the strap loses it's tension in the first section of the strapping. So, where 1 strap will do (with a zig zag hookup) I use 2 straps instead. Chains are much stronger. I use them for the trees I buy (2 tonnes each). But it's hard to tension them evenly. But by the ends of the build I'll have got it right - I hope.

Thank you very much. So many people made so much effort to help produce the list. It would be a great shame to weaken the resource. If I can, I will as a matter of course, always reference the original post and author. And if by chance I forget, please dig me in the ribs. Ian

Meta-discussion. Aha! One of them!

CIC online offers a really well collated set of information But, I get the feeling that, since it's a project funded by several Higher Education Institutes, the project is likely to be pruned. The site isn't as useful as it might be because there's no site-based search facility. For example, I'd like to have researched 'Thermal Mass'. Purely for reference and research purposes you understand. However this page was the most useful starting point for me : it lists a set of relevant categories It's best to register (they'll ask you to do that for some resources -not all)

Thank you. That's that issue on my list ticked off. 'Nother 3,456 to go. Ian

Hmmm, good to know that our feline friends have not been forgotten. My favourite bit of that exchange was the technical discussion of how to make sure the feline's entry or exit did not 'waste' (Oh God, I have to be careful now) erm... heat. And since a cat is worth about 10 Watts........

This post appeared on ebuild, and since it is the work of many people, I reproduce it here. It's a shadow of its former self because I can no longer make the links to the comments to which the bullet points refer. Some you win , others you lose. So, because the text without the link is useless, I have deleted some references to the authors. I have not deleted the names of the original authors who registered with us in the hope that they can provide us with a link to relevant material The checklist is not definitive. Over time I will link this checklist to comments on (buildhub and elsewhere) which substantiate the point made. Your comment on this list is particularly valuable because any work done here improves the validity of the list. And so is likely to save you time and, hopefully, money. Heating Checklist Background reading and considerations Fundamentals Get a feel for what you already use Consider applying PHPP to the design to derive a heating requirement Use J S Harris spreadsheet{J, got a link to that for us?, Ian} Play with PeterW's FingerInTheAir MVHR Checker (PeterW#5) { Peter, got a link to that for us?} Heat Calculations Passiv? Do you need heating at all? Look for Thermal Bridges in your design How are you going to manage cooling? Consider Phase Change Material Storage. Stitching ASHP and UFH together On mains gas? No brainer - it's cheapest Cost benefit analysis. KISS Separate out DHW. Use instant water heaters Selling your house on? Higher temperatures needed? We are all getting older Higher lower occupancy rates in the future? Which thermostats to fit? Smart? Analogue? Radiator? It's not easy. But KISS - off the shelf. (jsharris Blog whole entry and discussion ) Underfloor Heating (UFH) DIY or not? End of lay (Nickfromwales#7) Plot the loops out on graph paper (TerryE#12) Best layout (NickfromWales#15) Useful summary (Alphonsox#17, and Nickfromwales commentary on that #27) ) How to deal with the pipes to the manifold before second fix Testing for leaks (declan52 #25) Avoid piping under toilet and sink traps (nickfromwales#29) MVHR By definition, MVHR = air tightness Forget a traditional fireplace, therefore. MVHR wishlist Where to put the vents? (jsharris#10 et seq) Keep pipe runs to a minimum (PeterStark #10) Minimise 90degree bends (PeterStark #1) Insulate all SUPPLY ducting (PeterStark #10) External Vents at least 2m apart (PeterStark #10) External vents slope downward (PeterStark #10) Fitting metal joists? Fit rigid ducting first (PeterStark #10) Supply to living and bedrooms (PeterStark #10) Extract from wet(ish) rooms (PeterStark #10) Mind yer bonfires ( jsharris#3) Location of MVHR unit Noise concerns: fit attenuation boxes (jsharris#11, jsharris#2) Type of ducting Radial design explained (jsharris#6, whole thread worth a read) While you are at it, try this (jsharris#6) Think through the cooling issue (jsharrisblog 38, 03:48, 1andR whole thread, jsharriswhole thread, TerryE, whole thread, hazymat, whole thread ) Bio Mass / Wood burners A cautionary tale (Steamy#1) The British Medical Journal on the subject (Steamy #1) Heat Pumps (ASHP GSHP) What's your heat load going to be? (Steamy#2, DeeJunFan#3) Are they worth it? (jsharris #4) Caution (jsharris as above) ASHP and DWH (jsharris #7) No need for DHW feeds to all rooms (jsharris#13) jsharris blog post(s) (jsharris) but see recent entries (part 41 and elsewhere) in relation to DWH Controls, how? (jsharris blog 38) Run slab from room stat? (jsharrisblog 38, 03:48) How to cool the house? (jsharrisblog 38, 03:48) Solar: Thermal or PV? FIT considerations RHI considerations Which Solar or PV? (Declan52 #1) PV for Hot water (recommended by jsharris, Ed Davies Blog, accessed Jan 2016) *But* consider separating out DHW. Use instant water heaters (jsharris#5) It's (PV) a no-brainer (Nickfromwales#6, jsharris#8)

I needed to do a bit of research about my local area and bumped into this site. My motivation was to research the relationship between GCN (Great Crested Newt) distribution and temperature. The reason the site is useful is because it refers to other data sets, and either draws on them for 'its' own use or hyperlinks to other useful sets (like this one)

Terry, I can't wait for the bit about levels: and particularly the bit about establishing a reference level. In relation to the traffic survey. I used to do the '...rat run...' into Oxford every morning (round the back through the lanes via Woodeaton). The local residents were so incensed by the volume of traffic that they decided to do survey to make their case to the LPA. So between 07:00 and 9:30 Monday to Friday they ran a video camera on a tripod, abstracted the stats from that, and presented them to the authorities (all written up in the local rag). Illegal? No, they filmed in a public place. Idea?

I am not sure. What i do know is that there is a condition on my EPS Licence which states that the hibernacular must remain in place for 6 years. And as that means no gardening in that particular area, what's there to worry about?

Oh, the Gold-Plate Status Quo has just started to pop (in relation to newts). I have never not paid a bill promptly in my life: this will be the first time I have been on the receiving end of unprofessional conduct, and possibly unethical conduct - where I have had to pay for those services: I am taking advice on when and how much I should pay, and indeed if I should pay. By the time the LPA gets round to discharging the condition we could be into August. For an agreement to apply for the licence before November 2015 - so it could be approved during GCN dormancy, and not to do so despite numerous prompts from me until April 2016 is at the very least unprofessional. He even had the gall the other day to remind me that I should order the TAF fencing and get ready to dig the TAF trench This organisation is one that our ecologist says he belongs. Well, he needs to do more than pay his subs. The gold plated status quo is startling to die. I still really like newts. But I loathe and despise professional people whose personal and professional standards make them unable to face the result of their own behaviour - but then The market knows best.......... Not always.

Hesitantly, I offer this checklist because the subject matter is often deeply sensitive: there's so much at stake during the meeting and the build up to it may well have been fraught. Indeed, this blog entry is a pen-portrait of a recent Planning Committee Meeting in my area All the more need for a rational, carefully structured checklist, therefore. This list appeared originally on the ill-fated ebuild site. Each comment was referenced to multiple threads, thus adding greatly to its validity. This list is offered as a help to those who are considering going to Committee to make their case. I am almost sure that -since many of the ebuilders are now here at buildhub- that any questions you may have about this checklist will be answered promptly. List the facts, assemble the evidence. (Basic procedure for problem solving) Councillors may ask for applications to be called The process in a nutshell Scottish Regulations differ to those in England Dig out the NPPF read it, which paragraphs refer to your case? The value of an accurate drawing Conservation Area? Other local decisions Scale model Size matters, (footprint) but you need evidence Micro-politics: architects - planners - county councillors - parish councillors - neighbours; strategy for dealing with each Is needing to Appeal so bad? Going to Committe or Going to Appeal Manage your Planning Consultant Check the fees situation in relation withdrawn applications What is a withdrawal? You may withdraw DURING a meeting Manage your emotions: don't show people how upset you are What to say and how to say it If you're worried about that, employ a professional to present for you. Going to Appeal needn't be as bad as it may sound

Dads all over the world do this job.