# What Are You The Best At



## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

What are your talents as an operator? 
With what type machine or what specific machine? 

Examples,
keeping grade? bailing dirt? truck loading? finish grade? picking on rock?

I knew a dragline operator who could load a truck withdreging and not get it dirty. And a track loader operator who would dig a basement +- 2" with no instrument readings.

Nick


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## Wolf (Mar 24, 2006)

*Knocking Down Old Buildings*

I am best at knocking down old buildings. I am into destruction, not construction. I love showing up at a site with dilapadated old buildings and leaving a clean lot when I am done. It is kind of a scorched earth strategy. Leave no trace of the building, save nothing, just get the building on the ground fast and loaded into the trucks quick. That's why I love being a wrecking crew.


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

denick said:


> What are your talents as an operator?
> With what type machine or what specific machine?
> 
> Examples,
> ...


Nick,
Do you know Bob Krockevitch, or Don Cote'? I can pull some wicked wheelies with skid steer and do 360's on the rear wheels:w00t: . It's beautiful to watch ( like being at a Ballet ):laughing:


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joseph,

Too much diet coke today? 

No I don't know Bob or Don. 

Maybe you could have the film crew on your project film your performance?

Aren't you the one who said you can keep to 1/10th of an inch with your excavator. Your good Joseph.


Nick

Getting much rain down there yet? Not much here. Hope you have your bowl shaped site secured if we get the inch plus tonight.


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

denick said:


> Joseph,
> 
> Too much diet coke today?
> *Not Really.*
> ...


*Off and on all day but not heavy. Let it come, so I'll have a full bowl.:laughing: *


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

What I do best?.......ah.....you'll have to ask the ladies.:whistling

And don't be surprised if disappearing after comes up.:laughing:

I'm a regular freekin Houdini.:w00t:

Bob


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joe,

Are you saying you use your toes to gauge the depth? and that if it's half the thickness of your big toe your good?


Nick

Joe,
Would you know if the old Jayne Brothers gravel pit in Bethel is still in operation? I know they don't own it anymore. I bought a dump trailer off Ken Jayne a few years back. I have a customer that wants a different looking driveway stone and they had a 3/8" pea stone that had a brown, beige color to it. She would like something like that.


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Yo Nick,
What road was it on?


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Isn't there a place up by Sheffield Mass. that has different colored stone?


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## Kristina (Apr 21, 2006)

I read the topic line and thought "hmm is this a loaded question??" :whistling 

Kristina, get yer mind outta da gutta!!


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joe,

I'm not sure I'd have to get a map out and trace my way there. Could have been bought out by Bethel sand and gravel?

In Canaan we have a stone that is white to beige color but its a little bright for some people. And plenty of the all white limestone. Sheffield has no active pits that I know of. Lane Construction brings in trap rock like O&G's up there.

Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Nick,
A few yrs. back? Bethel Sand and Gravel has been there at least 20 yrs. But I know exactly where that is. They are active although I've never gone in there personally. Don't know what they have for products. I'm thinking of a place I use to pass all the time going snowmobiling, maybe it was past Sheffield, seems like it was past big twin steel bridges on the left. Honest! Nick do you snowmobile? If so where?


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joe,

I never got into snowmobiling?

Alot of people up here do.

My wife says I need a hobby though.

Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

I don't know Nick, you might wanna try Needle Point:jester: . Have you ever flown a Kite?:laughing: :laughing:


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Nick,
Question. What kind or type of masonry do you specialize in? Do you build fireplaces? Stone, Brick veneer on houses?


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joe,

My wife has had me quilting for her.

She thinks my life is a kite in flight.

We do the entire range. Brick, Block, Stone, Not much veneer work up here. Fireplaces and chimney's. Terrace and wall work. Repair of anything. Most everything is custom. Never two jobs the same it seems. Not set up as a production type outfit. Details, details, details.

Big rock work in landscapes and everything to go with them is probably our speciality.

Do you know the Stamford Museum? 

Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

I'm sure I've been past it, have been down that way quit a bit the past few yrs. I use to go up to Canaan quit a bit to that J.D. dealer, they use to service my sleds. They went out of business didn.t they? This was back in the first half of the 90's.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Riva equipment? They're long gone.

Slow night. I thought we'd pass drywall this week for posts.

Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Thats them Riva. Two story colonial, 9" pitch, fireplace, raised hearth, extra flue for oil burner, nice brick, copper flashing. How much in Greenwich?


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Not much to go on Joseph, $30,000. ?


Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Wow! The guy that we use charges 15K, I thought that was high. He does do nice work and can knock it out I'd say 6-7 days by himself.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Joe,

I said you didn't give me much info. We haven't built a fireplace under 18, in 5 years. Last Chimney we built was 13' across with a corner firebox cantelivered with no support post, mantle stone weighed 2,600 lbs. 22' high stone work inside. On and On. details, details, details.

He probably thinks you get a lot for excavating.


Nick


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

Nick,
Calm down, have another cup of coffee. I think we get alot for excavation (not really) just the nature of the beast ( with everything ).


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

Did anybody even answer the original question ?


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

i saw my dad win a $5 bet with a guy, had 3 chances to do it, did it on 2nd.....taped sandpaper to a bucket tooth of excavator, stuck 3 kitchen matches in crack of a sidewalk. light them without breaking the match stick. i've never tried it, gotta put that on my "to do" list.


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

How about a shaving attachment for my Bobcat.......?

Bob


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

*Back on topic*

Well to get this back on topic, I would say I am best at judging and keeping a grade while digging a trench. I am very good on a backhoe and excavator. Real good on a skid loader, pretty good on a track loader, and can handle a dozer.

Reminds me of a time I had some trouble with a plumber, would you like to hear about it? 


OK, here goes.
3 days before Christmas, a plumber I do work for schedules a septic abandonment/ sewer hook up. From tank to sewer tap is about 400', nice sloping front lawn, real flat, we will have to step the sewer pipe to keep it below grade @1/4"/ft. 

So we intercept the pipe ahead of the tank and get things established and are moving along, he puts down about 40' of pipe, and I start to think we are running too flat. So I mention to this guy "Hey Bob, this is looking a little flat to me. How are you checking grade?" Well he has one of those levels with the screw device on it and says it is set for 1/4"/ft. "Keep going we know what we are doing" he says.

Well after the third time I questioned him about grade he says something like "Aww you backhoe guys don't know anything just do as you're told!"

Which prompted me to ask, "If this is the grade you want to run at, I'll run it, see if You and your helpers can keep up?" And I proceeded to empty out that trench in record time.

Inspection is the next day Dec.23, it absolutely has to be backfilled that day. I can't be there and send a friend who does landscaping type work and has a skid loader and tamper to fill in this trench, I schedule him for after 10 AM.

I get a call from my friend at like 2 PM and he wants to know how much longer it will take the plumber to lower the pipe in the trench so he can finish backfilling.:w00t: 

Turns out the trench was too flat and didn't pass inspection, by the time I was able to get back with the backhoe they had hand dug about 1/3 the way trying to reset the pipe. But by now they had trapped so much water in the pipe and could not move it to the side to dig next to it.

I had them remove the pipe and I backed over about 200' of trench and re-dug the thing out for him. He reinstalled the pipe and we started backfilling again. 

Guess who left me and my buddies to complete the job in the dark, while it started to rain THEN snow. Yep that SOB plumber was gone the second his last piece of pipe was hooked up. 

I never even got a "hey you where right, man" thank you for coming back and working in the dark or anything from that guy.

But I am *real *good at judging grade.:cowboy:


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## TMatt142 (Apr 28, 2006)

I would say I'm best on a tractor backhoe. I ran a JD710 for 16 years with a highway heavy outfit in MN. Got to the point where they would have me tolerance small frontage roads (front bucket work), and once they gave me a G series with front wheel assist, I could ALMOST keep up to a smaller wheel loader loading tandems. On the backhoe side, I can keep grade very well and load trucks fast (providing I have a 3ft bucket!!!) Still think it takes 30+ to load a tandem!!!!


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