The BIG DIG!

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 4:18 pm

That is not what I was picturing. I was thinking a mid season delivery of damp coal could result in some freezing around the top 2' or so. Then again, Tyler is not in -20 country, so it is probably a non issue.


 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 4:37 pm

And with him being his own coal supplier, shame on him for not filling it in the off season lol

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 6:24 pm

Paying customers come first. :D

 
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Post by Pauliewog » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 6:35 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 6:24 pm
Paying customers come first. :D
His is probably the last coal bin filled. :lol:

Paulie

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 7:48 pm

titleist1 wrote:
Sun. Mar. 25, 2018 7:32 am

For the last 6 - 8" of clean out .... would a rototiller break it up enough for easier removal? That was my method for a shallow drainage swale/trench i put in a few years ago...rototilled to about 6" deep and a flat shovel to scoop away the dirt.
T- It’s pretty soft on the bottom so it is... native topsoil washed off the hillside, its soft enough we can start at the far end with the spade and just keep working our way back. Since I have posted last I have nearly finished carrying the last gob out of the back corner.
windyhill4.2 wrote:
Sat. Mar. 31, 2018 2:02 pm
I would spray several inches of foam up onto that ceiling & then paint over it with your choice of coal bin ceiling color.

Quicker,easier & insulation factor.
It’s a good idea Windy don’t get me wrong. But that foam stuff begins to break down and flake off after a number of years and even sealed with paint it will degrade. I want something permanent that I can go in with the garden hose once a year and hose it down top to bottom. I don’t picture the foam holding up to that very well.

Thanks to Jack and Buffalo Bob on the advice on mixing the parging material. On a side note, Bob you are not very far away from me... just over the mountain from here.

I don’t think it will ever get cold enough to freeze in there, I did not take a thermometer in there but even on the coldest days we worked in there we were only in a light overshirt, anything more made you sweat fast. I suppose anything is possible, but it’s so far below grade I don’t see a problem there. I plan to fill it in the early Fall to allow some of the water to evaporate out before I light up.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, I have weighed them all heavily. I am hoping to dig the rest of the floor out Saturday afternoon if the Union does not strike. I should then be ready to dig footers and pour walls. I have rebar already purchased and Scotty has a bender.
Pauliewog wrote:
Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 6:35 pm
His is probably the last coal bin filled. :lol:
Paulie
Oh my Paulie, isn’t that the truth! :no1:

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 7:52 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Wed. Apr. 04, 2018 6:24 pm
Paying customers come first. :D
I’m gonna have too look into this Rob... and to think the guy is ignorant enough to wonder aloud on the forum why his bin would be the last fill.

Need to have a little something to write off as “spillage” right? :lol:

 
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Post by Benny » Sun. Oct. 21, 2018 6:02 am

What ever happened with the big dig? Life get in the way?


 
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Post by CoalJockey » Sun. Oct. 21, 2018 8:23 am

Benny wrote:
Sun. Oct. 21, 2018 6:02 am
What ever happened with the big dig? Life get in the way?
Oh yea Benny it sure did.... Union Diggers Local walked off the job after they drank all the Yeungling I could find in Central PA and they went looking for more. Luckily for me there is much more still in Pottsville.

We mow over 4 acres of grass around here and between the trucking and that, the BIG DIG was postponed awhile. Stay tuned though, it will likely resume sometime this Winter. There is a stack of rebar laying on the basement floor that will soon be bent for the walls and floor pouring.

Thanks for asking!

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Sun. Dec. 16, 2018 3:20 pm

Well after a few months of long negotiations and contract talks, the crew members of the Loysburg Diggers Union walked back onto the job yesterday. Increased rations of Yeungling, Subway foot-longs for lunch, and more Bluegrass selections to listen to as they worked, and we were back on our way. These guys are a hard bargain.

There was a lot of progress made yesterday, it dumped the rain from dawn till dusk so the day was not good for anything else. Most of the focus was getting a rough grade on the floor and digging a temporary sump to get rid of a small amount of ground water infiltration. An additional four loads on the JD Gator were taken out. We now finally have a semi-level floor to work on throughout the entire area. A level line was drawn around the perimeter a little below the ceiling and then some 2x4s were fastened up so we have a way to measure our grade. Nothing fancy here.

It is good that we are doing this on a very wet year so we can make drainage of utmost importance, on a drier year it may not be given as much thought. There will be a flexible perforated drain pipe installed around the perimeter that will direct any water to a permanent sump in the corner. A layer of 2-b stone will level for the concrete and allow additional drainage and finally the floor will have a slight slope to direct any water from coal runoff to the sump as well.

I am very excited that this is taking shape. After going through the wettest year on record, the porch slab or foundation does not show any sign of distress at all. As the new footers and walls are poured, additional rebar will be included to structurally enhance anything that was lost. The center support will be made permanent by inclusion into the concrete wall somehow. We are going to repoint the stone wall while we are at it, Scotty has all the necessary tools, so why not.

No doubt this will hold more than enough coal to get me through the year. With a little luck, we may be able to pull this off by the end of the heating season so that it is ready to go for the next.

It is difficult to get anything done around here for yourself when you devote 6 days a week to trucking for everyone else. But when you are blessed to have work, you must get it done.

Attachments

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Rough grade for the floor.

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Note the temporary sump. A permanent one is planned in the corner to catch any groundwater infiltration and wet coal runoff.


 
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Post by StokerDon » Sun. Dec. 16, 2018 8:04 pm

NICE!

Glad to see that the Dig is back on!

-Don

 
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Post by Hambden Bob » Sun. Dec. 16, 2018 8:16 pm

Geez,Jock! It looks like the Banquet Room from a Hogan's Heroes Episode! Keep Going,You Tunnel Rat,You !!

 
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Post by CoalHeat » Sun. Dec. 16, 2018 10:07 pm

Just read this entire thread, that is some job you're doing there. Will be great when it's finished, keep forging ahead!

 
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Post by Benny » Mon. Dec. 17, 2018 5:41 am

CJ,I’m amazed that you don’t have a indoor swimming pool.

 
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Post by CoalJockey » Tue. Feb. 12, 2019 9:06 pm

Well, the Big Diggers and Drinkers have been at it again and now I will try to bring you up to speed. We have been chipping away at this one afternoon at a time and we are finally to the point where there will be no more material carried OUT, but from now on everything will be carried IN. Going in will be 2-B stone, flexible perforated drain pipe, concrete (lots of it) and ultimately COAL! :P

First off, it was time to carry in some 2-B stone to get us out of the dirt and allow us to level things up and get ready for the under-slab drain pipe. There will be more 2-B added later on after we compact this down for awhile by foot traffic during other jobs in here.

A channel was dug around the perimeter where we then laid the 4-inch perforated drain in a C-shaped manner that allowed enough slope from one end to the other. The discharge end will be placed into a home-made plastic sump cut from a 35-gallon keg with a sawzall. This drain pipe is located just inside the footer that we will pour around the perimeter.

We have been back and forth in hot discussion and even a few fist fights broke out over weather or not we really need a footer. After all, the wall could be poured all in one piece and locked in place later as the floor was poured and we could have went screaming into the night. It was ultimately decided that we would pour a separate footer to allow us to have some versatility in how we could form the walls. Once said footer was cured we could use it as a bottom support to anchor our forms and thus avoid a bunch of bracing from one side to the other to have to climb around while we are trying to pour the walls. The poured floor will cover all of this in the end and should make for a nice strong system when all is said and done.

Next, we cut and bent our rebar for the uprights in the shape of a candy cane. The bottoms got pounded into the dirt and holes were drilled in the old porch footer to hold the tops. The footer would be poured around the bottoms of these, thus locking them into place and we will tire horizontal rebar in to make the grid later.

Yesterday, we cut 2x6 boards to form the footer, these were fastened with screws to steel grade-stakes. A piece of rebar was fastened horizontally in about the center of the footer, it was tied to the upright rebars. Then we bought 12 bags of Quickcrete at Farm Beurea and hand-mixed it in a wheel barrow and simply drop it in the form. This worked very well and by this afternoon the concrete was set enough to pull the forms off.

Rebar was fastened horizontally to make a grid that is approximately 1-foot squares. We finished out today by getting the ceiling support post ready on the side that gets poured. It will simply get encased within the concrete wall and should create a very sturdy support. The other side will be free standing, with a 4 inch plastic pipe around it to keep the damp coal from rotting it out. When the footer is fully cured the 4 inch drain will then be covered with 2-B and this layer will be placed right beside the footer creating a bed for the concrete floor that is to come.

Next we will pour the walls, this will be done in 3-shifts. The short wall will be done in 2 shifts at approximately halfway, and the higher wall at the rear will be done last. It would be awesome to do it all at once but our work schedules would never allow it.

So here we are, there ya go. This whole thing has been one big crap-shoot but it seems as though we are winning. There is still a lot of work to do but the peasants will surely rejoice when it’s over.

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Post by StokerDon » Wed. Feb. 13, 2019 7:20 pm

NICE!

Glad to see the Loysburg Diggers Union is back on the job. You've got some good progress happening there C.J.!

-Don


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