OP
Below 265 SQ/FT Nobody’s tool storage, maintenance & recreation lair.
- Thread starter Nobody-named-Olli
- Start date
All workspaces below 265 squarefeet.
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
This whole matter took an interesting turn and was only resolved as of Tuesday this week. After shipping the damaged unit back mid February, all comms went dark. I had to put my big boy pants on and write some very explicit & eloquently worded e-mails to finally get that invoice cancelled and the situation overall sorted. I still don’t understand how something that trivial could have become that time consuming. Anyway, it’s sorted.
Side note: I looked into the full text of the new laws/regs and the information I received through that first dealer as well as the AI summary were only partially right - left out some important bits.
I contacted another dealer and finally got my hands on a ‘25 built, ‘26 certified secondary water meter, good through 2032. And new tech or not, only marginally pricier - so still worth getting and claiming waste water/sewer fees back.
Will install this later today.
EDIT 10/04/26 - 12:20
Installed, ready to use.
Kind regards,
Olli
Last edited:
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#Stuff in between: Wednesday, April 8th.
Almost forgot about this. Wednesday was supposed to be another really nice day, but overall still cold enough for me to actually want to work outside without the constant “overheating”.
Started by mowing the grass (2nd time after the first about a month ago) and spreading another round of fertilizer. Then I did some careful trimming of a tree and a little hedge consisting of 3 plants - that would have gotten completely out of hand if I would have waited until October to do it. Plus the tree is only getting ready to deploy its leaves - so that was ideal for navigating the cuts.
Since I’m going to paint the outside staircase to the basement in near future, after pressure washing everything a couple of weeks ago, it was also time to repair some of the mortar joints on the clinker brick atop that staircase. I’ve said this on my other post about mortar joint repair, but this type of material in a cartridge is where the Milwaukee M12 caulk gun really shines. Even with a geared manual gun, it isn’t fun - but the M12 makes it a breeze.
It’s really a spot(ty) repair, many small spots, up and down & repositioning the ladder multiple times. It’s not really that interesting - but it had to be done.
With that buttoned up it’s another of these small, very time consuming because of “logistics”, jobs done.
Now it’s back to raining for a couple of days, and once there are 2 or 3 days in a row with no rain again, I’m gonna tackle the paint job.
Rainy days are however very good to move other jobs forward.
Kind regards,
Olli
Almost forgot about this. Wednesday was supposed to be another really nice day, but overall still cold enough for me to actually want to work outside without the constant “overheating”.
Started by mowing the grass (2nd time after the first about a month ago) and spreading another round of fertilizer. Then I did some careful trimming of a tree and a little hedge consisting of 3 plants - that would have gotten completely out of hand if I would have waited until October to do it. Plus the tree is only getting ready to deploy its leaves - so that was ideal for navigating the cuts.
Since I’m going to paint the outside staircase to the basement in near future, after pressure washing everything a couple of weeks ago, it was also time to repair some of the mortar joints on the clinker brick atop that staircase. I’ve said this on my other post about mortar joint repair, but this type of material in a cartridge is where the Milwaukee M12 caulk gun really shines. Even with a geared manual gun, it isn’t fun - but the M12 makes it a breeze.
It’s really a spot(ty) repair, many small spots, up and down & repositioning the ladder multiple times. It’s not really that interesting - but it had to be done.
With that buttoned up it’s another of these small, very time consuming because of “logistics”, jobs done.
Now it’s back to raining for a couple of days, and once there are 2 or 3 days in a row with no rain again, I’m gonna tackle the paint job.
Rainy days are however very good to move other jobs forward.
Kind regards,
Olli
I love the rock filled gabion basket covering the irrigation riser pipe.This whole matter took an interesting turn and was only resolved as of Tuesday this week. After shipping the damaged unit back mid February, all comms went dark. I had to put my big boy pants on and write some very explicit & eloquently worded e-mails to finally get that invoice cancelled and the situation overall sorted. I still don’t understand how something that trivial could have become that time consuming. Anyway, it’s sorted.
Side note: I looked into the full text of the new laws/regs and the information I received through that first dealer as well as the AI summary were only partially right - left out some important bits.
I contacted another dealer and finally got my hands on a ‘25 built, ‘26 certified secondary water meter, good through 2032. And new tech or not, only marginally pricier - so still worth getting and claiming waste water/sewer fees back.
Will install this later today.
EDIT 10/04/26 - 12:20
Installed, ready to use.
Kind regards,
Olli
I wish I’d thought of it for the frost proof riser that I had near my garden at my first Michigan house.
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Star Wars (and The Simpsons) are always right. - Oh, and can I borrow your rat snake please?
I’ve posted this before, “The rule of two.” or to quote Yoda: “Always two there are, no more no less.” and with a lot of day to day DIY trouble shooting and (temporary) repairs it holds true.
A couple of nights ago, I saw that 6 (one string) of our ambient patio LED floor lights were off. “Death stick” indicated there was still voltage going to the light(s). So today I went to investigate. Started by pulling the first one and sure enough, rodent bite marks. (Highly likely a mouse.)
I cut that damaged section out and installed two Wago inline connectors.
Still wouldn’t light up. Then I remembered Yoda. … Pulled some more of the wire out, sure enough - another damaged section. Another Wago inline connector, and: WIN!
12V only, patio is completely roofed, not accessible, temporary fix. Going to pull up some of the boards and do a permanent fix in few weeks time.
Also set up some mouse traps. …
Kind regards,
Olli
0.11 Star Wars (and The Simpsons) are always right. - Oh, and can I borrow your rat snake please?
I’ve posted this before, “The rule of two.” or to quote Yoda: “Always two there are, no more no less.” and with a lot of day to day DIY trouble shooting and (temporary) repairs it holds true.
A couple of nights ago, I saw that 6 (one string) of our ambient patio LED floor lights were off. “Death stick” indicated there was still voltage going to the light(s). So today I went to investigate. Started by pulling the first one and sure enough, rodent bite marks. (Highly likely a mouse.)
I cut that damaged section out and installed two Wago inline connectors.
Still wouldn’t light up. Then I remembered Yoda. … Pulled some more of the wire out, sure enough - another damaged section. Another Wago inline connector, and: WIN!
12V only, patio is completely roofed, not accessible, temporary fix. Going to pull up some of the boards and do a permanent fix in few weeks time.
Also set up some mouse traps. …
Kind regards,
Olli
larry4406
Well-known member
Hope you have a pull string (steel cable) for the next time you need to pull a wire unless it’s easy to use a fish tape.0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Star Wars (and The Simpsons) are always right. - Oh, and can I borrow your rat snake please?
I’ve posted this before, “The rule of two.” or to quote Yoda: “Always two there are, no more no less.” and with a lot of day to day DIY trouble shooting and (temporary) repairs it holds true.
A couple of nights ago, I saw that 6 (one string) of our ambient patio LED floor lights were off. “Death stick” indicated there was still voltage going to the light(s). So today I went to investigate. Started by pulling the first one and sure enough, rodent bite marks. (Highly likely a mouse.)
I cut that damaged section out and installed two Wago inline connectors.
Still wouldn’t light up. Then I remembered Yoda. … Pulled some more of the wire out, sure enough - another damaged section. Another Wago inline connector, and: WIN!
12V only, patio is completely roofed, not accessible, temporary fix. Going to pull up some of the boards and do a permanent fix in few weeks time.
Also set up some mouse traps. …
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Sure. Own a KatiBlitz https://products.katimex.com/cable-pulling-systems/kati-blitz/ & a set of Runposticks https://www.runpotec.com/en/products/detail/runposticks-package-35-parts-10173
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#Nobody’s tool storage, maintenance & recreation lair
#Currently on the workbench picture; May 6th, 2026.
Shovel assembly time.
The shafts/handles got delivered in the afternoon.
I’m sure there are many ways to assemble a shovel, mine is:
Seat blade on shaft. I do that, after alignment, by holding the shovel at the grommet, and then tap the shaft in. If the shaft fits the grommet correctly, that by itself already gives the joint quite a bit of strength.
Then I cut a nice thick nail to size and drill a hole at least one size smaller.
This prevents splitting of the shaft & you don’t have to hammer down on the nail like a berserk. It goes in smooth but the friction fit you want is still there.
And that’s the two shovels assembled.
You might have noticed that the shafts I used are fairly short, 1m/ 39,37” that is because both of these shovels will primarily be used to empty FIBC and wheelbarrows. This makes them a lot easier to handle during these tasks.
Next I stapled some warning tape to two saw horses.
You might rightfully ask why. The material delivery for the little paving project is a few weeks out and the supplier did not guarantee materials to be delivered right up to the property.
- Worst case scenario is they drop them off at the road/ entry of the driveway. Then I will be transporting everything myself onto the property in which case I won’t be needing these.
- The second worse case scenario is they back into the driveway and drop off everything onto the footway that leads to our property, then I will again be transporting everything myself onto our property and also won’t need these.
- However in the best case scenario, and given I can convince the truck driver with some $$ to pull the materials right in front of our house with the electric pallet truck that he should have, all the materials - FIBC and two pallets - will be stored on the footway directly in front of our property and that’s when I will use these to make it safe.
It’s a broad footpath, nothing will be blocked or inaccessible - not even for a wheelchair or double stroller - but I’d like to make sure the neighborhood kids won’t run into it with their bikes, scooters or rollerblades and hurt themselves. This will draw the necessary attention to the stored materials.
I’m lucky it’s not the street and just a footpath that is basically “residents only” - otherwise I would have had to pull a permit and put up fully road legal warning signs, barriers and all that. Since I won’t have to do that, I spared myself from bringing some of these type barriers and their corresponding bases from site #2 to the main property, as the bases are heavy and the barriers bulky and either way simply total overkill for this.
In case someone is interested, I had some physiotherapy appointments for my left rotator cuff and progress is marginal at best. But from what I hear that is expected and it will need time. I’m curious how the paving project, especially all the transporting of materials and overburden is going to affect that. As the pain comes from certain movements and not so much from “load” if that makes sense.
Kind regards,
Olli
#Currently on the workbench picture; May 6th, 2026.
Shovel assembly time.
The shafts/handles got delivered in the afternoon.
I’m sure there are many ways to assemble a shovel, mine is:
Seat blade on shaft. I do that, after alignment, by holding the shovel at the grommet, and then tap the shaft in. If the shaft fits the grommet correctly, that by itself already gives the joint quite a bit of strength.
Then I cut a nice thick nail to size and drill a hole at least one size smaller.
This prevents splitting of the shaft & you don’t have to hammer down on the nail like a berserk. It goes in smooth but the friction fit you want is still there.
And that’s the two shovels assembled.
You might have noticed that the shafts I used are fairly short, 1m/ 39,37” that is because both of these shovels will primarily be used to empty FIBC and wheelbarrows. This makes them a lot easier to handle during these tasks.
Next I stapled some warning tape to two saw horses.
You might rightfully ask why. The material delivery for the little paving project is a few weeks out and the supplier did not guarantee materials to be delivered right up to the property.
- Worst case scenario is they drop them off at the road/ entry of the driveway. Then I will be transporting everything myself onto the property in which case I won’t be needing these.
- The second worse case scenario is they back into the driveway and drop off everything onto the footway that leads to our property, then I will again be transporting everything myself onto our property and also won’t need these.
- However in the best case scenario, and given I can convince the truck driver with some $$ to pull the materials right in front of our house with the electric pallet truck that he should have, all the materials - FIBC and two pallets - will be stored on the footway directly in front of our property and that’s when I will use these to make it safe.
It’s a broad footpath, nothing will be blocked or inaccessible - not even for a wheelchair or double stroller - but I’d like to make sure the neighborhood kids won’t run into it with their bikes, scooters or rollerblades and hurt themselves. This will draw the necessary attention to the stored materials.
I’m lucky it’s not the street and just a footpath that is basically “residents only” - otherwise I would have had to pull a permit and put up fully road legal warning signs, barriers and all that. Since I won’t have to do that, I spared myself from bringing some of these type barriers and their corresponding bases from site #2 to the main property, as the bases are heavy and the barriers bulky and either way simply total overkill for this.
In case someone is interested, I had some physiotherapy appointments for my left rotator cuff and progress is marginal at best. But from what I hear that is expected and it will need time. I’m curious how the paving project, especially all the transporting of materials and overburden is going to affect that. As the pain comes from certain movements and not so much from “load” if that makes sense.
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#FrenchKangarooStories (Renault Kangoo)
So since this is GarageJournal after all, I feel like I could post about the Kangoo (KW0DB5, 3333, AQR, 78kW, benzine) we drive, a bit as well. It now got somewhere in the ballpark of 100.000km/ 62.137 miles on the odometer currently.
I wanted to drive to the farmers market in the morning and found a note behind the windscreen wiper. A “neighbor“ had concerns about it loosing oil, apparently on multiple parking spots we used. We didn’t notice that so far & last oil change was in August ‘25.
Couldn’t see a puddle or anything, so I pulled it forward and sure enough there was a tiny coin sized wet patch underneath. Took a tissue from the glovebox to take it up, careful sniff test, and yes it was motor oil. Checked the motor oil level and you could argue that it was not on the full mark, but to say some was missing … I don’t know, might be a stretch. We’re talking margins here …
I wasn’t concerned driving it, so I drove it a few streets down to our regular shop. Master technician there was nice enough to have the journeyman technician drive it on the lift immediately and check. Journeyman comes back for the Master to take a look as well, their verdict: A tiny amount of oil on the underside of the pan, no obvious leak, can’t be diagnosed on the spot.
They cleaned it and said to come back in two weeks and they will lift it up again to take another look - and since we’re going to make a planned switch from summer and winter tires to all-season tires anyway this month, do a more throughout diagnosis when that appointment comes. They weren’t concerned about driving the car as is.
Went to the farmers market from there & back home. Got some cash and walked to the shop again, to put it in their tip jar - as I hadn’t any cash on me in the morning. Talked briefly to the shop owner, fixed the date on the appointment for the tire change and possible further diagnosis.
Let’s see where that goes.
Kind regards,
Olli
So since this is GarageJournal after all, I feel like I could post about the Kangoo (KW0DB5, 3333, AQR, 78kW, benzine) we drive, a bit as well. It now got somewhere in the ballpark of 100.000km/ 62.137 miles on the odometer currently.
I wanted to drive to the farmers market in the morning and found a note behind the windscreen wiper. A “neighbor“ had concerns about it loosing oil, apparently on multiple parking spots we used. We didn’t notice that so far & last oil change was in August ‘25.
Couldn’t see a puddle or anything, so I pulled it forward and sure enough there was a tiny coin sized wet patch underneath. Took a tissue from the glovebox to take it up, careful sniff test, and yes it was motor oil. Checked the motor oil level and you could argue that it was not on the full mark, but to say some was missing … I don’t know, might be a stretch. We’re talking margins here …
I wasn’t concerned driving it, so I drove it a few streets down to our regular shop. Master technician there was nice enough to have the journeyman technician drive it on the lift immediately and check. Journeyman comes back for the Master to take a look as well, their verdict: A tiny amount of oil on the underside of the pan, no obvious leak, can’t be diagnosed on the spot.
They cleaned it and said to come back in two weeks and they will lift it up again to take another look - and since we’re going to make a planned switch from summer and winter tires to all-season tires anyway this month, do a more throughout diagnosis when that appointment comes. They weren’t concerned about driving the car as is.
Went to the farmers market from there & back home. Got some cash and walked to the shop again, to put it in their tip jar - as I hadn’t any cash on me in the morning. Talked briefly to the shop owner, fixed the date on the appointment for the tire change and possible further diagnosis.
Let’s see where that goes.
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#Nobody’s tool storage, maintenance & recreation lair
#Currently on the workbench picture; May 13th, 2026.
Philips Sonicare HX710 disassembly. (Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-yourself-today.445359/page-610#post-11626305 )
Philips did not want the defective unit back, so I thought I’d open it to take a peek inside, mainly for curiosity. I knew it had a screw inside the charging port and the cap came out & off effortlessly after loosening the T8 screw. I then saw two metal wings that obviously locked the internal unit inside the handle. I don’t like brainlessly “breaking” stuff and a minute of searching on youtube provided me with this video, giving credit were credit is due:
So you can unlock the internal unit with a PH2 and then push it out.
Locked.
Unlocked.
And this is where I think Philips deserves a shout out as well, the internal part comes with a regular battery tray. No “soldered”/ spot welded connections, no obstacles. So a battery swap would be a job taking minutes.
Now I didn’t start this with the intention of making this post or actually salvaging the battery - because up until I saw that video linked above, I was sure it would be a “soldered”/ spot welded connection on the battery and pretty much useless. I just wanted to see if I saw anything obviously wrong with the internals, plain and simple out of curiosity. But after seeing this, I thought it is worth a post, to spread the message that a battery change on these would be dead easy if necessary - and I think that is generally a good thing.
Now I did take the battery out, but I’m not really sure if keeping & “maintaining” it is a reasonable undertaking. I have a charger for these, I could theoretically charge it to around 80% for long term storage - but if that battery would still be good if it ever came to the point of needing to replace the battery in the new toothbrush, who knows. And keeping up with a single battery, for a day that might never come, seems like a giant waste of time.
But then again, it is what it is - and in the end I thought it is interesting enough to post it. I’ll hang onto that battery for a bit, maybe I find a use for it - and if not it can still be recycled separately from the broken toothbrush.
Kind regards,
Olli
#Currently on the workbench picture; May 13th, 2026.
Philips Sonicare HX710 disassembly. (Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-yourself-today.445359/page-610#post-11626305 )
Philips did not want the defective unit back, so I thought I’d open it to take a peek inside, mainly for curiosity. I knew it had a screw inside the charging port and the cap came out & off effortlessly after loosening the T8 screw. I then saw two metal wings that obviously locked the internal unit inside the handle. I don’t like brainlessly “breaking” stuff and a minute of searching on youtube provided me with this video, giving credit were credit is due:
So you can unlock the internal unit with a PH2 and then push it out.
Locked.
Unlocked.
And this is where I think Philips deserves a shout out as well, the internal part comes with a regular battery tray. No “soldered”/ spot welded connections, no obstacles. So a battery swap would be a job taking minutes.
Now I didn’t start this with the intention of making this post or actually salvaging the battery - because up until I saw that video linked above, I was sure it would be a “soldered”/ spot welded connection on the battery and pretty much useless. I just wanted to see if I saw anything obviously wrong with the internals, plain and simple out of curiosity. But after seeing this, I thought it is worth a post, to spread the message that a battery change on these would be dead easy if necessary - and I think that is generally a good thing.
Now I did take the battery out, but I’m not really sure if keeping & “maintaining” it is a reasonable undertaking. I have a charger for these, I could theoretically charge it to around 80% for long term storage - but if that battery would still be good if it ever came to the point of needing to replace the battery in the new toothbrush, who knows. And keeping up with a single battery, for a day that might never come, seems like a giant waste of time.
But then again, it is what it is - and in the end I thought it is interesting enough to post it. I’ll hang onto that battery for a bit, maybe I find a use for it - and if not it can still be recycled separately from the broken toothbrush.
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#FrenchKangarooStories (Renault Kangoo)
Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...e-recreation-lair.542090/page-6#post-11622516
Today’s conclusion: Tech who made the oil-change in August ‘25 re-used the old crush/ compression gasket.
Dropped the Kangoo off at the shop this morning, owner said to leave it with them, they would get to it today, or tomorrow morning latest. I didn’t expect that, as it was basically said to come by just for them to look at it again. So I left the car with them.
Got a call in the afternoon it’s ready for pick up, leaked from the drain plug, their mistake, fixed, no charge.
Talked to the owner, he said they wiped down the pan again, applied talcum powder to it and saw it leaking from the drain plug. Knowing they had done the oil change back in August ‘25 and looking at it, the shop owner determined the crush/ compression gasket must have been re-used instead of being replaced, and utilized the occasion to remind his techs that this is an absolute no-go. (His words.) Even gave me the “culprit”. As had been said earlier, no charge.
He’s coming back to me with a quote for the all-season tires now and that’s the next regular appointment.
Here’s the “culprit“, or maybe better, the cause - as it didn’t re-install itself. And since I’m not “Marlo Stanfield” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlo_Stanfield ) I didn’t demand the tech to be handed over to take a walk with “Chris” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Partlow ) and “Snoop”. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoop_(The_Wire) ) (Sorry, I just love that TV series so much …)
Very happy it was just that and not anything major.
Kind regards,
Olli
Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...e-recreation-lair.542090/page-6#post-11622516
Today’s conclusion: Tech who made the oil-change in August ‘25 re-used the old crush/ compression gasket.
Dropped the Kangoo off at the shop this morning, owner said to leave it with them, they would get to it today, or tomorrow morning latest. I didn’t expect that, as it was basically said to come by just for them to look at it again. So I left the car with them.
Got a call in the afternoon it’s ready for pick up, leaked from the drain plug, their mistake, fixed, no charge.
Talked to the owner, he said they wiped down the pan again, applied talcum powder to it and saw it leaking from the drain plug. Knowing they had done the oil change back in August ‘25 and looking at it, the shop owner determined the crush/ compression gasket must have been re-used instead of being replaced, and utilized the occasion to remind his techs that this is an absolute no-go. (His words.) Even gave me the “culprit”. As had been said earlier, no charge.
He’s coming back to me with a quote for the all-season tires now and that’s the next regular appointment.
Here’s the “culprit“, or maybe better, the cause - as it didn’t re-install itself.
And since I’m not “Marlo Stanfield” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlo_Stanfield ) I didn’t demand the tech to be handed over to take a walk with “Chris” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Partlow ) and “Snoop”. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoop_(The_Wire) ) (Sorry, I just love that TV series so much …)Very happy it was just that and not anything major.
Kind regards,
Olli
Sounds as if you’ve found a good shop to do business with#FrenchKangarooStories (Renault Kangoo)
Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...e-recreation-lair.542090/page-6#post-11622516
Today’s conclusion: Tech who made the oil-change in August ‘25 re-used the old crush/ compression gasket.
Dropped the Kangoo off at the shop this morning, owner said to leave it with them, they would get to it today, or tomorrow morning latest. I didn’t expect that, as it was basically said to come by just for them to look at it again. So I left the car with them.
Got a call in the afternoon it’s ready for pick up, leaked from the drain plug, their mistake, fixed, no charge.
Talked to the owner, he said they wiped down the pan again, applied talcum powder to it and saw it leaking from the drain plug. Knowing they had done the oil change back in August ‘25 and looking at it, the shop owner determined the crush/ compression gasket must have been re-used instead of being replaced, and utilized the occasion to remind his techs that this is an absolute no-go. (His words.) Even gave me the “culprit”. As had been said earlier, no charge.
He’s coming back to me with a quote for the all-season tires now and that’s the next regular appointment.
Here’s the “culprit“, or maybe better, the cause - as it didn’t re-install itself.
Very happy it was just that and not anything major.
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That appears to be the same type of crush washer used on motorcycle exhausts. Definitely single use only. Solid crush washers can be re-used especially if you anneal them. Of course for the cost why take chances?#FrenchKangarooStories (Renault Kangoo)
Background story: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...e-recreation-lair.542090/page-6#post-11622516
Today’s conclusion: Tech who made the oil-change in August ‘25 re-used the old crush/ compression gasket.
Dropped the Kangoo off at the shop this morning, owner said to leave it with them, they would get to it today, or tomorrow morning latest. I didn’t expect that, as it was basically said to come by just for them to look at it again. So I left the car with them.
Got a call in the afternoon it’s ready for pick up, leaked from the drain plug, their mistake, fixed, no charge.
Talked to the owner, he said they wiped down the pan again, applied talcum powder to it and saw it leaking from the drain plug. Knowing they had done the oil change back in August ‘25 and looking at it, the shop owner determined the crush/ compression gasket must have been re-used instead of being replaced, and utilized the occasion to remind his techs that this is an absolute no-go. (His words.) Even gave me the “culprit”. As had been said earlier, no charge.
He’s coming back to me with a quote for the all-season tires now and that’s the next regular appointment.
Here’s the “culprit“, or maybe better, the cause - as it didn’t re-install itself.
Very happy it was just that and not anything major.
Kind regards,
Olli
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#Stuff in between: Saturday, May 23rd. - 1 of 2
1. An unexpected delivery.
The weather took a hard turn towards summer, it’s still 29°C/ 84.2°F as I’m writing this, so my original plan was to work a bit on the outdoor basement staircase project during the cooler morning hours, as that also took a hard turn from a simple paint job into a little more - but that is always expected.
5 minutes before 9 my phone rings and it’s a truck driver who has my paving project materials on his truck and wants to deliver them. So I ask him, are you loaded and on the way or are you still loading. His reply loaded and on the way. I said fine then.
Now originally this was to happen mid-June and without going into the details, a scheduled, earlier, delivery for today was cancelled, for reasons. So I did not expect a delivery today. However, it’s a Saturday, none of this the driver‘s fault, and Monday is a bank holiday - so I decided to accept the delivery today.
And boy I got lucky. The truck driver, true GJ’er at heart, would fit right in here. Totally prepared. A few posts earlier (#209) I described worst to best case scenarios for the delivery of the materials. Pulled his truck right up to the driveway, had an electric pallet truck & had a ramp for the pallet truck to overcome the not level lowering to get onto the driveway. This way he was able to pull all of my three pallets right in front of our house basically effortless. Gave him a nice tip for that. We had a little chat, and he showed me the onboard charger and replacement battery for the electric pallet truck. Very, very well equipped.
Delivered.
- 6 square meter/ 64sq.ft. of pavers 130kg/ 286pounds per square meter. 780kg/ 1719pounds total
- 20 bags of basalt grit/chips 2-5mm (0,079”-0,2”) at 25kg/ 55pounds per bag. 500kg/ 1102pounds total
- 1 big bag (FIBC) of gravel 0-45mm (zero/fines - 1,77”) at 750kg/ 1653pounds per bag. 750kg/ 1653pounds total
- 2 bags of joint grit/chips 1-3mm (0,039” - 0,12”) at 25kg/ 55pounds per bag. 50kg/ 110pounds total
Unpacking.
Please allow me two remarks here. 1st, I’m really enjoying this little Milwaukee D2-Steel ‘flipper’ as a work knife. 2nd, the Occidental Leather pouch I’ve bought many, many years ago and sadly, hardly sees enough use because what I had wanted to do when I bought it never materialized - I should have bought one without the hammer holder but a tape holder instead. That would be way more practical for what I really need/ do. Still, it’s an impeccable piece of gear and I enjoy it, but rarely really use it.
And now with my warning barriers from post #209 in place.
2. Then it was time to start on what I had originally planned.
Now this might need some explanation. The outdoor staircase to the basement was altered by the previous owner of this property. We had another door put in at some point - but something hadn’t been right with the surface/mortar especially around the entry well before that. It’s loose. Not loose as in bits and pieces, but loose as a whole with some cracks to go.
Now the right way to address that would have been to cover the door and take it all down.
I looked into materials & techniques to re-build after that and quickly realized, if I’m going to do that, I’m going to address the stairs as well - and if I address those (which we definitely are going to do at some point), it’s going to be hired out - for various reasons. Main reason, and that’s basically the theme song here, transport of materials needed and transport & disposal of builder‘s waste.
Still wanting to paint the staircase/ entry I decided I would try something a little different. I’ve used injection mortar on various projects and for various applications and I thought that might be suitable to re-gain some adhesion/ bonding. So what I did is, I filled all the holes, drilled a few inside the cracks as well and then filled them as well.
Your friendly Binford Tools rep at it again.
Filled holes & temporarily re-located flood light.
At it
And the main event.
Will continue in 2 of 2.
1. An unexpected delivery.
The weather took a hard turn towards summer, it’s still 29°C/ 84.2°F as I’m writing this, so my original plan was to work a bit on the outdoor basement staircase project during the cooler morning hours, as that also took a hard turn from a simple paint job into a little more - but that is always expected.
5 minutes before 9 my phone rings and it’s a truck driver who has my paving project materials on his truck and wants to deliver them. So I ask him, are you loaded and on the way or are you still loading. His reply loaded and on the way. I said fine then.
Now originally this was to happen mid-June and without going into the details, a scheduled, earlier, delivery for today was cancelled, for reasons. So I did not expect a delivery today. However, it’s a Saturday, none of this the driver‘s fault, and Monday is a bank holiday - so I decided to accept the delivery today.
And boy I got lucky. The truck driver, true GJ’er at heart, would fit right in here. Totally prepared. A few posts earlier (#209) I described worst to best case scenarios for the delivery of the materials. Pulled his truck right up to the driveway, had an electric pallet truck & had a ramp for the pallet truck to overcome the not level lowering to get onto the driveway. This way he was able to pull all of my three pallets right in front of our house basically effortless. Gave him a nice tip for that. We had a little chat, and he showed me the onboard charger and replacement battery for the electric pallet truck. Very, very well equipped.
Delivered.
- 6 square meter/ 64sq.ft. of pavers 130kg/ 286pounds per square meter. 780kg/ 1719pounds total
- 20 bags of basalt grit/chips 2-5mm (0,079”-0,2”) at 25kg/ 55pounds per bag. 500kg/ 1102pounds total
- 1 big bag (FIBC) of gravel 0-45mm (zero/fines - 1,77”) at 750kg/ 1653pounds per bag. 750kg/ 1653pounds total
- 2 bags of joint grit/chips 1-3mm (0,039” - 0,12”) at 25kg/ 55pounds per bag. 50kg/ 110pounds total
Unpacking.
Please allow me two remarks here. 1st, I’m really enjoying this little Milwaukee D2-Steel ‘flipper’ as a work knife. 2nd, the Occidental Leather pouch I’ve bought many, many years ago and sadly, hardly sees enough use because what I had wanted to do when I bought it never materialized - I should have bought one without the hammer holder but a tape holder instead. That would be way more practical for what I really need/ do. Still, it’s an impeccable piece of gear and I enjoy it, but rarely really use it.
And now with my warning barriers from post #209 in place.
2. Then it was time to start on what I had originally planned.
Now this might need some explanation. The outdoor staircase to the basement was altered by the previous owner of this property. We had another door put in at some point - but something hadn’t been right with the surface/mortar especially around the entry well before that. It’s loose. Not loose as in bits and pieces, but loose as a whole with some cracks to go.
Now the right way to address that would have been to cover the door and take it all down.
I looked into materials & techniques to re-build after that and quickly realized, if I’m going to do that, I’m going to address the stairs as well - and if I address those (which we definitely are going to do at some point), it’s going to be hired out - for various reasons. Main reason, and that’s basically the theme song here, transport of materials needed and transport & disposal of builder‘s waste.
Still wanting to paint the staircase/ entry I decided I would try something a little different. I’ve used injection mortar on various projects and for various applications and I thought that might be suitable to re-gain some adhesion/ bonding. So what I did is, I filled all the holes, drilled a few inside the cracks as well and then filled them as well.
Your friendly Binford Tools rep at it again.
Filled holes & temporarily re-located flood light.
At it
And the main event.
Will continue in 2 of 2.
Last edited:
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
#Stuff in between: Saturday, May 23rd. - 2 of 2
Since I want to do something about that eye-sore, that the deteriorating expanding foam on the right is, as well. I temporarily took out the unused gutter stack pipe.
Gone. No turning them.
So it’s peanut-butter jelly, err, angle grinder time.
Pipe out, flange cleaned.
This one put up quite a fight.
This will be an easy fix with some regular mortar. Crack on the left will be addressed when I get the old expanding foam out.
Hope you enjoyed the little update & thank you very much for following along & your continued interest!
Kind regards,
Olli
Since I want to do something about that eye-sore, that the deteriorating expanding foam on the right is, as well. I temporarily took out the unused gutter stack pipe.
Gone. No turning them.
So it’s peanut-butter jelly, err, angle grinder time.
Pipe out, flange cleaned.
This one put up quite a fight.
This will be an easy fix with some regular mortar. Crack on the left will be addressed when I get the old expanding foam out.
Hope you enjoyed the little update & thank you very much for following along & your continued interest!
Kind regards,
Olli
Last edited:
Krfjkm
Well-known member
Love your updates!!
captain14
Well-known member
Enjoy your updates here.
One good thing about this project, you don’t have to walk far to your shop in the basement to get another tool.
Is there a floor drain at the base of the steps? I walked through a house one time they installed a sump pump to get rid of the water.
One good thing about this project, you don’t have to walk far to your shop in the basement to get another tool.
Is there a floor drain at the base of the steps? I walked through a house one time they installed a sump pump to get rid of the water.
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Thank you very much @Krfjkm & @captain14 !
That is very true @captain14 ! To answer your question, yes there is a floor drain - however it’s a little flawed because of how things were build “back then”. Here’s an excerpt from the original plan.
You can see the back gutter connects to the sewer and runs underneath the slab to the front where it connects to the mains. Now the basement floor drain has a backflow trap. However, the outdoor staircase floor drain connects behind that. So if the backflow trap engages, any water that goes through that outdoor floor drain will rise inside.
Now if the pressure rises beyond what the stack pipe can handle, that flows over, into the floor drain and rises inside. Now this is not a big issue because a) the whole outdoor staircase and patio are roofed, b) it takes a lot for the stack pipe not being able to handle the pressure. But anyway, we keep an emergency pump maintained and at hand just in case. And it has happened before - but it’s all manageable.
Another issue now that the whole staircase is roofed, that floor drain is dry & invites spiders to build there. … I need to regularly maintain & flush it, to make sure it’s always ready.
Otherwise this can happen during prolonged, torrential, heavy rain.
Kind regards,
Olli
That is very true @captain14 !
To answer your question, yes there is a floor drain - however it’s a little flawed because of how things were build “back then”. Here’s an excerpt from the original plan.You can see the back gutter connects to the sewer and runs underneath the slab to the front where it connects to the mains. Now the basement floor drain has a backflow trap. However, the outdoor staircase floor drain connects behind that. So if the backflow trap engages, any water that goes through that outdoor floor drain will rise inside.
Now if the pressure rises beyond what the stack pipe can handle, that flows over, into the floor drain and rises inside. Now this is not a big issue because a) the whole outdoor staircase and patio are roofed, b) it takes a lot for the stack pipe not being able to handle the pressure. But anyway, we keep an emergency pump maintained and at hand just in case. And it has happened before - but it’s all manageable.
Another issue now that the whole staircase is roofed, that floor drain is dry & invites spiders to build there. … I need to regularly maintain & flush it, to make sure it’s always ready.
Otherwise this can happen during prolonged, torrential, heavy rain.
Kind regards,
Olli
captain14
Well-known member
I have seen them get clogged with leaves and the water has no where to go but into the basement.
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
My last post covered the material delivery for the paving project on Saturday, May 23rd - a bank holiday weekend. So we started the project on Tuesday after, coincidentally the hottest week of the year - so far - with temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F every day. My dad helped tons with this project - without him it wouldn’t have been possible to pull it off and it was the first time paving for both of us. I mean we both have laid some slabs before, but not laid pavers down following a strict pattern & given/ set gradient.
0.11.1 - Day 1 Tuesday, May 26th
As usual, setting up shop.
First job, taking out the single row of pavers on the property line.
And taking them away - the start of many ”last trips” over the “very small farm road” - as everything taken out had to be moved into the garden/ backyard.
And then it was time to get into the ground. The decision had been made prior - based on the experience of last years material/ overburden handling, screening & distribution in the garden - that every shovel taken out the ground would be screened before it was going to the garden.
As expected we removed a lot of roots from the tree & magnolia removed/ moved to the garden in February. But if you look to ground at the very front & left of the garden waste sack there is another familiar sight, builders waste. …
By the end of the day I had all of them cut up and in the garden/ organic waste bin.
The void - so far - cordoned off. This doesn’t look too impressive, but: Hunting down and removing the roots, screening every shovel, then walking the wheelbarrow more or less 100m/ 328ft over the “very small farm road” around the other properties into our garden, tipping & walking it back the same way - takes time. Especially in temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F. And this is only the beginning & setting the overall theme for the next couple of days.
Builders waste sorted out.
And my day then ended in the lair, cleaning the little Stihl.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
My last post covered the material delivery for the paving project on Saturday, May 23rd - a bank holiday weekend. So we started the project on Tuesday after, coincidentally the hottest week of the year - so far - with temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F every day. My dad helped tons with this project - without him it wouldn’t have been possible to pull it off and it was the first time paving for both of us. I mean we both have laid some slabs before, but not laid pavers down following a strict pattern & given/ set gradient.
0.11.1 - Day 1 Tuesday, May 26th
As usual, setting up shop.
First job, taking out the single row of pavers on the property line.
And taking them away - the start of many ”last trips” over the “very small farm road” - as everything taken out had to be moved into the garden/ backyard.
And then it was time to get into the ground. The decision had been made prior - based on the experience of last years material/ overburden handling, screening & distribution in the garden - that every shovel taken out the ground would be screened before it was going to the garden.
As expected we removed a lot of roots from the tree & magnolia removed/ moved to the garden in February. But if you look to ground at the very front & left of the garden waste sack there is another familiar sight, builders waste. …
By the end of the day I had all of them cut up and in the garden/ organic waste bin.
The void - so far - cordoned off. This doesn’t look too impressive, but: Hunting down and removing the roots, screening every shovel, then walking the wheelbarrow more or less 100m/ 328ft over the “very small farm road” around the other properties into our garden, tipping & walking it back the same way - takes time. Especially in temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F. And this is only the beginning & setting the overall theme for the next couple of days.
Builders waste sorted out.
And my day then ended in the lair, cleaning the little Stihl.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
littlebean
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 761
definitely this!
I concur, you're underway although I don't know how in that heat
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Quite a bit of work in the heat no less, what fun....
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
@Dig Doug , @littlebean , @bugnut Thank you very much for the comments!
——-
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.2 - Day 2 Wednesday, May 27th
Day two was all about making progress on the excavating. Same story, dig, screen & haul off. A couple of scoops in, and I hear the dreaded “clonk“. You can even see pieces of tile and what I suspect are chunks of mortar/ thick set used back in the day, not concrete - way to soft for that.
Another scoop, another hit.
To speed up the process of breaking this stuff down, out comes my 2kg class rotary hammer.
And this simply continued throughout the day.
And because this is so much fun. …
Another thing I realized at that point was how much soil had build up over the decades. Confirming my hunch.
Void cordoned off.
And the builder’s waste up to this point.
This sums up day two.
—
I’m going to talk a bit about that waste, because for this update there is really not much else to talk about.
The two bins to the left were already too heavy to be lifted by two. The third bin was still moveable.
Now the real issue is going to be to dispose this stuff in accordance with law & regs. I will have to re-distribute everything over multiple bins (so I can actually move them), drive them to the nearest, commercial, recycling yard - fill out paperwork disclosing the origin of this waste, guarantee it’s free of asbestos (and other harmful stuff) and then throw everything into the assigned bay - and a drive over their scale prior and after. Last but not least, pay their fees.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
——-
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.2 - Day 2 Wednesday, May 27th
Day two was all about making progress on the excavating. Same story, dig, screen & haul off. A couple of scoops in, and I hear the dreaded “clonk“. You can even see pieces of tile and what I suspect are chunks of mortar/ thick set used back in the day, not concrete - way to soft for that.
Another scoop, another hit.
To speed up the process of breaking this stuff down, out comes my 2kg class rotary hammer.
And this simply continued throughout the day.
And because this is so much fun. …
Another thing I realized at that point was how much soil had build up over the decades. Confirming my hunch.
Void cordoned off.
And the builder’s waste up to this point.
This sums up day two.
—
I’m going to talk a bit about that waste, because for this update there is really not much else to talk about.
The two bins to the left were already too heavy to be lifted by two. The third bin was still moveable.
Now the real issue is going to be to dispose this stuff in accordance with law & regs. I will have to re-distribute everything over multiple bins (so I can actually move them), drive them to the nearest, commercial, recycling yard - fill out paperwork disclosing the origin of this waste, guarantee it’s free of asbestos (and other harmful stuff) and then throw everything into the assigned bay - and a drive over their scale prior and after. Last but not least, pay their fees.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
Nice work!
I really like your soil screen.
Interesting how you‘re required to dispose of “builder’s waste”.
No wonder they have a tendency to bury it!
I eventually had to did up my whole front yard to remove all the drywall scraps and misc. **** that the builder buried in the yard and then sodded over.
Funny thing though, after all was made right my grass grew really well and needed very little irrigation water.
I really like your soil screen.
Interesting how you‘re required to dispose of “builder’s waste”.
No wonder they have a tendency to bury it!
I eventually had to did up my whole front yard to remove all the drywall scraps and misc. **** that the builder buried in the yard and then sodded over.
Funny thing though, after all was made right my grass grew really well and needed very little irrigation water.
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
@Jgaz Thank you very much!
The builder’s waste I took out the ground is from somewhere between 1965 to 1967 … It’s “original” stuff from when these houses were built. I don’t know what the applicable laws/regs were back then, but it’s a common issue that has already cost us - and everyone else - a lot of money especially on a large project done to the underground parking garage across the street that we own a parking space in. It needed a ton of excavating, re-sealing/ insulating/ waterproofing at the foundation and access tunnels/staircases.
The company that did the job dug down to the foundation level, access tunnels completely uncovered … Once they realized what they were digging up, the owner of the company came to talk to me (and others) and said, no way to legally backfill with what they dug out - and there is going to be massive extra costs for screening, disposal and backfilling with the right material. His concerns were not just the law, but also the big, big pieces of builder’s waste, concrete, … that could easily damage the work his crew had done prior and render it useless.
We did get lucky as it was taken care of by an excavator with riddle bucket and a few containers … No screener/ crusher required on site. But it did increase cost drastically.
Here are a couple of pictures I can share without giving away too much.
Access tunnels dug down to foundation level & “insulated”/ waterproofed.
Overburden before screening.
The overall story is, the original builder from the sixties went bankrupt during or shortly after completion of this development. In my mind, I can see unpaid bills, unpaid wages, disgruntled employees and subs … and I think at some point all that mattered was getting this over the finish line. So they just buried the waste whenever possible and also took other ”shortcuts” along the way.
Don’t get me wrong, the properties & housing here are generally build well and are very good speaking of the “base substance” but there are some quirks - and the “builder’s waste” saga has bitten everyone here in the a** a couple of times during projects. …
The thing is, it’s 2026 now and we’re applying 2026 rules, laws & regs to properties and housings build before the seventies … And reality is, while I consider myself pretty well educated on building materials and I know there is no asbestos in this - how and why am I guaranteeing/ putting my a** on the line for this without actually testing it first? And when I have it tested, and it comes back with elevated levels of asbestos, I then have a much bigger issue on my hands. … I know the one source of asbestos in these houses/properties and so far we’ve been lucky that I never did find any during any ”digging projects”. And in our house, that “source” has been removed and was disposed in accordance with laws/regs.
I do hope this little bit of extra information was/is worth your time and you find it ”interesting trivia”.
Kind regards,
Olli
The builder’s waste I took out the ground is from somewhere between 1965 to 1967 … It’s “original” stuff from when these houses were built. I don’t know what the applicable laws/regs were back then, but it’s a common issue that has already cost us - and everyone else - a lot of money especially on a large project done to the underground parking garage across the street that we own a parking space in. It needed a ton of excavating, re-sealing/ insulating/ waterproofing at the foundation and access tunnels/staircases.
The company that did the job dug down to the foundation level, access tunnels completely uncovered … Once they realized what they were digging up, the owner of the company came to talk to me (and others) and said, no way to legally backfill with what they dug out - and there is going to be massive extra costs for screening, disposal and backfilling with the right material. His concerns were not just the law, but also the big, big pieces of builder’s waste, concrete, … that could easily damage the work his crew had done prior and render it useless.
We did get lucky as it was taken care of by an excavator with riddle bucket and a few containers … No screener/ crusher required on site. But it did increase cost drastically.
Here are a couple of pictures I can share without giving away too much.
Access tunnels dug down to foundation level & “insulated”/ waterproofed.
Overburden before screening.
The overall story is, the original builder from the sixties went bankrupt during or shortly after completion of this development. In my mind, I can see unpaid bills, unpaid wages, disgruntled employees and subs … and I think at some point all that mattered was getting this over the finish line. So they just buried the waste whenever possible and also took other ”shortcuts” along the way.
Don’t get me wrong, the properties & housing here are generally build well and are very good speaking of the “base substance” but there are some quirks - and the “builder’s waste” saga has bitten everyone here in the a** a couple of times during projects. …
The thing is, it’s 2026 now and we’re applying 2026 rules, laws & regs to properties and housings build before the seventies … And reality is, while I consider myself pretty well educated on building materials and I know there is no asbestos in this - how and why am I guaranteeing/ putting my a** on the line for this without actually testing it first? And when I have it tested, and it comes back with elevated levels of asbestos, I then have a much bigger issue on my hands. … I know the one source of asbestos in these houses/properties and so far we’ve been lucky that I never did find any during any ”digging projects”. And in our house, that “source” has been removed and was disposed in accordance with laws/regs.
I do hope this little bit of extra information was/is worth your time and you find it ”interesting trivia”.
Kind regards,
Olli
Last edited:
Krfjkm
Well-known member
Always enjoy your posts!
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Thank you very much @Krfjkm !
—-
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.3 - Day 3 Thursday, May 28th.
Please don’t consider what I’m about to write as “complaining” - I’m not. I made a mistake and I’d like to save others from making the same.
Now I’ve said this before, temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F are way out of my comfort zone and I normally wouldn’t be doing any manual labor in the garden on days like that. Now it is what it is and we decided to push through - as the highly changeable weather we have now at the beginning of June, were you can’t count on it being dry for the next hour, isn’t ideal for such a project either.
I/ we kept hydrated with lots of bottled water, no issue on that front. During showering on the evening of Day 2 I noticed a bright red sore spot on my neck and both of my forearms tingled/ had a burning sensation to them whenever the water from the shower or soap hit them. I honestly had to think for a second and then it dawned on me, I had gotten myself a sunburn. I thought to myself: “You idiot, you’re wearing all that PPE/ cap, sunglasses … but you failed to think of the most basic protection during such climate/ excessive sunshine: using sunscreen.“. As I’m writing this on June, 9th both my forearms are still showing signs of shedding …
Now I will add that both me and my better half are not exactly the sun bathing/ tanning type. We never do. So we don’t even keep any sunscreen/ after sun lotion in house. Well, on the morning of Day 3 I asked my better half to buy some when she was running errands anyway.
Also as a result of the weather we have to water a lot of plants, and obviously it is then, that the outdoor tap decides to break. So that was the first order of the day, repair the outdoor tap.
Removing the culprit.
Close up of the culprit.
And then, from my absolute least favorite big box store, a replacement.
At least that is what I thought until I tried to install it. Everything is the right size, even the rubber gasket. But the way they designed this valve, the copper piece sitting above the rubber gasket will not fit into the tap. …
So I took it back to the store and returned it, took a complete tap instead and paid the remaining difference. … And because it is my least favorite, but most local, big box store I felt annoyed - as this happens time and time again with stuff they sell. (And yes, it is not really their fault - it would have fit their brand’s tap …)
Some teflon tape and then back in. And I shouldn’t have done that while feeling “annoyed” wait for the re-visit of this on Day 5. …
With that supposedly done, it was time to go back to the paving project.
Selfie time. While waiting for the sunscreen, I remembered I had been given a bandana, I think they are called that, and put it on to protect my neck from the sun. And how fitting, it came from a recycling/ waste management company.
With my confirmed hunch from Day 2, we decided to keep the remaining overburden on location, as it would be needed to backfill.
Last roots.
And then it was time to backfill/ bring it to the correct height for getting in the gravel later.
Compacting every single layer.
At some point we called it a day. Cordoned-off.
Thank you very much to @Ryan for upping the picture upload limit per post from 10 to 15 !
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
—-
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.3 - Day 3 Thursday, May 28th.
Please don’t consider what I’m about to write as “complaining” - I’m not. I made a mistake and I’d like to save others from making the same.
Now I’ve said this before, temperatures exceeding 30°C/ 86°F are way out of my comfort zone and I normally wouldn’t be doing any manual labor in the garden on days like that. Now it is what it is and we decided to push through - as the highly changeable weather we have now at the beginning of June, were you can’t count on it being dry for the next hour, isn’t ideal for such a project either.
I/ we kept hydrated with lots of bottled water, no issue on that front. During showering on the evening of Day 2 I noticed a bright red sore spot on my neck and both of my forearms tingled/ had a burning sensation to them whenever the water from the shower or soap hit them. I honestly had to think for a second and then it dawned on me, I had gotten myself a sunburn. I thought to myself: “You idiot, you’re wearing all that PPE/ cap, sunglasses … but you failed to think of the most basic protection during such climate/ excessive sunshine: using sunscreen.“. As I’m writing this on June, 9th both my forearms are still showing signs of shedding …
Now I will add that both me and my better half are not exactly the sun bathing/ tanning type. We never do. So we don’t even keep any sunscreen/ after sun lotion in house. Well, on the morning of Day 3 I asked my better half to buy some when she was running errands anyway.
Also as a result of the weather we have to water a lot of plants, and obviously it is then, that the outdoor tap decides to break. So that was the first order of the day, repair the outdoor tap.
Removing the culprit.
Close up of the culprit.
And then, from my absolute least favorite big box store, a replacement.
At least that is what I thought until I tried to install it. Everything is the right size, even the rubber gasket. But the way they designed this valve, the copper piece sitting above the rubber gasket will not fit into the tap. …
So I took it back to the store and returned it, took a complete tap instead and paid the remaining difference. … And because it is my least favorite, but most local, big box store I felt annoyed - as this happens time and time again with stuff they sell. (And yes, it is not really their fault - it would have fit their brand’s tap …)
Some teflon tape and then back in. And I shouldn’t have done that while feeling “annoyed” wait for the re-visit of this on Day 5. …
With that supposedly done, it was time to go back to the paving project.
Selfie time. While waiting for the sunscreen, I remembered I had been given a bandana, I think they are called that, and put it on to protect my neck from the sun. And how fitting, it came from a recycling/ waste management company.
With my confirmed hunch from Day 2, we decided to keep the remaining overburden on location, as it would be needed to backfill.
Last roots.
And then it was time to backfill/ bring it to the correct height for getting in the gravel later.
Compacting every single layer.
At some point we called it a day. Cordoned-off.
Thank you very much to @Ryan for upping the picture upload limit per post from 10 to 15 !
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
littlebean
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 761
this is an issue with lots of things these days - I've just done an asbestos awareness course at work and that was eye opening - cigarettes with asbestos filters, asbestos 'snow' in movies........The thing is, it’s 2026 now and we’re applying 2026 rules, laws & regs to properties and housings build before the seventies … And reality is, while I consider myself pretty well educated on building materials and I know there is no asbestos in this - how and why am I guaranteeing/ putting my a** on the line for this without actually testing it first? And when I have it tested, and it comes back with elevated levels of asbestos, I then have a much bigger issue on my hands. … I know the one source of asbestos in these houses/properties and so far we’ve been lucky that I never did find any during any ”digging projects”. And in our house, that “source” has been removed and was disposed in accordance with laws/regs.
I do hope this little bit of extra information was/is worth your time and you find it ”interesting trivia”.
littlebean
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 761
always interesting to read
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Worn out just watching.......
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.4 - Day 4 Friday, May 29th.
Day 4 starts how day 3 ended, backfilling with soil & compacting before the gravel can go in.
Then it was time for some preventative wheelbarrow maintenance. Somewhere between day 2 and day 3 the “very small farm road” decided to give us a harsh, cruel, goodbye - it punctured the tube of the wheelbarrow’s tire. It was a tiny puncture, and we got away with airing up the tire twice a day with my tank less compressor/ inflator. That’s why I did not fix it straight away, wait for day 5 for that. But I did clean & grease the whole assembly.
I also made the “shocking” discovery that both my shallow and deep metric 3/8“ impact socket sets from Snap-On only cover 8mm to 19mm no skips, and both a 21mm and 24mm. But no 22mm. Now I would have had a thin walled, deep, 1/2” 22mm impact socket, but I don’t like to put that on an adapter and then on the 3/8” impact wrench because of the resulting length. But luckily I had a vintage Dowidat 22mm 1/2” shallow/ standard socket that wasn’t to awkward to use on the 3/8” impact wrench utilizing said adapter.
Lot of text, but it truly was a matter of minutes.
Then it was time to check if we had reached a good height to continue with the gravel from.
In case you are interested in some stats: 33 wheelbarrows of overburden were dug out, screened and walked into the garden/ backyard between my dad and me. An additional 7 wheelbarrows of overburden were dug out, screened and kept in the front garden for backfilling. 3 wheelbarrows of overburden were taken back to the front garden from the garden/ backyard and also then backfilled.
And the first wheelbarrow of gravel in. And as before, spreading & compacting, layer after layer.
From the FIBC into the wheelbarrow. The short shafted shovels really came in handy here/ excelled at that task.
And tipping.
After 9 wheelbarrows, all the gravel was in.
And we called it a day. Cordoned-off.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.4 - Day 4 Friday, May 29th.
Day 4 starts how day 3 ended, backfilling with soil & compacting before the gravel can go in.
Then it was time for some preventative wheelbarrow maintenance. Somewhere between day 2 and day 3 the “very small farm road” decided to give us a harsh, cruel, goodbye - it punctured the tube of the wheelbarrow’s tire. It was a tiny puncture, and we got away with airing up the tire twice a day with my tank less compressor/ inflator. That’s why I did not fix it straight away, wait for day 5 for that. But I did clean & grease the whole assembly.
I also made the “shocking” discovery that both my shallow and deep metric 3/8“ impact socket sets from Snap-On only cover 8mm to 19mm no skips, and both a 21mm and 24mm. But no 22mm. Now I would have had a thin walled, deep, 1/2” 22mm impact socket, but I don’t like to put that on an adapter and then on the 3/8” impact wrench because of the resulting length. But luckily I had a vintage Dowidat 22mm 1/2” shallow/ standard socket that wasn’t to awkward to use on the 3/8” impact wrench utilizing said adapter.
Lot of text, but it truly was a matter of minutes.
Then it was time to check if we had reached a good height to continue with the gravel from.
In case you are interested in some stats: 33 wheelbarrows of overburden were dug out, screened and walked into the garden/ backyard between my dad and me. An additional 7 wheelbarrows of overburden were dug out, screened and kept in the front garden for backfilling. 3 wheelbarrows of overburden were taken back to the front garden from the garden/ backyard and also then backfilled.
And the first wheelbarrow of gravel in. And as before, spreading & compacting, layer after layer.
From the FIBC into the wheelbarrow. The short shafted shovels really came in handy here/ excelled at that task.
And tipping.
After 9 wheelbarrows, all the gravel was in.
And we called it a day. Cordoned-off.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
Last edited:
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Thank you very much @Jgaz , just trying to keep it safe & not too much of an eyesore for everyone else.
——
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.5 - Day 5 Saturday, May 30th.
We easily agreed that Saturday (and Sunday) were all about recovery. Personally, I had worn through a smallish patch of skin of my dominant, right, hand so I just wanted to fix 2 things that were left hanging from the days before.
First, the outdoor tap that I hastily installed with some teflon tape just to get it going again. Saying it leaked would be a stretch, but it wasn’t bone dry either. Time to address that.
I prefer flax/hemp & sealing compound for this type of connection & use.
Cut a length of flax/hemp.
Now, please remember I said the tap came from my least favorite big box store. When you buy quality fittings, normally these come ready with notches cut into the male threads as to grip the flax/hemp really well. Obviously, my least favorite big box store‘s fittings don’t have them. … Not a problem, just have to do what generations of plumbers had to do, roughen the male threads up with the blade of a small universal saw. Not as deep and uniform as pre-cut notches, but they will do no problem.
Compare to two random quality fittings with “notched” male threading.
Flax/hemp & sealing compound on.
Re-installed.
Paper towel check.
And after an hour under full pressure. Bone dry. So the stones can get back in/ on top as well.
Next on the list was to fix the tube of my wheelbarrow tire. This required another trip to my least favorite, but again closest, big box store. Good for me: They can’t mess this up because just like Knipex Pliers or Wera Screwdrivers, it’s one of those items the general populations expects to be in stock/ sold at a DIY store. Tube patching kits by Rema TipTop.
Tire off.
Tube out.
It took quite a bit of pressure to actually find that tiny hole, but:
Success! And also the explanation why I/ we got away with inflating it only two times/day on the days before.
Here’s how effing tiny that puncture was. Truly a “cruel goodbye” from that “very small farm road”.
Sanded and vulcanizing compound on.
Patch on.
Tire back on the wheelbarrow.
Didn’t do anything else over the weekend.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
——
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.5 - Day 5 Saturday, May 30th.
We easily agreed that Saturday (and Sunday) were all about recovery. Personally, I had worn through a smallish patch of skin of my dominant, right, hand so I just wanted to fix 2 things that were left hanging from the days before.
First, the outdoor tap that I hastily installed with some teflon tape just to get it going again. Saying it leaked would be a stretch, but it wasn’t bone dry either. Time to address that.
I prefer flax/hemp & sealing compound for this type of connection & use.
Cut a length of flax/hemp.
Now, please remember I said the tap came from my least favorite big box store. When you buy quality fittings, normally these come ready with notches cut into the male threads as to grip the flax/hemp really well. Obviously, my least favorite big box store‘s fittings don’t have them. … Not a problem, just have to do what generations of plumbers had to do, roughen the male threads up with the blade of a small universal saw. Not as deep and uniform as pre-cut notches, but they will do no problem.
Compare to two random quality fittings with “notched” male threading.
Flax/hemp & sealing compound on.
Re-installed.
Paper towel check.
And after an hour under full pressure. Bone dry. So the stones can get back in/ on top as well.
Next on the list was to fix the tube of my wheelbarrow tire. This required another trip to my least favorite, but again closest, big box store. Good for me: They can’t mess this up because just like Knipex Pliers or Wera Screwdrivers, it’s one of those items the general populations expects to be in stock/ sold at a DIY store. Tube patching kits by Rema TipTop.
Tire off.
Tube out.
It took quite a bit of pressure to actually find that tiny hole, but:
Success! And also the explanation why I/ we got away with inflating it only two times/day on the days before.
Here’s how effing tiny that puncture was. Truly a “cruel goodbye” from that “very small farm road”.
Sanded and vulcanizing compound on.
Patch on.
Tire back on the wheelbarrow.
Didn’t do anything else over the weekend.
Posts will continue whenever I find time to recap & wrap up a whole day. Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!
Kind regards,
Olli
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Things are looking sharp as always Ollie !!
One of the best things I’ve ever done to reduce the amount of cussing around here was to put airless tires on my various wheelbarrows. One less thing to worry about.
Doing that entire yard project by hand is bonkers. Watching you work makes me grateful to have the machines available to make the work easier.
You’re not able to legally bury construction debris here either but I don’t think it’s ever stopped anyone. We’ve found some interesting things over the years when digging around on old building sites.
Thank you for the always detailed updates !!
One of the best things I’ve ever done to reduce the amount of cussing around here was to put airless tires on my various wheelbarrows. One less thing to worry about.
Doing that entire yard project by hand is bonkers. Watching you work makes me grateful to have the machines available to make the work easier.
You’re not able to legally bury construction debris here either but I don’t think it’s ever stopped anyone. We’ve found some interesting things over the years when digging around on old building sites.
Thank you for the always detailed updates !!
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Thank you very much @jblnut !
I fully agree, airless is the way to go - and I have ordered an airless tire for that wheelbarrow from the manufacturer through my supplier.
Yes, mini-excavator + container for mixed waste and it would have been buttoned up in a matter of hours. In this case, it simply didn’t make any economical sense for this particular project. That math obviously changes if you have the equipment or can at least move it from and to the rental place yourself.
You’re a lot better equipped in that regard than I am and you can actually move the stuff around.
Which is the other story, because I actually did think this through: If I rented a mini-excavator and either a muck-truck or mini-dumper and did what I did, minus the screening, it would have killed the manual labor part for that part of the project. But tracking either muck-truck or mini-dumper over that ”very small farm road” with two tight 90 degree corners (only about 1m/ 3.3ft wide) would have been as, if not more, time consuming. We have done that, I did have a mini-excavator as well as muck-truck and mini-dumper in the garden/ backyard when we had some work done in the past. Here’s a picture from 2017. (And yes, that mini-excavator isn’t really my size, lol. And also there are no Birkenstock steel-toes in this picture … *runs* … lol.)
If done that way, I would have ended up with all the unscreened overburden in the garden/ backyard and have to handle that again. Or still screen it - the way we did - and then also lose any and all efficiency the mini-excavator would have brought to the table. So instead, get a container from a waste management company, put that in the shared driveway and dispose everything. Would have been highly efficient, but classified as “mixed waste” = goes to waste burning facility or landfill = $$$$. Or go full GJ mode and rent an additional screener with the mini-x and muck-truck/ mini-dumper.
So again, I fully understand why it looks completely bonkers from your perspective, what I did together with my dad of 75 years. But to us, for this project, on this particular property with its surrounding circumstances that I can’t change, it seemed like the way to go - except for hiring it out and let it be their decision how to handle it.
I won’t say it wasn’t exhausting & I’m actually glad it is done, but it is obviously done now and we both live to tell the story if you know what I mean.
And please don’t take this as me arguing for arguments sake or making excuses, after looking at everything, I thought - and actually still think - this was the most economical & considering project size appropriate way to do it.
Change literally any factor of it, and I would have done it differently - or maybe even have not done it at all.
Sadly we never found anything interesting, only waste. Wouldn’t have minded finding a tool, piece of hardware or anything like that.
Glad you’re enjoying the detailed updates.
Kind regards,
Olli
I fully agree, airless is the way to go - and I have ordered an airless tire for that wheelbarrow from the manufacturer through my supplier.
Yes, mini-excavator + container for mixed waste and it would have been buttoned up in a matter of hours. In this case, it simply didn’t make any economical sense for this particular project. That math obviously changes if you have the equipment or can at least move it from and to the rental place yourself.
You’re a lot better equipped in that regard than I am and you can actually move the stuff around.
Which is the other story, because I actually did think this through: If I rented a mini-excavator and either a muck-truck or mini-dumper and did what I did, minus the screening, it would have killed the manual labor part for that part of the project. But tracking either muck-truck or mini-dumper over that ”very small farm road” with two tight 90 degree corners (only about 1m/ 3.3ft wide) would have been as, if not more, time consuming. We have done that, I did have a mini-excavator as well as muck-truck and mini-dumper in the garden/ backyard when we had some work done in the past. Here’s a picture from 2017. (And yes, that mini-excavator isn’t really my size, lol. And also there are no Birkenstock steel-toes in this picture … *runs* … lol.)
If done that way, I would have ended up with all the unscreened overburden in the garden/ backyard and have to handle that again. Or still screen it - the way we did - and then also lose any and all efficiency the mini-excavator would have brought to the table. So instead, get a container from a waste management company, put that in the shared driveway and dispose everything. Would have been highly efficient, but classified as “mixed waste” = goes to waste burning facility or landfill = $$$$. Or go full GJ mode and rent an additional screener with the mini-x and muck-truck/ mini-dumper.
So again, I fully understand why it looks completely bonkers from your perspective, what I did together with my dad of 75 years. But to us, for this project, on this particular property with its surrounding circumstances that I can’t change, it seemed like the way to go - except for hiring it out and let it be their decision how to handle it.
I won’t say it wasn’t exhausting & I’m actually glad it is done, but it is obviously done now and we both live to tell the story if you know what I mean.
And please don’t take this as me arguing for arguments sake or making excuses, after looking at everything, I thought - and actually still think - this was the most economical & considering project size appropriate way to do it.
Change literally any factor of it, and I would have done it differently - or maybe even have not done it at all.
Sadly we never found anything interesting, only waste. Wouldn’t have minded finding a tool, piece of hardware or anything like that.
Glad you’re enjoying the detailed updates.
Kind regards,
Olli
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I actually grew up using a wheelbarrow with a wheel made from a chunk of White Oak with a metal band welded around it. Gramps did things how he wanted and so I do I guess
.I didn't read it that way at all !! Smaller projects we do hand work as well and in your situation I agree that it was the best way to do it.And please don’t take this as me arguing for arguments sake or making excuses, after looking at everything, I thought - and actually still think - this was the most economical & considering project size appropriate way to do it.
Glad you’re enjoying the detailed updates.
Kind regards,
Olli
You look like a kid playing with a new toy on that mini-ex !! Of course I have a similar look on my face when I run equipment and I do it every day. I don't think we ever grow up, our toys just get larger
OP
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
0. Miscellaneous Stuff
0.10 Vevor DC235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw
0.10.1 Unboxing
0.10.2 The diamond blade
0.10.3 Water pump
0.10.4 PRCD
0.10.5 Hooking the wet saw up to a water supply/ garden hose.
0.10.6 Using the Vevor DC235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw
&
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.6 - Day 6 Monday, June 1st. PART 1
So after a nice slow weekend, it was time to lay the pavers.
Setting up shop.
Adding the stone chips over the gravel, after it was compacted one more time.
The pattern to follow.
Let the paving begin. This was really what my dad looked most forward to and he did me a solid here, as I couldn’t have spent that amount of time kneeing or even sitting on the ground given my health - not even with my Klein TradesmanPro knee protectors that otherwise help me a lot when I have to kneel for a task. But not for so long. I distributed stone chips, fetched the pavers from the pallet and oversaw the pattern.
And now for what some of you might have waited for, the review of the Vevor DC 235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw.
The most important part is safety. And since I didn’t want to mess with the saw’s electrics before it had been actually used, I used my PRCD-S (Think of that as a “mobile” GFCI with the capability to test/ only work when hot, neutral and ground are properly connected at the outlet you plug this into. If something is wrong, it will not switch on/ let power through.) to have 4 protected outlets on my Festool Systainer extension cord.
PRCD-S
Setup. Saw, protected outlets and splash back board.
As promised, setting up the pump, supplied with the saw, for water supply to the saw.
Time for cut #1.
Scoring on the line. With the water running, it was only a second before I couldn’t see my line anymore because of how dark the pavers get when wet.
And in.
I won’t even try to compare this to the Stihl i.c.e. units I have used, completely different animal. But it did make quick work of that cut and with the water running I dare say it was dust free from the get go. Considering what this saw costs, that is impressive. Again, one cut on a little hobby project so far.
Next I hooked it up to the tap as I intended to make another cut. This time, scoring the line dry first.
Scoring. (Dry!) (Scoring picture from cut #3)
Wet cutting hooked up the tap. (Pictures from cut #2)
This didn’t work as intended. I’m sure you could fiddle with the tap and the actual flow limiter on the saw’s hose to find a sweet spot, but with the flow/pressure from the tap the hoses came off right away. So I had my dad positioned by the tap so he could regulate. But even then, water squirted out of all connections.
To give credit where credit is due, this was a complete non-issue with the pump connected. So low and behold, I decided to use the supplied water pump. Zero issue having it run with the limiter fully open, and even though I absolutely stand behind what I said while looking at this, the pump’s “indoor, light-duty light switch” has absolutely no place on a tool/ construction site and in a wet environment. 12V behind the transformer or not, this shouldn’t have been built that way.
And, forgive me being blunt, but I can’t stress that enough, I’m running this of protected outlets - with a known, tried & true source of protection. And just for shits and giggles, that PRCD-S when I bought it, exceeded the cost of this saw by far. And if you add the Festool extension Systainer, you could easily buy three of these saws for the price of those two items together.
That out the way, we cut everything that needed cutting with this saw. Dust free when wet cutting & without any issues, faults or accidents.
So what is my conclusion on the Vevor DC 235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw?
I honestly think you can’t beat it for the price and how great it actually cuts and suppresses dust.
Reality is, if you dry cut with a roughly same sized angle grinder, diamond wheel & dust collection shroud you either need a separator between the tool and vacuum, or an absolute best in class dust extractor with automatic filter cleaning.
While you can DIY a separator, you still have to possibly buy at least the shroud and maybe a diamond wheel, if not also the grinder. So no matter how I’m looking at this, you won’t be getting a functioning dry cutting setup - effective to the same level - for the price of this saw.
Looking at the diamond wheel, there is hardly any wear and the saw cleaned up well, so I have zero doubts that I will get a lot more use out of this saw at no extra costs for the time being.
What I absolutely can’t get over is the water pump. Yes it works, but as I have said, I don’t think it is a good design from a safety point of view and I will definitely look into a solution for that. It might be as simple as another regulator/limiter and a few good hose clamps to be able to use this hooked up to a regular tap. That is really the only thing bothering me with it.
Let’s go to part 2.
0.10 Vevor DC235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw
0.10.1 Unboxing
0.10.2 The diamond blade
0.10.3 Water pump
0.10.4 PRCD
0.10.5 Hooking the wet saw up to a water supply/ garden hose.
0.10.6 Using the Vevor DC235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw
&
0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.
0.11.6 - Day 6 Monday, June 1st. PART 1
So after a nice slow weekend, it was time to lay the pavers.
Setting up shop.
Adding the stone chips over the gravel, after it was compacted one more time.
The pattern to follow.
Let the paving begin. This was really what my dad looked most forward to and he did me a solid here, as I couldn’t have spent that amount of time kneeing or even sitting on the ground given my health - not even with my Klein TradesmanPro knee protectors that otherwise help me a lot when I have to kneel for a task. But not for so long. I distributed stone chips, fetched the pavers from the pallet and oversaw the pattern.
And now for what some of you might have waited for, the review of the Vevor DC 235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw.
The most important part is safety. And since I didn’t want to mess with the saw’s electrics before it had been actually used, I used my PRCD-S (Think of that as a “mobile” GFCI with the capability to test/ only work when hot, neutral and ground are properly connected at the outlet you plug this into. If something is wrong, it will not switch on/ let power through.) to have 4 protected outlets on my Festool Systainer extension cord.
PRCD-S
Setup. Saw, protected outlets and splash back board.
As promised, setting up the pump, supplied with the saw, for water supply to the saw.
Time for cut #1.
Scoring on the line. With the water running, it was only a second before I couldn’t see my line anymore because of how dark the pavers get when wet.
And in.
I won’t even try to compare this to the Stihl i.c.e. units I have used, completely different animal. But it did make quick work of that cut and with the water running I dare say it was dust free from the get go. Considering what this saw costs, that is impressive. Again, one cut on a little hobby project so far.
Next I hooked it up to the tap as I intended to make another cut. This time, scoring the line dry first.
Scoring. (Dry!) (Scoring picture from cut #3)
Wet cutting hooked up the tap. (Pictures from cut #2)
This didn’t work as intended. I’m sure you could fiddle with the tap and the actual flow limiter on the saw’s hose to find a sweet spot, but with the flow/pressure from the tap the hoses came off right away. So I had my dad positioned by the tap so he could regulate. But even then, water squirted out of all connections.
To give credit where credit is due, this was a complete non-issue with the pump connected. So low and behold, I decided to use the supplied water pump. Zero issue having it run with the limiter fully open, and even though I absolutely stand behind what I said while looking at this, the pump’s “indoor, light-duty light switch” has absolutely no place on a tool/ construction site and in a wet environment. 12V behind the transformer or not, this shouldn’t have been built that way.
And, forgive me being blunt, but I can’t stress that enough, I’m running this of protected outlets - with a known, tried & true source of protection. And just for shits and giggles, that PRCD-S when I bought it, exceeded the cost of this saw by far. And if you add the Festool extension Systainer, you could easily buy three of these saws for the price of those two items together.
That out the way, we cut everything that needed cutting with this saw. Dust free when wet cutting & without any issues, faults or accidents.
So what is my conclusion on the Vevor DC 235 9” concrete/ demo (wet) saw?
I honestly think you can’t beat it for the price and how great it actually cuts and suppresses dust.
Reality is, if you dry cut with a roughly same sized angle grinder, diamond wheel & dust collection shroud you either need a separator between the tool and vacuum, or an absolute best in class dust extractor with automatic filter cleaning.
While you can DIY a separator, you still have to possibly buy at least the shroud and maybe a diamond wheel, if not also the grinder. So no matter how I’m looking at this, you won’t be getting a functioning dry cutting setup - effective to the same level - for the price of this saw.
Looking at the diamond wheel, there is hardly any wear and the saw cleaned up well, so I have zero doubts that I will get a lot more use out of this saw at no extra costs for the time being.
What I absolutely can’t get over is the water pump. Yes it works, but as I have said, I don’t think it is a good design from a safety point of view and I will definitely look into a solution for that. It might be as simple as another regulator/limiter and a few good hose clamps to be able to use this hooked up to a regular tap. That is really the only thing bothering me with it.
Let’s go to part 2.
Last edited: