Demolition, clearing and grading

[CM1995]

It would have been nice if they had put the pool backwash I before the decks were built. Most of it was dug by hand.

That sucks! I am allergic to manual labor, I break out in sweats... :spaz

Did you keep the "mine"?

 

[Landclearer]

That sucks! I am allergic to manual labor, I break out in sweats... :spaz

Did you keep the "mine"?

I have the same thing, I get tired and start sweating when I get off a machine.

We sent the "mine " to the scrap yard but did think about for a minute. Got a bank bustin 4.5 cents a a pound.

 

[CM1995]

Got a bank bustin 4.5 cents a a pound.

I hear ya' scrap prices suck. I've got a 45 yard about loaded on a demo job and the only thing I will make is the difference in the dump fee vs. $.07 a lb at the scrap yard. Not much but it's something.

 

[Landclearer]

The house we did had 2800 pounds of steel in it, we got $128 for the scrap and it would have cost 77 to dump it at the landfill so it was really worth $205.

 

[CM1995]

The house we did had 2800 pounds of steel in it, we got $128 for the scrap and it would have cost 77 to dump it at the landfill so it was really worth $205.

That is exactly how I look at it as well LC, it's what you didn't spend and what you got paid that need to be added together.

However with such low scrap prices one has to decide if it's worth separating. We have to prep. the demo debris to fit in the can or trailer to maximize the space and reduce disposal costs so the real question is how much extra time does it take to separate the metal?

On the restaurant job we're on, the excavator is outside loading the soft debris the skid is sending out of the building. The exc. is sitting idle if it just loads out the debris without sorting. The cost of that machine is running regardless whether it's loading it all out at once or separating while it waits on another load to be shoved out. It's a little more fuel burned operating compared to idle but with fuel cheap, I think it's still time well spent separating the metal. The labor, machine and overhead costs are still ticking regardless of whether it's at idle or operating.

Scrap prices where they are it's really a job by job decision whether to separate it.

 

[Landclearer]

Yes I fully agree. Sometimes it is not worth separating but like you said if the machine is there and running anyway you might as well. We are lucky, we can send tin, heavy steel, cast iron white goods all mixed in one load and we get steel prices for it so that is not bad.

That is one good thing about having your own truck, you can load it up and send it anytime you want.

 

[CM1995]

Same here. We load all the metal in one can - iron, white goods, water heaters, galvanized studs, even MC cable if it's easily separated and get steel prices. Although at the moment tin and steel prices are the same across the scales.

I do have to pay a haul fee but I can let the can stay there during the duration of the demo.

 

[movindirt]

Looking good! I have that same allergy as you CM :tong Is that mine explosive, or just more like a buoy?

 

[Landclearer]

Looking good! I have that same allergy as you CM :tong Is that mine explosive, or just more like a buoy?

Thanks buddy! Not explosive it was just an old buoy but we joked about it being a mine.

 

[Landclearer]

Got the curb guys hand forming the curb on our parking lot job. It is going slow but they have the machine on another job so they decided to hand from it.





Was back at the gun range doing some grading and finished hauling the fill dirt. Only thing left now is to spread the rock on the paths.

 

[Browning.270]

Awesome finish work! Grading along the edge of that water would bring back bad memories for me lol

 

[CM1995]

Got the curb guys hand forming the curb on our parking lot job. It is going slow but they have the machine on another job so they decided to hand from it.

That's exactly what I was doing the last part of the week, managing a sub hand forming 1400LF of 30" valley curb. Time was tight and all the slipform guys were booked a month out. Not to bad on production, we got all 1400' on the ground in 3 days.

The slip form guys are so busy here that I might have to consider buying a slipform machine and motor grader...:cool2

 

[Landclearer]

Awesome finish work! Grading along the edge of that water would bring back bad memories for me lol

Thanks Browning! I have had a few bad memories myself but I dug the slope so I knew what was there. I hate when they want it straight walled then put topsoil back to make the slope.

 

[Landclearer]

That's exactly what I was doing the last part of the week, managing a sub hand forming 1400LF of 30" valley curb. Time was tight and all the slipform guys were booked a month out. Not to bad on production, we got all 1400' on the ground in 3 days.

The slip form guys are so busy here that I might have to consider buying a slipform machine and motor grader...:cool2

Maybe you can come on up and motivate our sub. They are doing a good looking job but are so slow. I will be happy when we are done with that job, it has been a pain. We are waiting for the phone company to move two of there boxes so we can't even finish the curb.

 

[CM1995]

Maybe you can come on up and motivate our sub. They are doing a good looking job but are so slow. I will be happy when we are done with that job, it has been a pain. We are waiting for the phone company to move two of there boxes so we can't even finish the curb.

I hear ya' buddy it can be frustrating. Add in waiting for the phone company to do anything will drive anyone up the wall.:Banghead


Lucked up on these guys, they were referred by a friend and I've never worked with them before but they are now my concrete guys.

This was an easy money pour for them, straight shots of long sections. No islands or tight radius's to take up a lot of time. They know what they are doing - like I said I got lucky.

 

[Landclearer]

You did get lucky, that is some good looking curb work. Hard to find someone that would even think about hand forming that much around here. I will get some pics of our curb if they ever finish.

Fortunately for us the owner is paying the 11k to move the phone boxes. You would think for that much money they could move a little faster

 

[CM1995]

Fortunately for us the owner is paying the 11k to move the phone boxes. You would think for that much money they could move a little faster

No doubt. I had a project back in 2005 that had a phone pedestal right in the middle of the new road that tied into an existing road. I had to pay $7K to move the pedestal 20' or so. I contacted the phone company at the beginning of the job, got the estimate and paid the bill. 5 months later we are ready to pour curb and gutter and they show up.

It was a rag tag sub crew for the phone company that showed up. They spent 5 days trenching and moving the lines. When we went to pave, the new phone lines were just under the base.

We paved over them.

 

[Landclearer]

We have been dealing with the phone company mess for about 2 months. I wish I had the nerve to pave around the boxes. You got a bargain at 7000 to move 20 feet ours is 11k to move 4 feet

 

[Browning.270]

Thanks Browning! I have had a few bad memories myself but I dug the slope so I knew what was there. I hate when they want it straight walled then put topsoil back to make the slope.

Yea i was just starting out on a dozer and was told to go "finish around that pond" with a 700..i had no clue under the water it dropped straight down. Well as you can imagine on my last past near the water i ended up with the water side track completely gone and dozer about upset..took a 230 dig along the topside and pull/slide it up level then pull it out from there. Scared the heck out of me. I learned to work twords the water and backdrag away from it from then on lol

 

[Landclearer]

Yea i was just starting out on a dozer and was told to go "finish around that pond" with a 700..i had no clue under the water it dropped straight down. Well as you can imagine on my last past near the water i ended up with the water side track completely gone and dozer about upset..took a 230 dig along the topside and pull/slide it up level then pull it out from there. Scared the heck out of me. I learned to work twords the water and backdrag away from it from then on lol

Unless I dig it or I see it before the water goes in, I am like you, I backdrag from the bottom to the top. You never know what is under there!