Barge Pilot
Member
Can I move in with you.
Stretch
Well-Known Member
I've had some strange offers in my time...
...I seriously think most people in the Netherlands would rather not be living where I'm moving - there is a reason why I can afford to go there (!)
LincolnSteve
Well-Known Member
Good to hear from you. That workshop sounds fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it.
Stretch
Well-Known Member
It is gonna take a bit of time before I get that built. The ground is (of course because it is Holland) fenland - slightly lower than the bit where the house has been built - which means I want it to be as high if not slightly higher than the house to counteract any flooding (should that happen) - it also needs to be of a "temporary" structure to avoid involving civil servants which essentially means no concrete and conventional structure...
Stretch
Well-Known Member
Today I started to prepare the chassis for transportation. It will go into storage for a while whilst the workshop is being built but needs to be moved easily. The plan is castors - wood - ratchet straps - low loader - silly simple...
The chassis has been lent up against the side of the workshop for a while now (I don't want to talk about it!)
The to get it safely onto the ground the right way up again plan involves using my engine crane. If anyone ever thinks to themselves that they might buy an engine crane to remove an engine and then think it is a bit of a luxury that won't get used again - think again! This engine crane has dug me out of many a hole in the past and despite being cheapo junk it has been worth every penny I paid for it. Admittedly it doesn't get used as much as a bench vice (see previous posts!) but it is definitely a must have bit of kit for any budding DIYer (in my humble opinion). The engine crane enables me to work at my own pace - by myself - safely (well as safe as it gets working by yourself)
From a safety perspective note the following
1) The blocks of wood on which the chassis is sitting (in upright position) are not just to keep the chassis off the ground but they are pivot points for the chassis up against the wall - additional blocks sit on top of the other blocks to act as spacers
With out the blocks of wood the chassis would try to slide (all over the place) - as Mr Newton said every force...
2) The position of the first block of wood with the two 160mm wheel - rated to 300kg castors and the ratchet straps around the gearbox cross member is about where most of the weight of the long wheel base chassis seems to want to pivot. It isn't quite centre of gravity but it is a good place to put the wheels for when you are lowering the chassis. This block of wood with the castors is going to be moved up front tomorrow but for today it was the desired place for the lowering action
3) If you are going to use an engine crane for jobs like this try to imagine how it is going to be in all positions! In this case imagine how low you can lower it - before you reach the stage where you realise "a bit more jib" would have been nice.
4) At a push - if I really had to - I reckon I could have lifted the chassis onto the castors by myself - man power - it is definatly do-able with two chaps but whether it is worth logging your pants or giving yourselves hernias...
...the problem with shifting a LWB chassis about is that it often seems to have a mind of its own and will want to slide away from you. So I do recommend using lifting equipment such as an engine crane where you have the time to think and adjust and re-lift if necessary.
Tomorrow I'll be (temporarily) fitting more parts onto the chassis to reduce the number of individual pieces I need to transport in one go
The chassis has been lent up against the side of the workshop for a while now (I don't want to talk about it!)
The to get it safely onto the ground the right way up again plan involves using my engine crane. If anyone ever thinks to themselves that they might buy an engine crane to remove an engine and then think it is a bit of a luxury that won't get used again - think again! This engine crane has dug me out of many a hole in the past and despite being cheapo junk it has been worth every penny I paid for it. Admittedly it doesn't get used as much as a bench vice (see previous posts!) but it is definitely a must have bit of kit for any budding DIYer (in my humble opinion). The engine crane enables me to work at my own pace - by myself - safely (well as safe as it gets working by yourself)
From a safety perspective note the following
1) The blocks of wood on which the chassis is sitting (in upright position) are not just to keep the chassis off the ground but they are pivot points for the chassis up against the wall - additional blocks sit on top of the other blocks to act as spacers
With out the blocks of wood the chassis would try to slide (all over the place) - as Mr Newton said every force...
2) The position of the first block of wood with the two 160mm wheel - rated to 300kg castors and the ratchet straps around the gearbox cross member is about where most of the weight of the long wheel base chassis seems to want to pivot. It isn't quite centre of gravity but it is a good place to put the wheels for when you are lowering the chassis. This block of wood with the castors is going to be moved up front tomorrow but for today it was the desired place for the lowering action
3) If you are going to use an engine crane for jobs like this try to imagine how it is going to be in all positions! In this case imagine how low you can lower it - before you reach the stage where you realise "a bit more jib" would have been nice.
4) At a push - if I really had to - I reckon I could have lifted the chassis onto the castors by myself - man power - it is definatly do-able with two chaps but whether it is worth logging your pants or giving yourselves hernias...
...the problem with shifting a LWB chassis about is that it often seems to have a mind of its own and will want to slide away from you. So I do recommend using lifting equipment such as an engine crane where you have the time to think and adjust and re-lift if necessary.
Tomorrow I'll be (temporarily) fitting more parts onto the chassis to reduce the number of individual pieces I need to transport in one go
Barge Pilot
Member
I’m quite curious what kind of situation you’re in but I appreciate you cannot share that on a public forum.
Maybe I am in the same spot. I’d like to build a structure to facilitate a mid rise scissor lift. It’s not allowed by the building code (bestemmingsplan.)
A concrete floor, however, with a flush mounted lift is not a problem because it’s considered pavement. I might go with a carport - a lift will need to be protected from the elements.
Stretch
Well-Known Member
The main problem and objection I have to the system here in Holland is the whole problem of contaminated ground. As soon as you dig you are meant to get a soil test. This - in principle - isn't a problem. I would like to know about poison in the ground from a safety perspective. The problem with the tests is that you are meant to inform the authorities of the results. And if you test in the Netherlands they send the results automatically whether you like it or not.
If you are unlucky they can slap various orders on you forcing you to clean up the pollution. Whilst most civil servants will argue that it is the "polluter who pays" in practice it is usually the poor sod who is currently the owner who gets a whole load of grief and more often than not is left holding the baby. Recently I saw a house that looked promising - the difference between the asking price and the WOZ value (that's the council tax valuation for those who are bothering to read this and do not know) was a bit strange - dug a bit deeper into the paper work to find there was ground contamination that has been there since the 1600 / 1700s. It is a ridiculous situation you can't chase after a blacksmith that has been dead for at least 300 years!
My approach to the problem is to build what will be considered as a temporary structure. It will be "little more" {cough cough} than an ISO container (Zeecontainer) on a load of gravel and railway sleepers. I will not be digging. I will not need to do any soil test.
Whilst I have researched my purchase thoroughly - involved both the province and the local council in an intensive paper work based search which resulted in no recorded "dodgy industry" or underground tanks - I can't afford to take the risk of getting a soil test. The resulting clean up bill for 1900 square meters of ground where the water table is probably not much lower than one meter would be millions of euros => Because they insist on using their "mates" / professionals to clean up the pollution.
I understand that pollution - if it is there - should be cleaned up responsibly but in a poor part of the country nobody - not even the local authorities - can afford to do it in the "professional" way which more often than not involves mixing the polluted ground with a load of dry sand to make the parts per whatever smaller...
...I've tried to contact the provincial government about this problem but they won't talk to me about it - there are several cheaper ways published by fairly responsible looking universities where they are using plants to soak up heavy metals out of contaminated ground. It looks like a fairly simple process of growing specific plants for specific pollution - cut plants - burn plants responsibly and collect metals / pollution. A very long-winded process but it would at least mean that expensive industrial processes wouldn't be required...
...anyway rant over!
For your situation a car port and four / two post lift under it sounds like a plan. (Even though it does involve digging!)
Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
If the water table is only about 1 metre down, you could extract a soil sample yourself and send it to a lag in the Uk for analysis, costs about 3-500 hundred Euros. U.K. Labs don't inform anyone of the results except the client.
Col
Col
Stretch
Well-Known Member
Thanks Col - good idea but I wouldn't dream of doing anything illegal such as carrying soil across national boarders with out the correct permission.
Besides I'm 95+% sure there is absolutely nothing wrong with the ground I've just bought - I've done so much research - I just don't like the odds of checking for sure. If there was a system in place where a solution was encouraged instead of a system based on blame then I'd be more willing to play their game...
...also after living in Holland for many years I've kind of grown to be fed up of "lazy" concrete structures. Everything here is concrete. It probably started as a cheap solution but has ended up being "the only way to build". Conventional building here would dictate a massive slab of reinforced concrete onto which concrete walls would be built. I'm thinking an ISO container inspired steel structure (with a pointy roof) and insulated wood walls will be just fine. {With the amount of steel I'm bound to over-engineer, it will probably also have more residual value for when the structure is no longer needed!}
Stretch
Well-Known Member
Mini update (as a kind of explanation / excuse for not getting on with the Land Rover AGAIN)
The move to the new house went well even though most of the vehicles are still in storage. I've been busy making space in the back garden for a new workshop
Here's a before =>
And here's a during picture =>
Lots of cutting and sorting into piles before stuff goes through the new shredding machine
(
If only burning garden waste was allowed in this country!
If only renting machinery was in my budget!
If only paying for someone else to clear it for me was in my budget!
If only I'd won the lottery!
If only...
...if only...
)
Better stop the whinging and get on with it in the mean time eh?
The move to the new house went well even though most of the vehicles are still in storage. I've been busy making space in the back garden for a new workshop
Here's a before =>
And here's a during picture =>
Lots of cutting and sorting into piles before stuff goes through the new shredding machine
(
If only burning garden waste was allowed in this country!
If only renting machinery was in my budget!
If only paying for someone else to clear it for me was in my budget!
If only I'd won the lottery!
If only...
...if only...
)
Better stop the whinging and get on with it in the mean time eh?
Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
Nice to hear from you again. It's amazing how life gets in the way of enjoying yourself.
Col
Stretch
Well-Known Member
Well you get a different kind of enjoyment =>
Pulling this beast out by hand probably wasn't the best plan I've made recently. I could do with a Land Rover and a strong clutch but you see a catch 22 situation forming...
...under normal circumstances it would have been a perfect excuse for buying a classic tractor but alas I've spent that pot of money on a bloody Volvo! Can't have it all.
Never mind in my head I'm imagining some one giving me a pleasant amount of money for the intact stump as they want to make a snazzy coffee table for a yuppie (don't burst my bubble I haven't got it out yet!)
Time to buy one of those reciprocating saws I feel - no point getting a chainsaw I guess as two seconds of chain meeting mud will mean blunt chain
Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
Burn it out. Who doesn't like a nice fire. Or aren't you alwed to that in Holland either?
Col
Stretch
Well-Known Member
It is like you already know the answer!
Don't get me started - you are allowed to BBQ beyond all levels of responsibility - I've lived in areas here where on a sunny day the BBQ smog blocks out the nice weather. If you want to burn loads of old pallets on New Years Eve or for Easter that's allowed as well as filling up the atmosphere with fireworks which obviously is OK too...
...I think the anti-garden fire thing comes from a general anti-farming attitude from the government in this country where farmers have been stopped from burning fields (perhaps - they're now banging on about Nitrogen and Methane produced from the farming world).
What ever there's no point in wishing for different circumstances - a little bit more digging and I'm sure it'll come good. Otherwise I'll have to split the blinking thing in-situ (and ruin my yuppie coffee table dream)
Shippers
Well-Known Member
Chains are cheap and throwaway...
Stretch
Well-Known Member
I managed to get hold of a chainsaw but found that the chains won't last.
I didn't expect much from them but my expectations were dashed! Trying to cut anything other than wood is instant death for a chain - it lasted less than three seconds. Whilst the chainsaw I was using wasn't a super gucci professional thing I can't imagine the better chains would last much longer - may be 10 seconds (?)
Anyway I continued with the reciprocal saw and the 240mm wet wood blades.
It took ages.
I splashed out a whole 29.99 euros on a hand winch which I expected to last about as long as the chainsaw solution - but this time was I surprised to find it worked like a charm. (Even more surprisingly it is still working like a charm)
Yanking the sodding thing up the slope out of the hole was fun (wish I had a working Land Rover for that)
So any way - the ground has now been raised and I'm about to embark on the garage construction proper...
(To be continued)
Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
Good job, well done.
Col
Col
Barge Pilot
Member
Good job indeed. That looks like it was a bear to get out.
