Below 265 SQ/FT Nobody’s tool storage, maintenance & recreation lair.

[Nobody-named-Olli]

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 2

With the pavers we chose, cutting brings one small issue that I actually didn’t even think of until the solution to it was presented to me unexpected while watching a YT video - long before this project ever happened - by German master mason Julia who has her own YT channel “Tschulique” https://www.youtube.com/@Tschulique

So the pavers we chose are concrete, colored & weathered and have broken edges. Now when you cut them, you get a crisp, clean edge. In retrospect it is dead simple: take a hammer to the edge. But again, I didn’t even think of that at the time because I didn’t foresee that.

So, cut paver:



And after taking a hammer to the edge.



At some point all pavers were laid, and we called it day. Knowing we would adjust a few of them on the next run.



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

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

0. Miscellaneous Stuff

0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.

0.11.7 - Day 7 Tuesday, June 2nd & Day 8 Wednesday, June 3rd.

On day 7 the trash bin housing kits, made by a German carpentry company in the north, were delivered.





Since it was a rainy day, I had already loaded the pallets from the paving project material into the lovely french kangaroo the night before. So I dropped them off and collected the deposit I had paid for them.

This concludes day 7.

On day 8 I got rid of all the packaging and gave the trash bin housing parts some room to breath on the patio.



Dad then revisited some of the pavers.





Then I mixed a bag of trass cement for the right hand edge.



And dad applied it to the edge.



Then we fitted the corten steel edge to the neighbors property/ flower bed.



And with that, we called it a day. Cordoned-off.



Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

0. Miscellaneous Stuff

0.11 Paving project - trash bin housing & good bye “very small farm road”.

0.11.8 - Day 9 Friday, June 5th.

Thursday was a religious holiday in our region, so we didn’t do any work that day.

However, the weather changed to “highly changeable“ during that time, and that made the corten steel’s transformation come to life.



Then Friday morning with a mixed forecast, I got the foldable gazebo out and up. While dad backfilled the neighbors flower bed up to our steel edge and did another adjustment or two to some pavers he wasn’t 100% satisfied with.





Two things I’d like to point out that positively surprised me with these trash bin housing kits, I knew they came with all stainless hardware but I didn’t expect that to be Würth hardware. Especially beautiful, countersink head screws with matching washers that will allow for the countersink head to seat but not drive/ pull into the wood.



And you’ll get the correct RW 20 bit and a Torx 20 l-key made in Germany supplied. Not that I need either, but I found it to be a thoughtful selection to go with a high-quality kit.



Building these kits is straight forward. Not much to it, really. They are made from FSC certified eucalyptus wood, precisely pre-drilled and also come with two aluminum rails for added stability.



“Money shot” of those beautiful washers. And those are the only 3 screws you see on these trash bin housings.







After taking this shot, I realized I had forgotten to take a picture of the last step during paving: Sweeping the stone chips into the joints. But you see it partly in the above picture.

One built. One to go.



Mounting a hinge.



And suddenly there’s two trash bin housings completed, offering space for our four “trash” bins.



And that is the paving & trash bin housing completed - so far. There is more on the front garden transformation to come.

It is times like yesterday evening when I know I will never miss that “very small farm road”. And it is also then, when the true beauty of this projects comes through the most.



For those interested: I was at the commercial recycling yard yesterday to get rid of the builder’s waste. It was 260kg/ 573lb. That included a few pieces I took out with the outdoor basement staircase landing project.

Loaded.



And a high-vis selfie from the yard.



And with that, I’m saying “see ya on the next one“.

Thank you very much for your continued interest in my projects!

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Jgaz]

The finished project looks great! Nice work!

 

[jblnut]

For those interested: I was at the commercial recycling yard yesterday to get rid of the builder’s waste. It was 260kg/ 573lb. That included a few pieces I took out with the outdoor basement staircase landing project.



Kind regards,
Olli

Was there a cost associated with bringing the waste there or do they take it for no charge ?

The people that made your waste rules would have a aneurism if they saw all the rock piles we have around here

 

[rharman]

@Nobody-named-Olli - Those bin housings are beautiful. Very nice work on the pavers and the whole concept.

Over here, those washers are called "Finishing Washers". I used them when mounting the pegboard over my workbench and on a garage wall. Mine were just stamped steel - not anywhere near the quality of the ones supplied with your bins. Those bins are truly a quality product.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Thank you very much, @Jgaz @jblnut @rharman !

@jblnut Cost for the waste was 17.02 EUR (yes; .02 …) which is roughly 19.66 USD. But that is only because it was purely “mineral” “builder’s waste”, guaranteed no asbestos, and considered recyclable. They even - as usual - had someone come out to check my bins in front of the main office before driving into the tipping bays. And - also as usual - they had me sign the corresponding paperwork, disclose where it is from, … .

If that had to be classified as mixed/ non-recyclable, that’s where the money is. …

Fun fact: Something as “innocent” as Plasterboard = considered mixed/ non-recyclable. Very harsh awakening when you’re not aware and bring that in mixed with other stuff. You‘re either going to sort through, or pay for mixed. … I mean sure, if you’re buying the crushed/recycled stuff, you don’t want lumps of gypsum in it. It’s all about the profit, re-sale value, they want to sell as much of it as they can and so it needs to be clean.


@rharman thank you for the correct term, that is very good to know for future reference. The direct translation of what they are called here is: “(counter)-sink-(ing) washer” without what I wrote in ().

We were very happy when we found those bin housings, a real step above the general offerings at the big box stores around here.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Tommo3]

@Nobody-named-Olli - Those bin housings are beautiful. Very nice work on the pavers and the whole concept.

Over here, those washers are called "Finishing Washers". I used them when mounting the pegboard over my workbench and on a garage wall. Mine were just stamped steel - not anywhere near the quality of the ones supplied with your bins. Those bins are truly a quality product.

Looks like whats called a cup washer in the UK to me?

 

[bugnut]

Lotta effort but your bin project came out very well. As others say/do we just bury the rocks or keep piling them up in an outta the way place here. I really like the finished bin housings!

 

[larry4406]

Ollie looks really great!

I am confused about "the old farm road" you mention. Is that just a rear access point of the property which the trash cans had to use?

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Thank you very much, @bugnut @larry4406 !

@larry4406 Yes, it is the only rear access to the garden/property. Everything you don’t want to drag through the house had/has to take that “very small farm road” round all properties - ending at our garden/ backyard’s gate.

For a long time we preferred “invisible” trash bins behind the big shed. And all trash was brought there, and on the “night” before trash day, corresponding bins were dragged over that “very small farm road” to the street for pick-up. And then on trash day, after pick-up back to the garden. And yes, some would already consider the fact of trash bins at the end of the garden an “inconvenience”. We were happy to have them completely out of sight, separated from everything, by the compost …

We still would prefer the trash bins where they were, but:

That “very small farm road” is completely overgrown, the ground ripped open by big tree roots in multiple spots and come rain/snow/ice basically an accident waiting to happen. No one cares. And we’ve done the minimum of upkeep to keep it passable for us for years now. We got beyond tired of that, and we’re not going to spent another single minute working on it. Done.

I do - partly - understand the other neighbors not wanting to do their part - because a lot of the overgrowth comes from gardens/ backyards bordering to it that don’t have actual access to it and don’t use it - and therefore also want nothing to do with it. And to make matters worse, the neighbors on the corner property have their trash bins on the side of their house, and the other two neighbors also with access to that “very small farm road”, simple have their trash bins in front of the house/ by the door. … So no one but us used that “very small farm road” regularly.

But now we’re done with it. I’m even contemplating replacing our small gate with a full height fencing panel to send a clear message. And all the neighbors will soon wake up to the reality that if they don’t start cleaning their parts up regularly, it will just further overgrow into their gardens/ backyards and become completely impassable.

In fact, even for the paving project, I only cut the absolute bare minimum of overgrowth back so we could safely utilize it one last time.

And now we’re done with it, we won’t spent another single minute cleaning it up or keeping it passable.

Sorry if this reads a little “angered”, I guarantee it’s not directed towards your question, but solely to the overall situation with that “very small farm road” and neighbors that don’t do their part - that’s all still good to make my blood boil. But it’s getting better, each time I look out the window to the trash bin housings.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Maybe this is the right time, to show what I also did last Tuesday. Not gonna “file” this, just a single post.

All the screened soil from the paving project had to go somewhere. We made two piles.

One by the gate with better quality soil:



And a large one, where I had cleaned up another pile last year, by the compost/ big shed, with lesser quality but still usable soil.





Last Tuesday I made that big pile disappear. Spread some of it and the rest went into the used FIBC I placed behind the shed, where until completion of the paving project, the trash bins lived.





Don’t ask about the plastic recycling bin, it’s a spare that should have been re-picked up a long time ago, but no one cares about. … Also a “fun story” … Argh.

Since Tuesday was also the day I was at the recycling yard, I cleaned all the crates and put them back in storage.





And this is the big pile gone & the space/path cleaned up.



Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Jgaz]

Don’t ask about the plastic recycling bin, it’s a spare that should have been re-picked up a long time ago, but no one cares about. … Also a “fun story” … Argh.

Great minds think alike sir. I have a spare bin as well.

After a very strong wind storm on trash day a few years ago there were bins scattered all over the neighborhood. The city picked up a few after they replace people’s missing bins. Neighbors too lazy to go find there old bin

The one in this picture I pulled from the neighborhood water retention area (dry) twice and out of the bordering desert once. I left them at the curb each time and called the city, (3 times).
The last time I recovered it I pulled it out of the dry river bed behind my house.
That time I brought it home and now it’s used as overflow for my extra tree trimmings or after the occasional party.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

@Jgaz it’s mind boggling, isn’t it? And it’s not like these are “free”. Ok, disclaimer, it’s a end-consumer price including VAT for a single purchase. But still. …



(120,19 EUR = 138,44 USD)


But yeah, it’s good to have a spare, got us out of a pinch once or twice as well.

Beautiful shed by the way!

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Jgaz]

Thank you @Nobody-named-Olli
I posted somewhere else on here that my wife refers to this space beside my garage as “the alley”.
Living in Phoenix it sees a lot of use as extra workspace.
Easy clean up with a blower

 

[zanyad]

That garden path situation sounds similar to the problem of the commons to me, Olli.

 

[f121]

Is ‘very small farm road’ a direct translation? In UK English it would probably be a ‘farm track’, or just a ‘track’. Dunno about American English.

Impressive work with all of your projects, I’m amazed you dug out that much by hand. Anything more than about 10 spades worth of soil and I’ll get a machine. But a small excavator in the uk is only $100-200 euros for a weekend rental, so it’s very easy to take the lazy option.

 

[littlebean]

now I need to lay down after reading your exploits.........

 

[Tommo3]

Ollie looks really great!

I am confused about "the old farm road" you mention. Is that just a rear access point of the property which the trash cans had to use?

We could have saved him so much typing if we told him its an alleyway in English?

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

That garden path situation sounds similar to the problem of the commons to me, Olli.

I’d agree with that in a heartbeat!

Is ‘very small farm road’ a direct translation? In UK English it would probably be a ‘farm track’, or just a ‘track’. Dunno about American English.

Impressive work with all of your projects, I’m amazed you dug out that much by hand. Anything more than about 10 spades worth of soil and I’ll get a machine. But a small excavator in the uk is only $100-200 euros for a weekend rental, so it’s very easy to take the lazy option.

I looked up a couple of translations, and basically a road or pathway that is not “constructed” with pavers, tarmac, (…) came back as “farm road” - so I put the “very small” in front of it, because that is what it is. An unconstructed pathway, just “dirt“ compacted by years and years of use.

Thank you very much!

now I need to lay down after reading your exploits.........

Please have an ice tea or beer as well.

We could have saved him so much typing if we told him its an alleyway in English?

*yay*

Again, thank you very much everyone for the comments & likes!

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[littlebean]

Please have an ice tea or beer as well.

I shall now present this to my wife as The Law According To Olli and, as such, unbreakable

 

[f121]

I looked up a couple of translations, and basically a road or pathway that is not “constructed” with pavers, tarmac, (…) came back as “farm road” - so I put the “very small” in front of it, because that is what it is. An unconstructed pathway, just “dirt“ compacted by years and years of use.

Constantly impressed with the attention to detail on your work and how you share Oli. Is it normal to do work like this yourself in Germany, or do most people hire it out like in the UK?


But confused why you drive a Kangoo in Germany? Surely the German manufacturers are much nicer! (Although the 2 broken RS6s, 3 broken VWs, and the slightly broken BMW in my life are telling me a Kangoo might be a good choice at this point!)

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Constantly impressed with the attention to detail on your work and how you share Oli. Is it normal to do work like this yourself in Germany, or do most people hire it out like in the UK?


But confused why you drive a Kangoo in Germany? Surely the German manufacturers are much nicer! (Although the 2 broken RS6s, 3 broken VWs, and the slightly broken BMW in my life are telling me a Kangoo might be a good choice at this point!)

Thank you very much! As far as I can tell, DIY is alive and doing well in Germany. But surely as many people would have hired it out. I decide that on a by case base, the natural stone pavers at the entry were done by landscaping professionals, for example. And that was the right decision, not a single stone they did not “work” on before it was laid. And it’s rock solid - no pun intended. Never had any issues with it.

The Kangoo has - generally, and funny enough, actually not today as we had to get roadside assistance out - proven to be a highly reliable, highly versatile car that suits our lifestyle. We‘ve had some repairs/ recommended services over the years, it gets serviced every year, … It’s an all around great car. Gasoline to “miles” driven ratio is good as well.

And please take another look at the picture with the crates of builders waste, low trunk access. And it doesn’t matter if its those crates, beverage crates or other materials. Very easy to load. Lot’s of internal space, and I can still park it in some of the sh*ttiest, build 50 years ago or older, garages in the two big cities around us because it’s not oversized externally by any means.

Two sliding doors. It has more than enough “power“ to go with the flow on the Autobahn. And given that our neighboring countries, where we go mostly by car, all have strict speed limits in place and rigorously enforce them. …

We keep it in good shape, now that the builder’s waste crates were in, and even though I had a cover underneath, I’ll thoroughly clean it next time at the car wash.

We’re very, very happy with it. And it will be very, very hard to find a replacement once that day comes.


Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

#FrenchKangarooStories (Renault Kangoo)

As teased in my answer to @f121 , we had to call roadside assistance for the French Kangaroo today.

My better half went to run some errands, and her first stop was by the glass recycling containers on a roundabout about 200 meter away. Well, she stopped, threw the glass away, started again and the car started but died almost immediately, it moved a couple of meters. Since she was that close, she called me to ask wether I wanted to have a look or if she should call the car shop/ roadside assistance. I said I’ll be right there and then we’ll see.

The first thing that came to my mind was “oh ****, you put fuel in it two days ago”. So I went for the receipt and was relieved it clearly stated gasoline. (I know, they could have put the wrong stuff in the tanks on their end, but I assumed for the minute that that was not case as it is pretty rare for that to happen as far as I know.)

But with the basic idea “fuel”, I grabbed a pair of my orange diamond grip gloves, a can of brake cleaner and what I refer to as my “personal” tool box. And walked over to the roundabout.

Starting it, everything sounded right except for that it wouldn’t “fire”. I got under the hood, pulled the air intake pipe off the filter housing, had her start it, gave it a whiff of the brake cleaner, fired immediately and died again as quick.


(Disclaimer: This picture was taken while we were waiting for roadside assistance, and I thought it would be cool to have one for my #FrenchKangarooStories.)

We then called our regular shop, given it was a Friday afternoon they asked if we could have roadside assistance tow it to them as they couldn’t spare someone going out right now. Sure.

So we called the ADAC (roadside assistance club) which we are members of and after a brief explanation they said they send someone. Got a text minutes later with a link for realtime updates and actual tracking. After 10 minutes tracking became life and a little dot moved towards our location. Another 15 minutes the tech called he’d be there in 5 minutes - and he was.

Also while waiting I removed the tow hook from the on-board tool-set, just in case.



I told him what I did, he agreed that it is most likely a fuel issue then and also said that Kangoos are known for defective/ stuck fuel pumps. He wanted us to start the Kangoo while he took what looked like a big pipe and gave the tank some whacks lying on his back close to the rear tire. I think I counted 4 blows, then the Kangoo fired right up and kept running. Very cool.

This was like a 5 minute job. He then printed a little report, looked at our membership card/ confirmed it was the number we had given over the phone and obviously advised to take it to the shop immediately and not simply keep driving it - which we would have done anyway. He was gone as fast as he had arrived.

We drove the Kangoo to the shop, talked to one of the employees briefly, and they get back to us next week. Most likely putting in a new fuel pump I guess.

But it was very cool to be able to drive it to the shop and not having it towed in.

Mad props also to ADAC/ roadside assistance for a very quick response and the guy was cool.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Jim'bo]

Hi Olli,

if you don't mind me asking, could you provide (ordering) details on those trash bin housing kits?

I'm in Belgium so it's a long shot if they'd deliver, but these things look exactly like what I've (well, the wife) been looking for for ages.

BTW, did you bolt them to the pavers? I've had an entire garden shed go astray after some mild windy Belgian weather, and these things evidently weigh a lot less. Then again they wouldn't catch as much wind either due to the smaller size.

Jim'bo.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Hi Olli,

if you don't mind me asking, could you provide (ordering) details on those trash bin housing kits?

I'm in Belgium so it's a long shot if they'd deliver, but these things look exactly like what I've (well, the wife) been looking for for ages.

BTW, did you bolt them to the pavers? I've had an entire garden shed go astray after some mild windy Belgian weather, and these things evidently weigh a lot less. Then again they wouldn't catch as much wind either due to the smaller size.

Jim'bo.

Hi Jim’bo,

Sure, you can look through what they offer here: https://www.friesenzaun-shop.de/ we have the “Classic” (240L) variant.

They do deliver to Belgium: https://www.friesenzaun-shop.de/info/Peters---Peters-liefert-in-diese-Laender.html

I did not bolt them to the pavers. I did contemplate about it but for now decided against it. I might change that after observing them for a bit in really bad weather.

Kind regards,
Olli