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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:18 am
by Tony McC
In February, Golden Gates Housing, the organisation that used to be Warrington Council's housing department, erected a new fence at a property next to mine. The operatives were cutting the concrete fence posts with no dust suppression so I contacted Golden Gates and received a glib apology and assurance that all operatives were given the right suppressionkit, but that some householders refused to let them use the outdoor tap (I'm sure that's happened to all of us - NOT!) or that kit had become damaged. The gist of the mealy mouthed explanation was that it wouldn't happen again and operatives would be given, and I quote, "refresher training".
This week, Golden Gates are back and are installing a new flagged driveway to the house next door-but-one. Can you guess what's coming?
Look at this clown: no mask, no goggles and dust galore. This lane is used by kids on their way to the primary school at the top of the street, but this hero doesn't seem to care....
And if the dust isn't bad enough, look at how the flags are stacked! All it needs is for that single flag-on-edge support to be dislodged and the whole lot comes crashing down...probably on top of the poor kid.
Dozens of kids play on this street each day, or use it to get to and from the primary school at the top, and as kids will inevitably do, they climb on the stack. No barrier fencing, not even a token bit of flutter tape. How is this permitted by a local authority?
If a self-employed contractor worked in this manner, with dangerous stacks of flags and spreading carcinogenic dust all over the neighbourhood, we'd get our arse kicked by HSE or the environmental health, but it is OK for Golden Gates Housing, apparently. One rule for them....
Watch the full video here
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:57 pm
by Carberry
Film the eejits and call environmental wardens in.
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 4:56 pm
by lutonlagerlout
red card for that in luton
LLL
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:35 pm
by rab1
he wouldn`t last 10 min with my employer.
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:43 pm
by haggistini
It's compulsory in my firm!!!!
Fecking knobs , I'm outta here!
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:18 pm
by rimexboy
he is crazy, its the law now and in that case it needs to be enforced...
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:39 pm
by London Stone Paving
Wonder if he realises who lives next door. Obviously not 
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:28 pm
by lutonlagerlout
toe caps?
first time i ever saw a man wacking with his trainers :laugh:
sorry ken but the music just made this whole clip hilarious for me
the bit i couldnt work out is, why has all of the old sand got to be scraped out?
what advantage would that have ?
to my mind levelling new addidas tamped sand at the same level as the old settled stuff will lead to exactly the same problem you are trying to rectify?
IME dips are normally associated with sub base failure so on a small area like that i would remove the sand and use 4:1 grit sand cement,that way ta least that area will stay at the same level
cheers LLL
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:50 pm
by ken
Today is the first time ive seen that vid!
I always work in steel toe cap boots, but when we did that video it was on short notice, and my boots were still piss wet through from that day before… hope no one noticed my odd socks!
And I will let the gaffa explain the method used to fix the paving, as that’s his drive!
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:52 pm
by lutonlagerlout
i didnt want to mention the socks LOL
PM sent ken
LLL
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:30 pm
by mickg
to my mind levelling new addidas tamped sand at the same level as the old settled stuff will lead to exactly the same problem you are trying to rectify?
ROFLMAO
I saw the video when it was uploaded a couple of weeks ago and thought exactly the same
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 8:19 am
by Tony McC
The dust devil has had his arsed kick. Golden Gates called me yesterday to apologise and advise that the two clowns had been pulled off the job for "re-education", and a couple of hours later, all remaining flags are laid flat on the ground, the drive is fenced off and there'll be no more dry cutting, so that has to be a result.
As for the Drive Refurb project, as Ken knows, we're usually pretty keen on the right H&S gear, but the brief from the sponsor of this project was to show it as being achievable by DIYers, so when Ken turned up in trainers, I thought nothing of it as that is how most DIYers would work. Let's be honest: how many weekend wacker drivers have a pair of steelies?
The bedding sand has to be replaced to comply with the British Standard. The reason is, and I know for a fact that it's valid, that trafficked sand crushes down over time and some the proportion of fine material increases, rendering the sand unsuitable as a laying course. There is also contamination with organic material to consider.
Now this is a very minor issue on a residential driveway, but as an example of how reinstatement work should be carried out, I felt it was imperative to show the correct methodology.
Trampling is an accepted technique for small areas where it would be impractical to use a plate compactor to achieve partial pre-compaction. A punnel could be used, but again, the idea was to show it being possible by DIYers and punnels are few and far between in the typical DIYers shed.
And if you follow the text and the video, it becomes clear that the new bed is NOT screeded to the same level as the original, but is left proud to accommodate compaction and settlement.
The proof, as the say, is in the eating, and here we are 9 months later with no adverse settlement on any of the areas we lifted and relaid. The video shows just one patch but we fixed four discrete areas, each around a square metre, and even with the excessive drought we've been having over the last month or so, there is no pondiing anywhere. That's what I call a result!
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 4:46 pm
by London Stone Paving
mickg wrote:ROFLMAO
What does that mean ?
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 5:05 pm
by msh paving
"roll on floor laughing my arse off" is what im led to belive not into this text type speek MSH 
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 10:12 pm
by lutonlagerlout
if we expect DIYers to use PPE when it comes to noise and dust,surely a pair of £25 boots is not too far to go?
and an old mate of mine lost a toe after dropping a slab whilst wearing moccasins,that stung
cheers LLL
Edited By lutonlagerlout on 1336826137