The BIG DIG!

 
rberq
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Post by rberq » Thu. Feb. 14, 2019 9:21 am

Forget about coal storage. You have the makings of a first-class man cave, just needs a TV and a fridge for the beer and a comfy chair.


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Feb. 14, 2019 9:35 am

rberq wrote:
Thu. Feb. 14, 2019 9:21 am
Forget about coal storage. You have the makings of a first-class man cave, just needs a TV and a fridge for the beer and a comfy chair.
That's already setup around the EFM in the other part of the basement.

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Feb. 14, 2019 10:51 am

Lookin' good....

movin' on up.....to a deeeeeluxe coal bin .... in the ground! :clap:

Watch out.... i hear the Loysburg concrete union gets tough on the diggers union if they get outta their lane and try to do more than dig. :D

 
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CoalJockey
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Post by CoalJockey » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 2:53 pm

We now have a wall. Perhaps not quite yet on the Southern Border as we wish but we are on standby as soon as it is approved... have concrete mixer, will travel.

The Loysburg Concrete Union held is first meeting and work day on Saturday February 16. Those present were Tyler, Scotty, and Drew. All crew members agreed to a new contract of brute force and ignorance with the common goal of building Tyler a coal bin.

Scotty built the forms himself out of 3/4 inch plywood and 2x4s. He drilled into the old footer and inserted 5/8” concrete anchors to hold the tops of the forms. The bottom were anchored into the old footer as well as reinforced against the stone foundation wall. It was built much heavier than it needed to be but one time I read on a coal board that “overkill is good but more overkill is better”.

There was a lot of questions over just how we were going to pull this off... should we buy redi-mix, rent a short-pour buggy, or just go for broke and buy bagged Quickcrete? The redi-mix option was the first to get axed, mainly due to concerns over time. We would be charged after a half hour and simply did not have the manpower to get that all thrown into the form that quickly.

The short-pour buggy sounded good until we realized that the mix would have to be shoveled by hand out of the wheel barrow much like the redi-mix and we would have a 25 mile drive to pick it up and take it home. The Quickcrete would allow us much more flexibility even if it were to be mixed ourselves. We figured for the wall to be 8” wide and it would call for 90 bags. We carried in 30 bags on three different evenings. Before you tell me I’m an idiot, hear me out.

We set a mud box up on a stand that was about the same height as the short wall. We got into a rhythm of 2 people mixing one bag at a time with garden hoes on each side of the box and I stood in the middle at the rear running the garden hose. As soon as it was ready we simply tipped the box in the air and poured the concrete right into the top of the form. It worked beautifully and we broke a new bag every minute or so. The higher wall had to be pitched in with a shovel but it was really not that bad.

We started at around noon and finished at around 8:30 that evening. The wall turned out beautiful and we tapered the top shelf upwards into a 45 degree angle. We took the forms off 3 days later and the concrete was set and curing very nicely. Here are some photos, including one of Scotty taking his mandatory Union break and reflecting upon what a mistake it was to move to Loysburg 15 years ago.

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CoalJockey
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Post by CoalJockey » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 3:06 pm

Next it was time to pull off the forms and see what kind of product was really offered here. There were a few small places where it honeycombed a bit right next to the form but these were minimal and would be smoothed over at a later time.

Scotty suggested that it would be a good idea to go ahead and purge the ceiling before we poured the floor and then we didn’t need to worry about the mess. It also seemed like a good time to re-point the mortar in the stone foundation as well. We purchased half a dozen bags of type “S” mortar and began mixing.

We did exactly as Jack told me and brushed a wet coat onto the ceiling with a 4” roof coating brush. This was dry within a day and the second coat was added and it began too look nice. We agreed a 3rd coat would be the cats meow and it really smoothed things over nicely. We used an air chisel to knock the old mortar out of the foundation joints next. Scotty has a mortar gun with a hopper that fits onto the end of a cordless drill and we repainted the entire wall in one afternoon.

Last week we drilled holes in the wall to begin building the grid to hold the rebar for the floor. I even splurged and bought the triangle “chairs” for $3.85 apiece to keep the rebar at the right level. We used 1/2” rebar and built 12” squares to ensure a strong floor. There was some leftover rebar so I pounded it straight into the ground with a few inches sticking up for added strength.

We are talking about doing the short-pour for the floor, as we can just dump the wheel barrow. Here are photos of the completed wall and brushed purging on the ceiling.

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Last edited by CoalJockey on Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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CoalJockey
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Post by CoalJockey » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 3:09 pm

Here are photos of the wall re-pointing and how it turned out. Not too bad for a bunch of truck drivers and barn painters. There was also a drain added to the foyer to catch any water that comes in the door and direct it into the sump on the other side of the wall.

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crazy4coal
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Post by crazy4coal » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 3:41 pm

Looks real good but, that 45 degree angel on the top of the wall is going to make it ruff keeping your beer on there. LOL


 
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2001Sierra
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Post by 2001Sierra » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 4:42 pm

crazy4coal wrote:
Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 3:41 pm
Looks real good but, that 45 degree angel on the top of the wall is going to make it ruff keeping your beer on there. LOL
Well burning coal does have it's hazards :yes:

 
Den034071
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Post by Den034071 » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 8:14 pm

Ty darn nice jo

Ty darn nice job .jack
















b jack
.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 8:21 pm

Nice job! Looks like a nice coal bin in the making, and you probably won't have any ice on the porch.

 
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BunkerdCaddis
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Post by BunkerdCaddis » Sun. Mar. 03, 2019 10:22 pm

That looks really sweet Tyler! I'll bet it looks even better full of coal. :yes:

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Mon. Mar. 04, 2019 7:07 am

Nice job! That's a lot of concrete to mix by hand.

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Mon. Mar. 04, 2019 9:00 am

You know,I'm so sick to my guts tired of witnessing some Pennsy Country Boys gettin' together and makin' things happen! It's a wonder that Jack(Den) wasn't there offering Sidewalk Supervisor Skills on the tuck pointing and Soup Pour! If the Russki's get ahold of this intel,we just might have to develop a better "Bunker Buster" to root them out! Hell,when Your done,You'll be able to pop 10 ton in,and park the Jeep in there,too! Nice!! Carry On,Mister!!

 
Den034071
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Post by Den034071 » Mon. Mar. 04, 2019 2:30 pm

Bob an ty last year I had to move my 8 by 5 coal bin to a New pad .8 am I formed the pad with 2 by 4s to original 8 by 5 coal bin . I had sand and stone an 5 bags of Portland cement the 94 Pound Bags . Delivered to my driveway . I hand mixed in a wheely Smoke was coming off the Hoe .By 1030 am I was Finish Troweling the pad . Dam Ty you Should of Called me to help .jack

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Mon. Mar. 04, 2019 3:09 pm

Jack,You are Most Definitely One of the Original Pennsy Wildmen!!! I figured CoalJockey's little project piqued Your Interest and pushed Your "Pro Button" !!


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