A Few Tricks

Started by flyingvan, February 18, 2012, 11:28:52 PM

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flyingvan

Here's a few of the problems encountered and my solutions---probably not the only, and possibly not even the best, but worth the cost of posting...

  Getting things level---



   This highly accurate tool for getting this level at great distances (these two story posts are 20' apart) costs about $1.80.  It's 3/8" clear vinyl tubing filled mostly full with water, making sure there are no bubbles.  The water will find its level, then mark your posts.  Dead on every time.

   Bomb proof rock walls---

  Dig a footing and build some forms.  I like to line the trench with visqueen so you don't lose moiture to the soil

Here it is stripped---look to the left of the pic.  I set a 12' galvanized pipe in the wall just to have something to bend rebar.  I can stick rebar in the pipe, now all encased in concrete and stone, slip another pipe over the part sticking out, and get a good bend.

  Then you can just dry stack stones between the columns.  I did throw some mortar in the bigger gaps.  Then clamp scrap plywood behind it and throw dirt behind the plywood to shore it up, then dump concrete behind the stones against the plywood to lock it all together.  For the top curb--

lay a strip of visqueen down over the top of the stones, let the rebar from each column poke through.  Use some 2x 's for side forms and cut plywood 'U's to keep them in place...Run rebar along the tops of the columns and you're ready to pour...Oh..umm..Ignore my 1/4 ton truck with 4,500 pounds of redi-mix in the back. 
 
  Tiles----expensive.  Rocks---free.  Turns out rocks are full of free tiles though.  Go buy a second hand wet saw from Craigslist and liberate them.


Find what you love and let it kill you.

MountainDon

Add some colorant to the water for the level and it's easier to see. More important the older you get, as a rule.   :(

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


JavaMan

I think this might be timely as this spring, once I get up there, and I cut the driveway to the top of my mountain (I call it a mountain anyway) I may need to put in some of that sort of thing to keep the road on the side of the hill and level.  We'll see how much of a cut I need to do to get the "road" in.


texasgun

WEST TEXAS

flyingvan





Just some more pictures of the same project
Find what you love and let it kill you.