How's the weather

[glenn kangiser]

Out here, Big Bobcat and hammer rents for about $2000 per week by the time you get all of their add on charges. 

The smaller Bobcats in the valley are at $125  (contractor rate per Bobcat Dealer.) per hour without the hammer.  This one is 105 hp - 12000 lbs and drinks quite a bit of fuel.  This project is way up in the mountains.  For the Bobcat alone with a bucket I get $80.  The hammer actually rents for more than the Bobcat - per the rental company - so I just keep my prices comparable to them.  Out here, if you don't charge enough, you just end up with a little money and a pile of broken down junk that you cant afford to fix.  Note that this Bobcat hs about twice the weight and horsepower of the small ones.  The Cat operator said the small ones wouldn't do the job and waited to order the Cat until he saw I could do it.  Note that my Bobcat has about 5 more horsepower than the Case 850K they rebuilt the road with.

Expensive -- yes , but not near what I think I'm worth.  The operator who doubted me said he had never seen anybody move so much rock so fast with a Bobcat and Jackhammer.  The extra size did it and really impressed him  -- as well as my professional attitude and skills.

Maintenance is a real killer and big rocks give it a pretty good workout.  Rock damage to tires is pretty well unavoidable and tires are 375 each average. 

This is for a project with state funding and requires a million liab.

[glenn kangiser]

It was a great day for work --(pretending I'm on topic)

Here is a couple pix of the rocks and dozer.



The larger rocks in these pix are around 4 feet long and were stuck in the massive rock formation endways.  Some were easier to take the whole fractured rock than to break.

[Redoverfarm]

Glenn are they using the rock on site or is it hauled off?  Looks like limestone. 

[glenn kangiser]

It's Diorite - like granite without quartz-very hard.--and was only used for fill to widen the road for fire trucks where we had a lot of broken rock on the corners--all used on site, but I took out so much the operator had a hard time finding room for the rocks and associated dirt in that area.  I'd guess a few hundred yards combined.

The road was sloped the wrong way -- all mountain runoff went down the road due to the rocks -- ruts were so deep on a corner I high centered my 1 ton dually. We supered the corner the proper way -put in ditches- took out around 30 to 50 yards of broken rock - put in 4 culverts packed - graded and road base rock coming in a couple days.  (One of 4 culverts to go).

Note that the diorite has the highest tensile strength on the list and it got harder as I got deeper.



LUCKY I HAD NICE WEATHER TO WORK IN, EH?

[Redoverfarm]

Well Glenn I guess we have completely demolished this thread so I guess a little more wouldn't hurt. Sure would have been nice to have the stone on the road before you get some more rain.  In this area we have a shale based product(but harder than convientional shale) that is referred to as "Churt".  It is only to this region.  It will break up some but is ideal for road bases.  Sharp on the tires until it gets packed down.  Then some smaller on top makes for a solid road.  Well at least until the freze thaw comes. Then everything goes. 

[glenn kangiser]

We will likely get very little rain until next  September or so.  Nothing in sight for the coming week and with each day the chance is less.  Sometimes we will get one or two last little storms but mostly done.  They are bringing in limestone I think from Sonora area.  We got one transfer load already in case we needed it for culverts..

[Willy]

We will likely get very little rain until next  September or so.  Nothing in sight for the coming week and with each day the chance is less.  Sometimes we will get one or two last little storms but mostly done.  They are bringing in limestone I think from Sonora area.  We got one transfer load already in case we needed it for culverts..

Very little if any spring rain yet at the cabin site or my home. The cabin road is allmost dry enought to do some grading on but still has a little snow on the edges melting into it. I was hoping to grade it with my tractor last time but it would freeze solid over night so every moring it was hard as a rock again. I gave up with that program and just dealing with building the cabin for now. In a week or two I can try agin if my land is ready for a driveway also. It still is droping into the low 20s at night! Mark

[glenn kangiser]

It is dry enough here that we had to use a water truck to dampen the road to roll the dirt.

Crazy lady -- meth cooker? didn't want the roller working today - has been yelling at the grader operator.  Today she decided to stop the roller ( think steam roller) -- She rammed it with her car..on purpose.  The operator was fixing her road fer crimoney sakes. 

CHP was called and they hauled her off to jail.

[Redoverfarm]

Does that really surprize you? Some people are not satisfied no matter what you do for them. At least she will now have time to reflect.

[glenn kangiser]

Seen it before..a lady chewed us out for remodeling a shopping center to make it nice-- ruined her shopping experience.

[Willy]

Seen it before..a lady chewed us out for remodeling a shopping center to make it nice-- ruined her shopping experience.

I have been yelled at for takeing water out of a stream for filling my water tender to fight a fire near there home! They would say things like your messing up salmon beds and I had to yell back that ain't nothing compaired to what is going to go in this stream when the trees all burn along the edge!! Mark

[Willy]

Well off to Chesaw in the morning. I might get a little snow or rain according to the weather forcast at the 3500 ft level?? Mark

WAZ038-071830-
OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...REPUBLIC...INCHELIUM
822 PM PDT SUN APR 6 2008


REST OF TONIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS
IN THE EVENING...THEN ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS OVERNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL
2500 FEET IN THE EVENING. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S.
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.

MONDAY: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
SNOW LEVEL 3500 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S TO
LOWER 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 40 PERCENT.

MONDAY NIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS
IN THE EVENING...THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS OVERNIGHT.
SNOW LEVEL 3500 FEET IN THE EVENING. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER
30S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.

TUESDAY: A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN OR
SNOW SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVEL 3500 FEET IN THE
AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION
60 PERCENT.

[glenn kangiser]

Have a good trip, Mark.  By next Sunday it's supposed to be 76 here.

[fishing_guy]

45F today ; rain tomorrow ; and winter storm watch Friday .  Where is spring when you need it?

Another foot of snow forecast for our up-north land.  That will make for almost 4 feet of snow in a week up there.

[Willy]

Have a good trip, Mark.  By next Sunday it's supposed to be 76 here.

Got it framed anyway even if it was still cold the first 2 days. On the third day it was NICE and probley got allmost 60 degs and I was sweating twords the end of the day. We got hit with snow on the first day but we were done for the day. It snowed a few inches over night and we had to sweep the floor off before it melted. The sun came out and 99% of what fell melted away. We go hit a few times with hail but we kept working and it would stop and clear up. Sure does suck tring to measure and draw lines in the snow & hail! Mark

[MountainDon]

Crayons work for marking wet wood. Seriously.

[Willy]

Crayons work for marking wet wood. Seriously.

I will have to bring some small ones next time and try them out. Maybe it won't get wet and the roof goes on the next time I go up. Mark

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Good grief.  We had 5+ inches of rain the other day here, and there's flooding all around where we live (thankfully we didn't have any problem with it) and then turned around and had a dust storm yesterday evening.  I think the dust must've blown all the way from Texas, seeing as we were so soaking wet I don't know how there was any dust to be had!  Dust bowl and flood from the days of Noah, all in one week.  Now, the forecast is predicting that we're going to be down to 34 degrees in the morning, the coldest since we moved!  The day time high tomorrow isn't supposed to be too bad, and it's supposed to be sunny, but chilly for sure.  Went to the grocery store yesterday, and it was all I could do to keep my groceries from blowing off in the cart while I was trying to unload them and the kids into the truck!  (And it's not exactly like I'm a little bitty thing...)  Sunny and a little calmer, clear blue sky this morinng...kind of coolish.  Kids are wearing sweats today because they were cold.  Feels good to me.

[ScottA]

Windy as all get out today. I was going to wrap the exterior walls but blew that off, literaly. I'm framing sofits outside instead. 6+ inches of rain yesterday and not one drop inside the cabin. Temps not too bad but a slight chill so I'm in long sleeves today.

[gandalfthegrey]

freaky weather spawned tornatoes (10-12) through Ala, Tenn And Ky.  High winds blowing through the GAP in to Nicholas county W. Va.   Heavy hail and winds in Michigan.   

[Redoverfarm]

gandalfthegrey it didn't stop in Nicholas county. High winds, rain, alot of tree damage in just a few minutes some 75 miles from there.  Prediction is snow flurries tonight and then down to mid 20's for next couple of nights.  I can't believe it was 74F today.

[gandalfthegrey]

We are getting winds now. 50 -60 mph (Santa Anas) 94 yesterday. 90 today. That means there is a high pressure system sitting on top of MD in New Mexico.  Predicting same for next few days.

Your cold front is moving east from Minnesota. They got 7" snow yesterday.

[MountainDon]

It hit 81 F although it is windy, 20-25 with gusts to 35 or so. Couple that with 4% humidity and the fire warning are out in full force over all the state.

[Redoverfarm]

The weather last night an yesterday put the frogs back in their mud.  It was 21F this morning.  Made it all the way to 50F today and lows tonight about the same.  I debated on chink since the cold temps at night but when I got to the cabin it was 33F.  Just 2 miles apart.  I had water which I had caught off the roof to mix the mortar and there was no ice.  The early flowers took a beating though. No I didn't plant they are bulbed that come up every year.

[gandalfthegrey]

Alright, now I know something wierd is happening.  Three ays of near triple digit,  today just about 65.  They claim that by next monday nights below freezing and days in 50s.   

What the #$@% is going on

OK my brother said it was only global warming.  Seems to be his answer to everything.