30kg to much!!!!!

My deepest sympathies for your poor back. I thought this tale may cheer you up. Whilst working as a landscaper in the north of England I agreed to deliver some railway sleepers to a clients house "supply only" . Now these are not yer piddlin' little sleepers as you tend to see over here in oz. These are 9 feet long (excuse the imperial measurements!) 10 inches wide and about 5 inches deep, hardwood and impregnated with tar... and they're bloody heavy. Anyway I turn up at the address, just manage to sling one on my shoulder and knock on the door.The lady tells me its "just round the side" so I go to the side of the house to be confronted with about 12 steps UPWARDS! Anyway after huffin and puffin up the steps she meets me at the top and instructs me to "go through the living room and out the other side". So whilst kicking off my boots, balancing this beast on my shoulder and trying not take out the patio doors I shuffle my way through the living room and out onto the verandah. But my journey was not yet over, oh no. "Just put them down there in the garden" she says. I look down into the garden and to my horror see that the only way down is a spiral staircase! And I still had another three to go!!! After the last one was in she thanked me and calmly informed me that as soon as her brother turned up with his chainsaw to CHOP THEM IN HALF she would put them in place:o .
I managed not to punch her lights out, smiled sweetly, took my $20 and chalked one up to experience.

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Originally Posted by adam01

My deepest sympathies for your poor back. I thought this tale may cheer you up. Whilst working as a landscaper in the north of England I agreed to deliver some railway sleepers to a clients house "supply only" . Now these are not yer piddlin' little sleepers as you tend to see over here in oz. These are 9 feet long (excuse the imperial measurements!) 10 inches wide and about 5 inches deep, hardwood and impregnated with tar... and they're bloody heavy. Anyway I turn up at the address, just manage to sling one on my shoulder and knock on the door.The lady tells me its "just round the side" so I go to the side of the house to be confronted with about 12 steps UPWARDS! Anyway after huffin and puffin up the steps she meets me at the top and instructs me to "go through the living room and out the other side". So whilst kicking off my boots, balancing this beast on my shoulder and trying not take out the patio doors I shuffle my way through the living room and out onto the verandah. But my journey was not yet over, oh no. "Just put them down there in the garden" she says. I look down into the garden and to my horror see that the only way down is a spiral staircase! And I still had another three to go!!! After the last one was in she thanked me and calmly informed me that as soon as her brother turned up with his chainsaw to CHOP THEM IN HALF she would put them in place:o .
I managed not to punch her lights out, smiled sweetly, took my $20 and chalked one up to experience.

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What a load of bollocks, ya wouldnt be putting an Oz sleeper on ya shoulders trust me( yer piddlin' little sleepers as you tend to see over here in oz).

The sleepers Ive had took two men just to lift them never mind heave them onto your shoulder.

As they say, dont let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Al :p

lol Ozwinner - too right,. a full hw sleeper would easily top 120kg - built some of those sleeper steps in the past, and the best you can do is lift one end up and put on a trolly, and struggle off!

Bl;oody 20kg bags get me every time, i just cant mentally adjust to doubling the quantities and always end up short., Nowhere sells 40kg bags anymore either - I fondly remember labouring and carrying a full pallet load up a 30m 1 in 4 slope into a building site - young lady across the road, and I carried one each shoulder up - but only for the first 2 trips - nearly needed medical help after the first 2 LOL!

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Originally Posted by pharmaboy2

lol Ozwinner - too right,. a full hw sleeper would easily top 120kg - built some of those sleeper steps in the past, and the best you can do is lift one end up and put on a trolly, and struggle off!

Bl;oody 20kg bags get me every time, i just cant mentally adjust to doubling the quantities and always end up short., Nowhere sells 40kg bags anymore either - I fondly remember labouring and carrying a full pallet load up a 30m 1 in 4 slope into a building site - young lady across the road, and I carried one each shoulder up - but only for the first 2 trips - nearly needed medical help after the first 2 LOL!

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I remember working on the Pyramids, I used to carry them huge limestone blocks 2 at a time up them ramps, phew...thank god for them caring Pharaohs...

Al :2tsup:

Hi all

Good stories :D Any way, I still cannot find 20kg bags when I want them, only 30kg. Needed mortar for my limestone walls, you guessed 30kg bags, well I got some one to load them in to the Jeep, when I got to the Reno I slid it in to the wheel barrow then tipped it on the cement, cut it open and shovelled it in to the wheel barrow. Much easier :2tsup:

My back is good now - love pilates, I am off to a class in 10min. Best thing after painting ceilings :oo:

Celeste

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Originally Posted by Iain

We can get 20 and 40kg bags but I notice that there isn't much difference in the price:(( , this generally means I get to move them but 40kg is a bugger to get up to the mixer.
I have resorted to slashing them open on the tailgate of the wagon and pouring lesser amounts into a bucket and doing a couple of trips, much easier on the back but I don't get to sample your excellent back pain remedy:wink:

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The beaty about 20kg bags apart from the weight is that a full bag can be used to mix in a big 3.5 mixer and an even half makes a good size mix in a 2.2.

I always use a half bag in my 2.2, real easy, spilt it across the side of the bag with the seam, lift it through the middle, run your hand or a trowel through the other side of the bag from underneath once the two halves are sitting side by side and hey presto, two half bags that can be easily lifted up to mixer height and emptied. This way you don't get the flap on the bag catching half the cement and spreading it everywhere like you do if you open the top of a bag and try and just tip half in. Also with a split half bag you can walk past the mixer and tip it in as you pass, giving it a quick shake at arms length, by the time the mixer starts to dust out of the bowl you are on your way to the rubbish pile with the bag instead of standing in front of it, still trying to let only half the cement come out of the bag and breathing in silicates while you are doing so.

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Originally Posted by celeste

Hi all

Good stories :D Any way, I still cannot find 20kg bags when I want them, only 30kg. Needed mortar for my limestone walls, you guessed 30kg bags, well I got some one to load them in to the Jeep, when I got to the Reno I slid it in to the wheel barrow then tipped it on the cement, cut it open and shovelled it in to the wheel barrow. Much easier :2tsup:

My back is good now - love pilates, I am off to a class in 10min. Best thing after painting ceilings :oo:

Celeste

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Celeste, for limestone work buy brickies light (Bunnings sell it), these only weigh 17.5 kg as it is cream cement premixed with lime, it also gives better adheasion. You are having to get 30 kg bags because you buy premixed - this is the expensive and heavy option. If you don't have a trailer, get one of those big plastic tubs, stick it in the jeep with your shovel and fill it up with brickies yellow from a landscape yard. It will cost you about $5, heaps cheaper and in my opinion a much better option than premix.