How should I have done this...and what should I do now? (PICS)

[s219]

Good fix, and nice walkway! Only think I'd do different is pull from the drawbar.

 

[Ehanson]

You could attach a "whip check" to the main chain. you would need a second chain or cable attached to your work chain, anchor the other end to something stationary, leaving enough slack to get the work done, but, if hook or bar lets go, the secondary hopefully stops it from taking your head off.

 

[4570Man]

You could attach a "whip check" to the main chain. you would need a second chain or cable attached to your work chain, anchor the other end to something stationary, leaving enough slack to get the work done, but, if hook or bar lets go, the secondary hopefully stops it from taking your head off.

Where do you hook the whip chain? If it the other chain breaks before the whip chain then obviously it doesn't do any good. If it breaks far enough behind the whip chain it still has potential to whip.

 

[KYKub]

Thanks, s219. As I mentioned before my father cut the stone and installed it for us; he died three years ago so it's a bit sentimental. We also have a rear patio and retaining wall made from limestone from the same quarry. My father provided the stone and a Scottish dry-lay mason and his crew installed everything. Warrantied for life against woodpeckers and termites.



I said in a previous post that my only regret in buying a tractor (albeit a small BX1860) is that I didn't do it sooner. I moved by hand truck/wheelbarrow all the stones in the retaining wall and the 2x2 patio pavers. 20+ tons of stone! The drop point was about 50 yards from the patio area and not an easy trip. I didn't really think much about it at the time, but it sure would have been nice to have the BX!

Jeff

 

[Egon]

Lovely stone work.

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is a very nice stone work patio. I would have been worried more about the chain coming off the spud bar than breaking. Perhaps laying a blanket across the middle of the chain would have been prudent and pulling from the drawbar otherwise no comment.
I don't think I would put any sealant in the crack, just let nature take its course and if it starts to move apart again, repeat what you did.

By using the drawbar to pull from next time, you will have much more pulling ability than you had from the FEL backing up. Backing up, your tires have less traction than going forward AND when pulling from the FEL, it has a tendency to raise the rear tires so you are mostly pulling from the small front tires. Try it with the drawbar and you can likely pull the slabs completely together.

 

[s219]

I said in a previous post that my only regret in buying a tractor (albeit a small BX1860) is that I didn't do it sooner. I moved by hand truck/wheelbarrow all the stones in the retaining wall and the 2x2 patio pavers. 20+ tons of stone! The drop point was about 50 yards from the patio area and not an easy trip. I didn't really think much about it at the time, but it sure would have been nice to have the BX!

Don't get me started on all the ways I destroyed my body before I owned a tractor! I think the worst was manually spreading 30 tons of topsoil with a shovel, rake, and wheelbarrow. Great exercise, but I also trashed my wrists and they are still sensitive to shoveling 15 years later. When we bought our new property, I got my first tractor (B2920) a couple weeks later, and it was a lifesaver.

This summer I put in some gabion stone around our house, about 5 tons worth. Unfortunately I had to move all of it by hand from my trailer into the tractor bucket, and then from the bucket to the ground, so that was 10 tons of exercise. Wish there was a way to use the tractor more for stuff like that, but at some point manual labor is required.

 

[Citydude]

Beautiful stone work! Having your fathers touch in it, priceless.

 

[farmer2009]

Nice stone work.

As others have said. Pull from the drawbar and put something on the chain so it collapses instead of flying. Even another chain will work. One thing I seen that wasn't mentioned is the hook on the spud bar. If it breaks it's pointed toward the house and front door. Just turn hook 180* so it would fly to the yard. Also when pulling place the backside of the hooks down not up. If they break they're more apt to go to the ground instead of flying.

I'd just figure on trying it again in 10-12 years unless the cracks are creating a trip hazard. Then yes some sort of stone adhesive or expansion joint and filler should be used to make it safe after releveling.

 

[OldMcDonald]

My father provided the stone and a Scottish dry-lay mason and his crew installed everything. QUOTE]

Dry stone walling is one of those skills that those who cannot do it (and I include myself) always wish they could. There are thousands of miles of dykes (stone fences) across northern England and Scotland built in this way.

I had them on my second farm in Northumberland before moving to Australia, and it was fascinating to see the shells of marine creatures in the stone a few hundred feet in the hills. Difficult to believe that these very stones had once been under the sea.