Another Legendary Rusk Job Thread...

[mrusk]

Since I am starting a new job, I figured for good luck i'd start another legendary Rusk Job thread.

Job is pretty basic just a raised patio 10feet above grade.

[Oasis-Outdoor]

Let me be the first to say.......Good luck with this venture. Keep us posted with pics.

[mrusk]

You guys think I need that geogrid stuff?

[nobagger]

Dont you just love all the crap left behind from the construction companies.

[mrusk]

Dont you just love all the crap left behind from the construction companies.

I had to spend 2 hrs cleaning up garbage so I could lay out the patio. The carpenter, hardwood floor guy and hvac guy are going to get the cabs of their trucks filled with paver scraps when they arnt looking.

[nnj18]

Matt make sure to use a 10"x10" hand tamper when compacting you 1' lifts....I used a 8"x8" and it just wasn't heaby enough
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[ponyboy]

what is that geogris stuff??? I lost a wall to an out of state non liscened lco's employee. I was told they were the cheapest I said no really, she wants to but the material and pay us to install from lowes. I gave her all the info and she said i got some one else i was curious he was $4000 cheaper than me there was some other work to be done also long story short when i went back because i do work at the neighbors some on started it and there is none there and it is 6 feet high. For some reason the office of consumer protection came out and stopped that job, I wonder why but it was actually for her own good she has 3 kids i would not want to see a wall fall on one of them

[NNJLandman]

Is that the ruskcavator thats always for sale on craigs list?

[nnj18]

Yeah matts buying a newer one 6000hrs is a lot
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[2brothersyardcare]

that should b fun

[Junior M]

Yeah matts buying a newer one 6000hrs is a lot
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Wow, thats a rough looking machine for 6,000 hours. and in that size of machine, thats not really that many hours..

[nnj18]

Well junior some people actually work their machines and are too busy to wash and wax them every week.
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[wurkn with amish]

Good job Matt, 11 posts andnothing constructive yet!
Is this the job you posted drawings of?

[mrusk]

Good job Matt, 11 posts andnothing constructive yet!
Is this the job you posted drawings of?

We did not get much done today. The police showed up this morning.

[nnj18]

Did you have their donuts?? haha
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[mrusk]

Did you have their donuts?? haha
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I wish that was the reason.

[mowerdude777]

I had to spend 2 hrs cleaning up garbage so I could lay out the patio. The carpenter, hardwood floor guy and hvac guy are going to get the cabs of their trucks filled with paver scraps when they arnt looking.

hahaha that will teach them:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Junior M]

Well junior some people actually work their machines and are too busy to wash and wax them every week.
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You dont have to wash and wax them every week to keep them looking clean. I mean come on, dont swing the counterweight in to things, dont hit anything with the machine. Washing has nothing to do with keeping equipment looking clean. Its all about caring for it..

But if I remember correctly that machine looked that way when Rusk first started looking at buying it?

We did not get much done today. The police showed up this morning.

Why? ;)

[P.Services]

I wish that was the reason.

what was the reason? look forward to seeing this job unfold and the drama that always follows. :)

lets not get this thread locked to early eehhh

[Lawn Freak]

Looks like its gonna be fun...

[NMS0219]

whats the reason for the police????

[nnj18]

Apparently you can smoke weed while running an excavator
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[mrusk]

Okay guys. My lawyer told me its now alright to talk about the police. :laugh::laugh::laugh:

It really had nothing to do with me. I was just trying to make the thread more exciting. When I got to the job site the other day there was a deer, a spike, lying against the foundation of the house with a arrow sticking out of it. I was able to get within 10 feet of it without it moving. So I called the police.

The trooper comes out and gets about ten feet from it and trys to shoot it with his pistol. He freaking misses and the the deer runs off into the woods. So Mr. Trooper flows the thing into the woods with his shotgun. 10 minutes later we hear a shot. I am thinking to myself "great the deer doesn't have to suffer anymore."

But then the trooper walks out of the woods shaking his head saying "I don't know how I missed him, he was within 15 yards."

At that point me and all the other contractors were doing our best to not laugh.

[mrusk]

We have a good portion of the bottom walls' base within 1" of final height. We had a issue with the footing drain pouring water into our excavated area that cost us 4 hours yesterday. The property is all clay. We had to over excavate for the base.

Here is where it stands.

[nnj18]

You shoulda shot it yourself hahah
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[mrusk]

Update. We are slowly moving along. The rain and mud are killing us.

Pic 1 shows us cleaning out the unsuitable fill in the center of the circular section of the patio. Also notice where we will have the drainage pipe, which is not installed yet, exiting the wall. Every 30 feet or less we exit the wall.

Pic 2 This one area was spongy because of all the rain and poor soil. So we dug it out alittle more, put down geo textile and 2.5" stone. Then beat the hell out of it with the compactors.

Pic 3 the two courses of block down are below grade. We backfill on both sides of those with qp and compact to lock them in. Tomorrow we will install are drainage pipe which will be at grade. After that the wall will be backfilled with 2' of clean stone and the rest qp.


I thought the patio was small until I parkerd the excavator right in the middle of it.

[Dountman]

Looking Good Rusk. Are you doing all the landscape for the house or just the patio area?

[CertPro]

No fear of that thin wall pvc cracking?

[nnj18]

Its looking good Matt
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[mrusk]

:usflag:Going up

[tstutz]

looks like alot of work!

[mrusk]

Great working weather today.

[A-Land]

Great working weather today.

Looks good Matt, lots of clay though

[mrusk]

...................................

[pitrack]

That is going to look great. Thanks for the build pics.

[nnj18]

Matt that is going to look sick....I'm going to have to drive up one day when you're almost finished and take a look at it

[STRINGALATION]

WOW NICE LINES. I NOTICED IN POST 34 ALONG THE LOWER RIGHT WALL.
sorry i was excited. where a yellow power cord goes across. there is a rod of some sort across three blocks in the pin grooves, purpose being?

[mrusk]

WOW NICE LINES. I NOTICED IN POST 34 ALONG THE LOWER RIGHT WALL.
sorry i was excited. where a yellow power cord goes across. there is a rod of some sort across three blocks in the pin grooves, purpose being?

The rebar staking laying in the block grooves is just laying there. It services as much purpose as my lunch cooler sitting on top of the grid.

[iowa]

How many hours have you got into this so far?

[mrusk]

iowa under 100 man hours so far.

[rusty_keg_3]

Looks nice, cant wait to see the finished product!

[pitrack]

No stairs? I guess you can get on from the far side. Looks great.

[mrusk]

We are getting there. 30 cubes of block and 650 tons of stone = these pics

[A-Land]

Damn that's a lot of SRW work. I can't believe you sold them on that amount of block.

It will be nice to see all the levels when they get further along, looking great so far.

[mrusk]

Damn that's a lot of SRW work. I can't believe you sold them on that amount of block.

It will be nice to see all the levels when they get further along, looking great so far.

It wouldn't of been so massive if they didn't have 11' basement walls. Besides throwing a deck on the house, there was not much else we could do. We only have 55' from the main houses to the pool house so we could only add so many different levels. When its all said and done, and all the around the patio is final graded, I don't think it will look to massive.

[A-Land]

It wouldn't of been so massive if they didn't have 11' basement walls. Besides throwing a deck on the house, there was not much else we could do. We only have 55' from the main houses to the pool house so we could only add so many different levels. When its all said and done, and all the around the patio is final graded, I don't think it will look to massive.

Oh yeah you can definitely make it look great with appropriate plantings. I'm just surprised they even considered paying for this as opposed to a gorgeous deck that would have been a fraction of the price. Personally I love the stone, but as a homeowner I don't know if I would have ponied up the extra money.

I'll get $hi* for giving you credit, but you had to be a hell of a salesman to get that project signed for.

[mrusk]

Oh yeah you can definitely make it look great with appropriate plantings. I'm just surprised they even considered paying for this as opposed to a gorgeous deck that would have been a fraction of the price. Personally I love the stone, but as a homeowner I don't know if I would have ponied up the extra money.

I'll get $hi* for giving you credit, but you had to be a hell of a salesman to get that project signed for.



A deck was not even considered. The client wanted a patio. And to build a nice deck would of still been expensive. My original design involved building concrete peirs, installing steel beams, laying steel decking and pouring a concrete slab. And then have open living space underneith the patio. Now that was an expensive option.

[A-Land]

A deck was not even considered. The client wanted a patio. And to build a nice deck would of still been expensive. My original design involved building concrete peirs, installing steel beams, laying steel decking and pouring a concrete slab. And then have open living space underneith the patio. Now that was an expensive option.

That was my main reason to instantly say deck, you could have had several useable levels on top of one-another.

How much more time do you have slated until you finish?

[mrusk]

I have another 6 weeks on this project if we get good weather.

[Mike's LawnCare Landscape]

Looking good !!!

[A-Land]

I have another 6 weeks on this project if we get good weather.

You did NOT just say that. You better have knocked on some serious wood

[mrusk]

We got the stairs going down to the circle started. 5 steps total.

We now have 42 cubes of block down and 750 tons of stone down and compacted.

[etwman]

Matt you really should consider dropping some sleeves down in that base to secure railings at some point. PVC, whatever. Anchoring railing to caps/ block never works. I can't imagine the township wouldn't require a railing.

What are your plans?

Option #2 would be to acquire a good attorney.

[mrusk]

Matt you really should consider dropping some sleeves down in that base to secure railings at some point. PVC, whatever. Anchoring railing to caps/ block never works. I can't imagine the township wouldn't require a railing.

What are your plans?

Option #2 would be to acquire a good attorney.

In the past we have installed railing right through the cap and into the block. I was unaware people used other method. What is your method? Where do you exactly put your sleeve?

[etwman]

Right behind the block, cut your grid around it Matt, do it for the top two feet. We use 4" PVC. When you are ready to put aluminum post it, get longer posts, drop them in and cement it. Then slide your cover down over top and let it sit on the top of your paver. You'll have to do a little cutting around your posts to get the pavers to fit but I will assure you it will be a much better option.

Tapcons in caps are not the best option. I'm not sure, and I'm not wishing this, how it would hold up in a liability issue.

For bigger posts you can use sleeve-its. What I'm reccomending above is a mini one.

http://www.geogrid.com/content/view/49/133/

[mrusk]

Right behind the block, cut your grid around it Matt, do it for the top two feet. We use 4" PVC. When you are ready to put aluminum post it, get longer posts, drop them in and cement it. Then slide your cover down over top and let it sit on the top of your paver. You'll have to do a little cutting around your posts to get the pavers to fit but I will assure you it will be a much better option.

Tapcons in caps are not the best option. I'm not sure, and I'm not wishing this, how it would hold up in a liability issue.

For bigger posts you can use sleeve-its. What I'm reccomending above is a mini one.

http://www.geogrid.com/content/view/49/133/

I would never tapcon post into caps. In the past we had the railing company drill into the blocks about 12" and they use a post cement called 'rocktite' that is made for railing post.

I am not handleing the railing on the patio. But I will give a call to the clients railing company on monday and discuss it with them.

[etwman]

You know you don't get this good advise on other sites.

I would at least check. I always make it a point to cordinate all the railing and fencing on a project. Less grey areas, more total control.

[mrusk]

On any other project I would of subbed out the railings. But this is new construction and the client has railings being installed throughout the house.

[kootoomootoo]

geezus who designed this.

what good is a pool house without a pool.

[A-Land]

geezus who designed this.

what good is a pool house without a pool.

I don't think the pool is in the location you're thinking of.

[wurkn with amish]

koot
they can fit a kiddie pool in between the wall and pool house right behind the excavator....

[kootoomootoo]

that might be where the moat is going so the bandits cant climb the castle's walls...... I could be wrong though.

[mrusk]

Koo its a pool house as in a house to play billards.

[mrusk]

new pics..

[Chris G]

great work. look forward to seeing the final product.

[pitrack]

Keeps getting bigger and bigger, looks good.

[mrusk]

some updates

[pitrack]

some updates


Can I ask what the pvc piping is for in the first picture behind the set of stairs? I'm assuming to run some wiring of some sort?

[rusty_keg_3]

Wow, looks sweet... Cant wait to see the whole project finished...

[nnj18]

pvc is for electrical yes.
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[S&MLL]

Sch. 40 is for electrical. If you are referring to the white 4 inch stuff that is for plumbing.

[mrusk]

I have a ton of pipe going every where on this project. We got conduits for outdoor speakers, irrigation sleeves, low voltage lighting and high voltage lighting.

[etwman]

Suggestion: Bring another color into that Matt. Cap the walls with flagstone or a different color wall cap. Put some type of lighting in them (Integral, Vista, etc.) Its a good design, but alot of brown. It needs a pop factor.

Plantings will soften it up but I think there's room to change some color in the hardscape.

Just my opinion, do as you wish.

[mrusk]

ETW hows this?

I did not want to cap the walls with techo caps. I fought hard for limestone but the mrs. homeowner did not want such a hard contrast. What was I suppose to do? Notice the house is all one shade of stucco.

We are fighting over the pillar caps. She wants the techo cap and I'd rather use something else.

[nnj18]

looks SIC Matt

[JDavisLandscapes]

Looks awsome so far Rusk. Can't wait to see this project completed!

[shovelracer]

What are the 4" pipes in the middle for?

[kreft]

What are the 4" pipes in the middle for?

electric to lights?

[shovelracer]

I was thinking maybe lights or plumbing, but was wondering what specifically. Like a kitchen or bar or something.

[mrusk]

The tops of the retaining walls are all level. So we have 3 drains in the middle of the patio. The patios is divided into 3 sections. Each section has a drain in the middle. We have brass drain fittings so it won't look tacky in the middle of the patio. It was extremely time consuming to set all the pitch on the base and screed the sand.

[kootoomootoo]

where does the pool go?

[Wojomower125]

yeah were does it go.... ?

[kreft]

you guys dont pay attettion do you? the pool house is for billards. .....aka no pool.


lookin good matt.

[Raven386]

This thread didn't get interesting like the regular rusk threads..... has everyone calmed down over the years....

[doubleedge]

We are fighting over the pillar caps. She wants the techo cap and I'd rather use something else.

The customer is always right. *trucewhiteflag*

[kootoomootoo]

This thread didn't get interesting like the regular rusk threads..... has everyone calmed down over the years....

hidden here to attract a different set of cheerleaders i suspect.

[etwman]

What are the 4" pipes in the middle for?

His jobsite sign. He'll move it there soon.

I couldn't resist.....

[nnj18]

etw don't be jealous of matt, atleast when he puts out his sign he can really say he did all the work...
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[Junior M]

etw don't be jealous of matt, atleast when he puts out his sign he can really say he did all the work...
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That was wrong, if you mean it how I took it.. :nono:

[mrusk]

All the railings are up except the circle.

[pitrack]

That looks slick.

[GREENGROUP]

Where did he go? Matt did you fall off the face of the earth again?

[mrusk]

front walk is done

[GREENGROUP]

Nice work, Techo-Bloc?

[rusty_keg_3]

Wow, how much were the materials, and what did you charge if you dont mind me asking... Please pm me...

That is truely AWESOME!

[mrusk]

Finshed pic of the patio. We been done over a month now.

[Danscapes]

Great looking job. I love pics of huge undertakings like that. They must have blew their wad on the great wall of China to not have any left to sod the lawn.

[mrusk]

No one sods 5 aceres of lawn.

[etwman]

Finshed pic of the patio. We been done over a month now.

Wow Matt you're 7 months ahead of schedule. It does look good, I'll give you that. How you managed to get away without hand railings in the state of NJ on half of that is beyond me, but if you can do it more power to you.

[etwman]

Matt did you have that project structurally engineered for unbalanced fill against that foundation wall prior to backfilling against that house? I'm not trying to jab, I'm just asking if you did.

[eatonpcat]

Matt did you have that project structurally engineered for unbalanced fill against that foundation wall prior to backfilling against that house? I'm not trying to jab, I'm just asking if you did.

Sounds like a Jab to me, but being a structural engineer by trade, I must agree that it is a good question. If I designed that wall with the walkout back, It would most likely be a stud wall. But that wall would have faltered by now if that was the case.

[etwman]

I have seen basement walls blow in from unbalanced fill situations, it just seemed like alot of unbalanced fill to be placing against a basement wall.

I would be curious as to how you would have engineered the project because there are so many varying ways to eliminate the load on that basement wall.

Do you feel a flowable fill application would be a viable option?

[John Zaprala]

I would think the whole project would have been engineered beyond the walkway. There would definately need to be railings. However, according to most townships this is the responsibility of homeowner who takes out the permit. That is...assuming they got a permit. Of course, i would never undertake a project without a permit myself. But the railings should be included as a specification on the design.

Flowable fill might be an option. I think using 4' of 3/4" clean behind the walls for approx. 6-8' from the basement wall wrapped in geotextile would be a viable solution.