Temporary restraint - Photie urgently needed

[Tony McC]

As some of you know, I'm off to South Africa on Friday to deliver a series of lectures about laying techniques for block paving to the SA trade body for concrete flag and block paving. Two weeks hard slog around Jo-burg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, etc.....it's a lousy job but someone has to do it!

One thing they've asked me to explain is how work is temporarily restrained overnight when there's a break in work that will be resumed the following day. We used to achieve this by laying a screeder baord or a long, straight timber against the leading edge, and then driving in pins or pegs to hold it secure. Next morning, remove the timber, take up 300-400mm of the end blocks that may have loosened overnight, and start laying afresh.

Except I've no picture of this being done. We must have done it hundreds of times when I was actively contracting, but I never bothered to get a photie.

So: would it be possible for some kind soul currently laying blocks (of any sort) to set-up such an image and photo it for me? It's doesn't need to be anything grand....even if it's just, say, a couple of metres of blocks being held in place with a piece of 4x2 or similar....I just want to be able to illustrate the principle to our fellow contractors in South Africa.

In return, I'll think about you while I'm braving the full force of a South African winter next week, when the temperatures can plummet to as low as 15°C, and you are obliged to wear a jumper on some days!

Thanks!

[seanandruby]

On my site we aren't allowed to knock pins in any more owing to people going through services. Sackable offence now.

[Tony McC]

How do you support string lines, then?

[seanandruby]

We have two guys however far apart and tie the line to there legs, shit job but someone had to do it :;):
Truth is... rebar is twisted at the bottom to form a base, that is weighed down by blocks. A load of ball hooks but thats what they want. Same as we can't cover a manhole lid with ply because some twat put one over a hoe but ply was to small and someone fell in. The boggle minds ??? Made a crude one to show you Tony but if you can imagine it properly bent and welded with a lamp iron top it should give you some idea. I'll get a photo of one when i'm next on that job. The crude one is on my fotiebucket

[sy76uk]

What Sean said about pins is the same on all sites now.
The lads set up temporary levels by building up a small stack of blocks on a shovel of sand and pull the lines over the top.

[Tony McC]

We worked on a fibre optics site in the early 90s where there were all sorts of underground surprises, so we had to rely on pins set into biggish pieces of sleeper offcuts. Fair enough when there's known dangers, but on greenfield sites???? H&S too far, methinks!