A few projects I have done recently

[CM1995]

John Griffin posted up the work he did for us on this project last week. Took down 6 oaks in 3 islands and did an excellent job.

Trees, Trees, and More Trees

I get manure from a dairy and mix it with my wood chips. Let it breakdown for a summer and have nice, rich compost to amend my garden with every fall. The logs (any species) gets hauled back to my house and processed for firewood. I don't cut trees daily, more like couple jobs a month. Just...

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

I'll post a few pics although they are redundant.

Before



After



This project is for a GC out of Atlanta we've done several jobs for over the last 10 years. One was a DC for the same store chain that involved rip-rapping a very large ditch. 1,100 LF IIRC.

Damn this was 10 years ago this October.



The guy on the left in the pic above was the same super we had on the 100K SF warehouse addition back in 2018 for the same GC. Great super, knows his stuff and great to work with.



Best advice I can give the young ones coming into the business is work smart, work hard and develop relationships with your clients. Strive to be "Pleasant to work with" - That was one of the best compliments we ever received from a super on the Arena job we did back in 2020.

 

[CM1995]

Back at the little warehouse project -

Third party storm water firm for the city did their contractual monthly inspection and sited the owner for not having the skimmer in the pond. No $$ violation just a write up. Now this is the same firm that approved the drawings for the pond including the outlet structure.

OK no big deal let's put the $2K skimmer in the pond like the drawings called for.

This was the bottomless part of the pond so we stopped by HD to pick up a sheet of 7/16 OSB to rip down for something to walk on. Like to spend our hard earned $$ at places that in turn put food on our table.

6" Faircloth skimmer installed. The OSB was sacrificial and will forever be part of the pond.



The skimmer comes pre-assembled so we glued the 6" PVC extension on the skimmer, installed the black flex hose and remaining 6" PVC on the overflow dam then lowered it into place with the 305. The metal fittings on the flex hose are threaded so we will be able to re-use the skimmer on other projects in the future.

Pulled the rip-rap back, installed the 6" PVC into the OCS and put the check dam back in. Sprinkled some DGB on site to fill the voids in the riprap as that's really all the erosion control in this pond.



Now remember the same third party engineer that approved the drawings is the same firm doing the storm water inspections that wanted the skimmer installed since it was on the approved drawings.

Anyone see any issues? The OCS is installed exactly as drawn and approved.

 

[CM1995]

Update from this week on the tool rental addition in Huntsville.

After John and his crew removed the 6 oaks our crew came in to saw cut then remove the curbs and asphalt. We stockpiled the island dirt to go back into the new islands.

Asphalt and island curb gone.



Used a local contact to find a trucking outfit. 18 loads in a day with 1 truck, pretty quick turn around.


Saw cut trench for the electric car charging stations which there are rumblings of the location will be moved.



Cleaned up at the end of the day. Hired a new kid and put him on 279D 02 to stockpile the island dirt. He hasn't had much time on a CTL so I think he did a pretty good job.

 

[Oxbow]

Back at the little warehouse project -

Third party storm water firm for the city did their contractual monthly inspection and sited the owner for not having the skimmer in the pond. No $$ violation just a write up. Now this is the same firm that approved the drawings for the pond including the outlet structure.

OK no big deal let's put the $2K skimmer in the pond like the drawings called for.

This was the bottomless part of the pond so we stopped by HD to pick up a sheet of 7/16 OSB to rip down for something to walk on. Like to spend our hard earned $$ at places that in turn put food on our table.

6" Faircloth skimmer installed. The OSB was sacrificial and will forever be part of the pond.

View attachment 288947

The skimmer comes pre-assembled so we glued the 6" PVC extension on the skimmer, installed the black flex hose and remaining 6" PVC on the overflow dam then lowered it into place with the 305. The metal fittings on the flex hose are threaded so we will be able to re-use the skimmer on other projects in the future.

Pulled the rip-rap back, installed the 6" PVC into the OCS and put the check dam back in. Sprinkled some DGB on site to fill the voids in the riprap as that's really all the erosion control in this pond.

View attachment 288948

Now remember the same third party engineer that approved the drawings is the same firm doing the storm water inspections that wanted the skimmer installed since it was on the approved drawings.

Anyone see any issues? The OCS is installed exactly as drawn and approved.

View attachment 288945

I know nothing about skimmers, nor how they're supposed to look, but it looks upside down to me.

One of these comes in handy at times.

 

[CM1995]

OxBow never ran a long reach but I'd like to give it a shot one day if a project comes along to pay the rental and make a little change.

Man ya'll have some beautiful country out there! Always enjoyed the travels out there throughout the years.

The skimmer is installed correctly as the 2" PVC sticking up is the "vent". Hint - the 6" PVC square around the top is supposed to float on the surface and the bottom section is supposed to let the storm water slowly leave the pond.

This requires at least a 3' deep water level in the pond to function properly.

 

[willie59]

Back at the little warehouse project -

Third party storm water firm for the city did their contractual monthly inspection and sited the owner for not having the skimmer in the pond. No $$ violation just a write up. Now this is the same firm that approved the drawings for the pond including the outlet structure.

OK no big deal let's put the $2K skimmer in the pond like the drawings called for.

This was the bottomless part of the pond so we stopped by HD to pick up a sheet of 7/16 OSB to rip down for something to walk on. Like to spend our hard earned $$ at places that in turn put food on our table.

6" Faircloth skimmer installed. The OSB was sacrificial and will forever be part of the pond.

View attachment 288947

The skimmer comes pre-assembled so we glued the 6" PVC extension on the skimmer, installed the black flex hose and remaining 6" PVC on the overflow dam then lowered it into place with the 305. The metal fittings on the flex hose are threaded so we will be able to re-use the skimmer on other projects in the future.

Pulled the rip-rap back, installed the 6" PVC into the OCS and put the check dam back in. Sprinkled some DGB on site to fill the voids in the riprap as that's really all the erosion control in this pond.

View attachment 288948

Now remember the same third party engineer that approved the drawings is the same firm doing the storm water inspections that wanted the skimmer installed since it was on the approved drawings.

Anyone see any issues? The OCS is installed exactly as drawn and approved.

View attachment 288945

Is it just dumb me or is that a big open hole in the side of the OCS? Is that normal?

 

[cfherrman]

I was thinking the water level is too low

 

[CM1995]

Is it just dumb me or is that a big open hole in the side of the OCS? Is that normal?

Yes Sir Willie. The engineers spec'd an 18" hole in the OCS and a 6" skimmer. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but that water is never going to get high enough with only a riprap check in front for the skimmer to function properly.

I was thinking the water level is too low

Yes. The way they have it designed the water level will never be high enough. If the engineers would've asked for our $.02, we'd suggested to temporarily brick up the 18" opening until the site and pond was stabilized then remove the brick and skimmer, then let gravity and nature take its course.

However we get paid to install it like the drawings no matter how much money it wastes.

 

[willie59]

The very definition of "educated idiots"!

 

[willie59]

I swear, the more I look at that pic the more I'm totally impressed by that level of stupidity. Let's noodle this through. A skimmer is used to prevent oil/debris floating on the surface of the pond from to escape via the outlet. This requires an amount of water in the pond for that to happen, but that amount of water can never happen because there's an 18" hole in the side of the OCS that will never allow water level in the pond to rise high enough for the skimmer to operate. But hey, looks like you're all set for the next hurricane when it rolls through with the OCS and spillway, skimmer won't matter then.

 

[Oxbow]

OxBow never ran a long reach but I'd like to give it a shot one day if a project comes along to pay the rental and make a little change.

Man ya'll have some beautiful country out there! Always enjoyed the travels out there throughout the years.

The skimmer is installed correctly as the 2" PVC sticking up is the "vent". Hint - the 6" PVC square around the top is supposed to float on the surface and the bottom section is supposed to let the storm water slowly leave the pond.

This requires at least a 3' deep water level in the pond to function properly.

They are kind of an acquired taste, and need to be used a little different than a standard hoe. One of my guys grew up on one and we let him do most of the long reach work. He has the knack for it.

 

[willie59]

They are kind of an acquired taste, and need to be used a little different than a standard hoe. One of my guys grew up on one and we let him do most of the long reach work. He has the knack for it.

Niche machine. Not designed for digging, rather, for moving material with a little bucket with a long a$$ reach.

 

[CM1995]

I swear, the more I look at that pic the more I'm totally impressed by that level of stupidity. Let's noodle this through. A skimmer is used to prevent oil/debris floating on the surface of the pond from to escape via the outlet. This requires an amount of water in the pond for that to happen, but that amount of water can never happen because there's an 18" hole in the side of the OCS that will never allow water level in the pond to rise high enough for the skimmer to operate. But hey, looks like you're all set for the next hurricane when it rolls through with the OCS and spillway, skimmer won't matter then.

Pretty much sums it up my friend.

 

[CM1995]

Well we have the purchase agreement on the desk to sign for this beauty. Planning on signing and sending in Monday.

Deal includes a manual thumb, full auto Trimble GPS and a third medium pressure line. We are going to use the QC off our 325FL and keep the 30" and 48" buckets. I want to keep the buckets as they are in great shape and the K series teeth are now available aftermarket.

The third medium pressure line is for the addition of a processor or rotating grapple in the future. It's cheaper to add anything you think you might need in the initial purchase since for one it's new and second the pricing is better as the dealer wants to make a sale.

2023 325 Next Gen. This will be our 2nd full auto GPS machine.

 

[CaseFan13]

Trading the F towards it?

 

[CM1995]

Trading the F towards it?

Yeah, it's the only way to afford it.

Still have the 321DL with over 8K hours on it as a spare, I'll never get rid of that machine.

 

[willie59]

36 and 48, those are big buckets, even for a 250 class. I suppose the 36 could be used for trenching on a 250, but that 48, that's for mass excavator loading trucks from a pile. Just my guess though.

 

[hvy 1ton]

36 and 48, those are big buckets, even for a 250 class. I suppose the 36 could be used for trenching on a 250, but that 48, that's for mass excavator loading trucks from a pile. Just my guess though.

Reduced tail swing machines are getting pretty fat in the posterior. 325 is 28 metric tons these days. I'm not sure if it's from tonnage creep or it's the old 328 were renumbered.

 

[crane operator]

That's great on the new machine. Its hard ($$$) constantly upgrading, but its the only way forward.

 

[CM1995]

36 and 48, those are big buckets, even for a 250 class. I suppose the 36 could be used for trenching on a 250, but that 48, that's for mass excavator loading trucks from a pile. Just my guess though.

Willie we've been running those 2 buckets on the 325FL for 4 years. The 48" is a perfect size for loading trucks and general excavating. And I had a brain fart on the 36" as it's actually a 30" that we do use for trenching and demo work. A 30" bucket with side cutters leaves roughly a 36" trench which most of the pipe we install is 24" and smaller.

There is a capacity difference on buckets relative to machine size. A 48" bucket for a 336 can have more CY capacity than the 48" for a 325.

The new machine came with a 48" which we will not be buying.