Resurfacing Yard Aug-2016_0184
I’ve just had a large part of the yard resurfaced, the culmination of five months hard work. I started around Easter by sorting a 500 tonne stockpile by hand, the scrap had been mixed for a customer, long since closed, different types of low phos’ cast iron mixed and it needed un-mixing to make it saleable at a decent price today. As it is I didn’t want to sell it on today’s very poor market so I had to create space in a packed yard to move it to after I sorted it, It’s been a massive job, I’ve been working on it on nights and weekends, no cycling, no photography, just like it used to be. I’ve enjoyed having something to get stuck into. Things got stressed at times when I was being pulled in different directions by the everyday demands of (supposedly :-)) being the boss. I’ve created a new internal road into a part of the yard only accessible by a separate gate before, this gate had to be locked and unlocked dozens of times a day by drivers accessing bins and skips. The new road has revolutionised the yard and was something I’ve had in mind for years but it’s never been the right time to do it. I’ve moved around 2000 tonnes of cast iron to widen the existing roads and build the new one, particularly the corners for the artics that come and go every day. Cracked concrete was hammered out and used for base in the new road with new concrete being laid.
The final stage was getting Steads in to tarmac the whole lot. I had to think hard about the amount I was going to resurface, not just the expense but also considering how much area I wanted that I could no longer use for certain things as it would damage it. In the end I had most of the prepared area surfaced. JPI Planing came in with a biggish planer, a Wirtgen W120F . Based on Lindley Moor Road Jamie Ives was on the machine his self, in the pouring rain he took about four hours to grind the old surface off ready for the new. Malcolm and Paul Stead and their gang stayed all day working hard prepping ready for tarmac at 7.30 the day after, when glorious sun was forecast, fingers crossed.
I let Steads in before 7.00, the tarmac started arriving at 7.30 within a short time there was 120 tonnes of base tarmac parked up in eight wheelers, some of them were going to have a wait to get tipped-not our fault though, these tarmac lads are used to it anyway. We were using Steelphalt, made from steel slag it seems appropriate in a scrap yard, using a by-product of steelmaking. We always use Steelphalt as we have had excellent service from it over a very long period, I remember collecting it myself when we used to lay tarmac in the 80’s.
Some areas were being based deeper than others depending on the underlying surface and its intended use. From a photography point of view it was a stunning summers day but the early morning contrast was horrendous with very deep shadows. I only used the little Canon G1X mk2 as I was in and out of machines myself and the 5D would have been a hindrance and likely to get damaged. The little camera didn’t cope with the low light the previous day as well as the 5D would have but it was pouring down at times and the G1X fits in my pocket out of harm’s way. It struggled with the contrast but any digital camera would have to be fair. The shadows were mostly recoverable in Lightroom and I always shoot in Raw.
The topping should have started to arrive at 11.00 but it didn’t turn up until well after 2.00pm, it was a long hot afternoon for Paul and his men and the last man didn’t leave until nearly 7.00. After the first load had been laid I realised that a different spec was being used to all of our previous jobs. SMA, which Paul reassures me is a top notch product, wasn’t what I expected to be used. We have previously used a slag fines tarmac which gives a smoother finish-and has given us very good service. Seeing as there was around 120 tonne already here it was too late to do anything about it. There was a similar amount due the following morning.
Wednesday was another lovely day and the balance of the order arrived over the course of the morning. I usually unlock at 7.00am and Paul was waiting to get in and get cracking, I like working with likeminded people and Paul and Malcolm have a good bunch of people around them. Like my own lads, the younger ones get a bit of stick and there's no room for prima donnas, anyone not pulling their weight would soon be given some grief. My own job was the quietest it’s been for a long time which let me spend a lot of time watching Steads do their job, it was interesting as well as letting me get the photos, mainly just as a record of the work we’ve done. Steads laid 312 tonnes over two days and despite the misunderstanding over the actual finish they did a fantastic job. Fortunately someone pressed the go button and our own job picked up, we’ve had a couple of busy days since the work was finished.
Writing this a few days later, we have been putting our new surfaces to use and it’s looking promising. What a difference it makes to moving around the yard on a nice smooth surface, particularly in the Sennebogens on solid tyres. Having instant access to the rest of the yard using the new road is like having a new yard. I’ve never regretted spending money on improvements and hopefully I won’t regret this one.
Resurfacing Yard Aug-2016_0184
I’ve just had a large part of the yard resurfaced, the culmination of five months hard work. I started around Easter by sorting a 500 tonne stockpile by hand, the scrap had been mixed for a customer, long since closed, different types of low phos’ cast iron mixed and it needed un-mixing to make it saleable at a decent price today. As it is I didn’t want to sell it on today’s very poor market so I had to create space in a packed yard to move it to after I sorted it, It’s been a massive job, I’ve been working on it on nights and weekends, no cycling, no photography, just like it used to be. I’ve enjoyed having something to get stuck into. Things got stressed at times when I was being pulled in different directions by the everyday demands of (supposedly :-)) being the boss. I’ve created a new internal road into a part of the yard only accessible by a separate gate before, this gate had to be locked and unlocked dozens of times a day by drivers accessing bins and skips. The new road has revolutionised the yard and was something I’ve had in mind for years but it’s never been the right time to do it. I’ve moved around 2000 tonnes of cast iron to widen the existing roads and build the new one, particularly the corners for the artics that come and go every day. Cracked concrete was hammered out and used for base in the new road with new concrete being laid.
The final stage was getting Steads in to tarmac the whole lot. I had to think hard about the amount I was going to resurface, not just the expense but also considering how much area I wanted that I could no longer use for certain things as it would damage it. In the end I had most of the prepared area surfaced. JPI Planing came in with a biggish planer, a Wirtgen W120F . Based on Lindley Moor Road Jamie Ives was on the machine his self, in the pouring rain he took about four hours to grind the old surface off ready for the new. Malcolm and Paul Stead and their gang stayed all day working hard prepping ready for tarmac at 7.30 the day after, when glorious sun was forecast, fingers crossed.
I let Steads in before 7.00, the tarmac started arriving at 7.30 within a short time there was 120 tonnes of base tarmac parked up in eight wheelers, some of them were going to have a wait to get tipped-not our fault though, these tarmac lads are used to it anyway. We were using Steelphalt, made from steel slag it seems appropriate in a scrap yard, using a by-product of steelmaking. We always use Steelphalt as we have had excellent service from it over a very long period, I remember collecting it myself when we used to lay tarmac in the 80’s.
Some areas were being based deeper than others depending on the underlying surface and its intended use. From a photography point of view it was a stunning summers day but the early morning contrast was horrendous with very deep shadows. I only used the little Canon G1X mk2 as I was in and out of machines myself and the 5D would have been a hindrance and likely to get damaged. The little camera didn’t cope with the low light the previous day as well as the 5D would have but it was pouring down at times and the G1X fits in my pocket out of harm’s way. It struggled with the contrast but any digital camera would have to be fair. The shadows were mostly recoverable in Lightroom and I always shoot in Raw.
The topping should have started to arrive at 11.00 but it didn’t turn up until well after 2.00pm, it was a long hot afternoon for Paul and his men and the last man didn’t leave until nearly 7.00. After the first load had been laid I realised that a different spec was being used to all of our previous jobs. SMA, which Paul reassures me is a top notch product, wasn’t what I expected to be used. We have previously used a slag fines tarmac which gives a smoother finish-and has given us very good service. Seeing as there was around 120 tonne already here it was too late to do anything about it. There was a similar amount due the following morning.
Wednesday was another lovely day and the balance of the order arrived over the course of the morning. I usually unlock at 7.00am and Paul was waiting to get in and get cracking, I like working with likeminded people and Paul and Malcolm have a good bunch of people around them. Like my own lads, the younger ones get a bit of stick and there's no room for prima donnas, anyone not pulling their weight would soon be given some grief. My own job was the quietest it’s been for a long time which let me spend a lot of time watching Steads do their job, it was interesting as well as letting me get the photos, mainly just as a record of the work we’ve done. Steads laid 312 tonnes over two days and despite the misunderstanding over the actual finish they did a fantastic job. Fortunately someone pressed the go button and our own job picked up, we’ve had a couple of busy days since the work was finished.
Writing this a few days later, we have been putting our new surfaces to use and it’s looking promising. What a difference it makes to moving around the yard on a nice smooth surface, particularly in the Sennebogens on solid tyres. Having instant access to the rest of the yard using the new road is like having a new yard. I’ve never regretted spending money on improvements and hopefully I won’t regret this one.