- Thread starter hooblah
- Start date
So I've been digging today and it was going alright until we hit chalk. I'm using a pickaxe for this and its slow going. In the deepest bit I've dug around a foot, maybe a bit more. All this has filled up 3 bulk bags and I'm maybe a quarter of the way there (on this side!), not to mention there's concrete that needs to be dealt with as well...
So I'm in a bit of a dilemma;
Hire a kango and fill the garden with bulk bags full of soil and rock (this will he very difficult as the bags will get further and further away).
Or, hire a kango, a mini digger and a skip and have it done in a day. The only downside to this is the cost involved.
I'm still unsure of whether to rebuild the wall, keeping the cavity between the garden and garage, and then fill it with gravel, or just dig it out even further and pave it.
I need the cheapest solution as I don't fancy wasting money when I'll only be digging everything up again in a couple of years time!
So I'm in a bit of a dilemma;
Hire a kango and fill the garden with bulk bags full of soil and rock (this will he very difficult as the bags will get further and further away).
Or, hire a kango, a mini digger and a skip and have it done in a day. The only downside to this is the cost involved.
I'm still unsure of whether to rebuild the wall, keeping the cavity between the garden and garage, and then fill it with gravel, or just dig it out even further and pave it.
I need the cheapest solution as I don't fancy wasting money when I'll only be digging everything up again in a couple of years time!
Spot the welders dog
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Drive to B&Q in the OKRoad, pick up a couple of lads for a days labour and give 'em a spade each. Tell any lonely female friends that you have some 'diet cola' looking guys working in the yard. When the ladies start arriving charge 'em an entry fee on the door *no refunds*. Bingo; big hole and a few quid in the back pocket 
OR -
A call to crime stoppers - tell 'em you heard a whisper from a neighbour that a previous tenant buried 'something' there and they'll come and dig it up for you: bonus point is you get a free white gazebo to use for a fews days and the removal of last Sundays chicken carcass to boot
OR -
Same senario just using Time Team. Borrow one of sardines 'roman helmets' and say you think that a Dead King stayed in your garage
Oh this is fun...
OR -
A call to crime stoppers - tell 'em you heard a whisper from a neighbour that a previous tenant buried 'something' there and they'll come and dig it up for you: bonus point is you get a free white gazebo to use for a fews days and the removal of last Sundays chicken carcass to boot
OR -
Same senario just using Time Team. Borrow one of sardines 'roman helmets' and say you think that a Dead King stayed in your garage
Oh this is fun...
octo0072000
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you just answered your own question keep digging if you dont want to waste money
So I had a brainwave today! I was thinking why don't I move my mates crusty car off my drive, then I can hire a **Language** off kango and just have a skip there.
So I did some ringing around and it turns out it will cost the same as a skip to get a grab lorry to take it all away, and it will take double what the skip takes. Perfect. So I'm guesstimating it will cost me around £500 to get this dug out and that's including hiring a mini digger and a kango for a day!
Now all I have to do is find time to do it. Oh and i need to figure out exactly what im going to do with this new found space. Ffs.
So I did some ringing around and it turns out it will cost the same as a skip to get a grab lorry to take it all away, and it will take double what the skip takes. Perfect. So I'm guesstimating it will cost me around £500 to get this dug out and that's including hiring a mini digger and a kango for a day!
Now all I have to do is find time to do it. Oh and i need to figure out exactly what im going to do with this new found space. Ffs.
MattF
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By eck, you must have arms like a girl if you're classing that as a lot of work. A weekend or so on that and you'd easily have all of that dug out, broken up and shifted out of the way, doing it by hand. That chunk of concrete under the barrel just wants a breaker rod underneath it to lift it, then wedge a stone/brick or two underneath to keep it raised slightly and then have at it with the sledge hammer.
A weekend or so on that and you'd easily have all of that dug out, broken up and shifted out of the way, doing it by hand. That chunk of concrete under the barrel just wants a breaker rod underneath it to lift it, then wedge a stone/brick or two underneath to keep it raised slightly and then have at it with the sledge hammer.
Fintray
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My garage roof was the same big 6 asbestos cement sheet as yours and I had exactly the same problem. I didn't have any water/moisture coming in through the block work either, the main problem is caused when the moisture being held in the air comes into contact with your garage roof (at night as temperatures drop) the water condenses out and then it starts dripping from the roof, I had this every year each winter. If I was you having now seen a picture of your garage would be to clear out as much soil from the gap between the brick wall (supporting the cemented area) and clear a gap at the end of the garage and fill will with coarse gravel. Then frame and insulate the roof to prevent the air coming into contact with the cold roof.
MattF
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I have that problem with my roof too. Metal sheets on mine. I've never insulated it, but I do have a layer of thin ply underneath so that there's an air gap and something to catch the moisture rather than it getting everything below. Did consider insulating, but was never chuffed with the prospect of giving moisture somewhere to get trapped and accumulate. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, so to speak.
By the way Hooblah, if that chalk is a bit tough, try slaking it from the sides rather than going straight down. You'll need to make a hole through it first so that you can take it from the side, but it'll usually be a lot easier to work on once you've done that. Attacking it from the side will usually bring stuff like that off in layers then, with a lot less brute force being required. An adze or a nadge, (not sure what their proper name is, but that's what my dad calls them. They're like a small pickaxe), are handy bits of kit for stuff like that. Not much difference to a pickaxe in theory, but smaller and easier to work with when restricted on space.
By the way Hooblah, if that chalk is a bit tough, try slaking it from the sides rather than going straight down. You'll need to make a hole through it first so that you can take it from the side, but it'll usually be a lot easier to work on once you've done that. Attacking it from the side will usually bring stuff like that off in layers then, with a lot less brute force being required. An adze or a nadge, (not sure what their proper name is, but that's what my dad calls them. They're like a small pickaxe), are handy bits of kit for stuff like that. Not much difference to a pickaxe in theory, but smaller and easier to work with when restricted on space.
Pete.
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Those type of blocks need an extra coating to make them impervious to water. Render, waterproofing sealer, paint, whatever but they have to have something. They soak up water like a sponge so in the winter will be constantly damp. you rtrench is about the width of a motorway too. Dig half as wide = half the work.
MattF
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That could be a bit counter productive in reality though. If you try keeping it slim in width, you end up giving yourself less room to work which leads to it actually taking longer and being harder work. When digging down, owt less than a persons width with a bit of extra wiggle room is nigh on impossible to work in without knacking yourself quickly..
Thanks for the suggestions guys!
I ran out of bulk bags to store the **** in so I couldn't dig any further. I'll be getting some more pretty soon and I'll hire and kango to help out.
I've tried digging down with a pickaxe, well its more like a pickaxe crossed with a hoe, with a wide end rather than a point. Its working but slow going. MattF as you've said, I've dug a nice square pit which you can't see in the pic, but its there.
I'll demolish the concrete first and work my way back with the kango. Should make things nice and easy. But I've got too much on my plate at the moment and I'm struggling to make time for all of my projects and other bits and pieces! I'll deal with damp proofing and condensation after its all dug out.
I ran out of bulk bags to store the **** in so I couldn't dig any further. I'll be getting some more pretty soon and I'll hire and kango to help out.
I've tried digging down with a pickaxe, well its more like a pickaxe crossed with a hoe, with a wide end rather than a point. Its working but slow going. MattF as you've said, I've dug a nice square pit which you can't see in the pic, but its there.
I'll demolish the concrete first and work my way back with the kango. Should make things nice and easy. But I've got too much on my plate at the moment and I'm struggling to make time for all of my projects and other bits and pieces! I'll deal with damp proofing and condensation after its all dug out.
Pete.
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An adze? Or a mattock?
octo0072000
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i wonder what happened to the garage water proofing
