Author Topic: Building a Bridge (Read 26235 times)

vtsteam · « **on:** July 02, 2018, 08:05:59 PM »

I know Andrew digs digging stuff, so here are some photos of the bridge we're building over the next couple weeks.

Here are the old log and plank footbridge, and the brook on both sides. Very hot and dry weather has shrunk it down quite a bit, which will be good for working.

vtsteam · « **Reply #1 on:** July 02, 2018, 08:08:23 PM »

Here's the excavator, which was delivered today. Some of the block for abutments has also been staged.

vtsteam · « **Reply #2 on:** July 02, 2018, 08:14:22 PM »

Some of the block is tapered, and all of it has channels and keys to assemble it together. Both sides have the decorative facing so the taper can be turned either direction.

awemawson · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2018, 01:34:05 AM »

Steve are you planning to do the ground works yourself or are you getting a contractor in ?

Nice digger

vtsteam · « **Reply #4 on:** July 03, 2018, 07:50:30 AM »

Not me, Andrew. Dave will be the man. I'm just going to be an active spectator!

Pete. · « **Reply #5 on:** July 03, 2018, 01:33:30 PM »

Pics not showing here. I think you've hit your hosting bandwidth limit Steve.

vtsteam · « **Reply #6 on:** July 03, 2018, 02:16:51 PM »

That's a first...I'll have to check into it. Thanks Pete.

chipenter · « **Reply #7 on:** July 03, 2018, 02:44:58 PM »

The picks were showing 6am this morning but have gone now .

vtsteam · « **Reply #8 on:** July 03, 2018, 02:47:29 PM »

Yup you're right Pete, looks like I'll have to make some changes to my hosting structure. I'm going to have to temporarily remove these bridge pictures, since I think that was the main cause of the overload. Probably a lot of hits due to search engines because of the thread title.

vtsteam · « **Reply #9 on:** July 03, 2018, 02:51:48 PM »

All pics (except these bridge pics) in all my threads will be back @ 12 AM. Eastern Daylight time tonight, my host says.

250 mHz bandwidth on the sub-site I use for photos. Didn't realize. I have unlimited bandwidth on on the main site, so maybe I'll move photos over there. Sigh......

A bridge too far.

vtsteam · « **Reply #10 on:** July 03, 2018, 03:21:04 PM »

Okay as a test, all the photos on the last page of my New Lathe thread have been relocated, and re-linked. They should be visible. prior pages will still not recover for another 8 hours. I figure I'll just add all new photos in future to my unlimited bandwidth site as I post them. That should take the pressure off of the limited bandwidth site.

I hope I won't have to re-link everything here again!

PekkaNF · « **Reply #11 on:** July 03, 2018, 03:25:06 PM »

You should develop dystolexia and write bilge ower trbled vather or sumthing and the bandwidth problem is gone

vtsteam · « **Reply #12 on:** July 03, 2018, 03:45:09 PM »

My host wrote a note which said that there were 3 complementary resets per domain.

So I asked what that meant, and they said it meant they could reset the count, which starts at midnight, normally.

Of course they didn't actually reset it.

So then I asked if they would please reset it.

This is like pulling teeth.

vtsteam · « **Reply #13 on:** July 03, 2018, 03:57:18 PM »

Okay, they said, sure, no problem.

So they did -- threads back to normal.

Now for this one, I guess I'll re-post to links on the unlimited account. Bridge pics should be back shortly. Sorry for the interruption in your service! But really glad you said something, Pete.

vtsteam · « **Reply #14 on:** July 03, 2018, 09:22:28 PM »

This morning before the real heat began, I started to take apart the old footbridge:

vtsteam · « **Reply #15 on:** July 03, 2018, 09:23:19 PM »

Finally, only the two logs were left. They span 33 feet:

vtsteam · « **Reply #16 on:** July 03, 2018, 09:32:05 PM »

Dave arrived about noon, something of a disappointment, as I thought we were starting early, and tomorrow is the 4th of July, so no work then either.

Anyway, he pushed quite a few yards of soil around roughing in a road for bringing in the rock fill.

vtsteam · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2018, 09:34:14 PM »

And he set up barrier fence to retain runoff. But by 2 p.m. he was done -- the trucker who would be bringing the gravel fill couldn't be reached. So we'll have to wait until Thursday for much more action on this project. But we do have a start.

vtsteam · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2018, 09:31:22 PM »

Crushed rock was delivered for a base for the blocks, for riprap and for building coffer dams.

vtsteam · « **Reply #19 on:** July 19, 2018, 09:33:08 PM »

Dave placing stone for coffer dams. These will allow excavation behind without roiling the main stream's flow.

vtsteam · « **Reply #20 on:** July 19, 2018, 09:34:43 PM »

He has a very delicate touch with that excavator and could place rock exactly where he wanted it -- sprinkling it in a line like it was sand in his hand hand.

vtsteam · « **Reply #21 on:** July 19, 2018, 09:40:01 PM »

We did not like the block that was delivered. Long story on that, and Dave had already placed a few rows of the first abutment. We decided to take it back out and replace it with 4' x 4' x 2' concrete blocks which we would cast ourselves. These will weigh 4800 lbs, vs the pre-cast block weighing 2600 lbs.

Two helpers and I cut and drilled two by lumber, cut sheets of ply for bottoms, leveled locations and drove stakes in order to assemble 6 custom forms yesterday. They were poured this morning.

We will need to unmould them and reassemble them 8 times to complete all the block for the bridge. Once a day. Dave is on vacation until August, and we were hoping to have all the block done by then. But it looks like next week will rain most days. I hope not!

awemawson · « **Reply #22 on:** July 20, 2018, 02:38:56 AM »

A major engineering project Steve!

Are you having the concrete delivered or doing it yourself? That's a lot to mix and place

vtsteam · « **Reply #23 on:** July 20, 2018, 05:16:05 PM »

Heh heh, Andrew no, I'm not mixing it myself. 4800 lbs times 50 blocks equals 240,000 lbs of concrete. Pretty close to a quarter million. Or in you guys flavor about 110 tonnes. I can wield a shovel pretty good, and I do have a small mixer but truly Andrew you flatter me!

Modesty aside, there's an 18 year old kid working with me -- tall strong kid -- football player material, but he came in uhhhhh, my guess.....hung over--- he normally tends to use a shovel as an arm and chin rest anyway.

I looked up after I'd taken apart and moved single handed 4 of the 6 forms, and he'd disappeared into his car today, obviously texting. I called him back and asked whatsa matter? He said he didn't feel good, had a headache, he wanted to go home. I said okay the concrete truck will be here in forty minutes, call your boss on that cell phone and tell him to send somebody else down here fast. Then I stomped back to the forms we were re-building double-time.

Strange thing, he came back in a minute or so and started doing a small amount of work -- high speed for him. I said "Is he sending somebody?" He said no, he was feeling a little better and might as well stick it out. I said okay, up to you.

I'd started at 6:30 AM -- he got to the site a half hour late at 8:30. I'll be 70 next year. I can do three times the work that kid can do.

Seventy is the new twenty, apparently!

awemawson · « **Reply #24 on:** July 20, 2018, 05:35:57 PM »

I know that the older generation has always bad mouthed the younger generation since time immemorial but it does seem we've managed to raise a particularly work shy lot recently.

I can remember as a teenager being absolutely desperate not to be late for my various holiday jobs, obsessively so, and always being there waiting to be let in!

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Author Topic: Building a Bridge (Read 26235 times)