Biglad

I need it as an allrounder.... I've got building projects coming up, so footings etc. I've got some land so earthmoving and ditching. I need to landscape round the house so for that also, and shifting a few pallets every now and again. I've considered a telehandler and an excavator and neither are really what I want. I'm also looking at CAT/Massey/New Holland etc... but JCB's are thinker on the ground.

Cheers fella. Budget sweetspot is £15k+VAT... I started looking at £10k but that seemed to be the crap end of series 3, so I moved up a bit. Hours are all over the place, but who can believe that dial on a 25(ish)yr old machine. I came to the conclusion judgment on condition, not hrs, is probably the way to go. Only other worry is not buying something stolen (if not a trader).

Hi all, I've been studying various sites online, looking to buy a JCB 3CX for various jobs around my place. I've been looking at what I would think to be 90's models (by body shape... series 3 I guess??)... but I know little about them, so looking for any advise on what to avoid. I've seen manual boxes, shuttle boxes - not 100% on what to look for there. Also Project 8 and Project 12.... unsure on what those terms mean. Any advise greatly appreciated to avoid buying the wrong thing. Many thanks.

Hi all. New to the site, I've joined for advise on extending my house. I have an old farmhouse in the Cambridgeshire fens I am looking to extend with a single story, plus some internal work. I have a little building experience having extended my previous (1970's) house... but this was on significantly different foundations, and my experience in the trade was working for a building firm on new build - so I have never worked with this kind of foundation.. My house was built circa 1850 and I dug a very small test pit over the weekend, to get an idea of what lies beneath... I've attempted to upload a pic. So on first inspection there appears to be approx 450mm footing, with courses 1 & 2 stepped, then a further 3 - 4 courses rising to ground level.... course 1 appears to be laid directly over clay. So the building is approx. 170yrs old and the area is known for subsidence, its a two story 4 bed house, regular structure with a load bearing wall off-centre, rising through both floors, parallel with the roof ridge. I had a full structural survey done during conveyancing and the surveyor identified their had been movement in the back of the building some time ago, but there were no signs of it having moved recently. There are two elements to the building work I would like to do and that is a single story extension (living room) perpendicular to the gable end, and knocking through the load bearing wall to make what is currently the living room/kitchen... into one large kitchen diner. This would require an RSJ and I would imaging excavation for additional footing where the load of the RSJ transfers. Looking for some advise on how to go about this. If it weren't for the footings I would dive right in, but naturally I'm complacent given what I have. Should I bite the bullet and pay someone to take on the whole project (along with its risks)... or can this still be approached with separate trades, plus project management and additional bits done myself. Anyone with experience of similar situation? Any advise appreciated. ?