In a message dated 09/19/2000 4:37:46 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rrg@nevada.edu writes: << Whew, what a mess! I haven't given many details on this list lately about what is going on, but my wife and I just closed last week on house. It is a very unique two year old custom home and is on a 3/4 of an acre! We searched for six months to find this house SPECIFICALLY because we intend to build a large rebuilding shop on the property. Because of various zoning restrictions, location, etc. things had to be perfect for our needs. It is also getting harder to find acreage in Las Vegas because it has been developing so fast. We ended up getting quite the deal. This home/property was owned by a church who was desperate to sell because they need to pay for their new building. Anyway, there is lots of room to build a huge shop and we are hoping for about 2000 Sq. Ft. which should be enough for us to do sound board replacements in addition to the typical rebuilding projects. We will also be installing PianoDiscs there. Currently our dealer has very limited room for us and we are installing an average of about two a week. YES, I have no life! Anyway, (there is a point to all of this), the land in the back of the property is substantially low. There is also an erosion problem with water from the front of the property and part of the street running above which flows between our house and the house next door. I cut a deal with a contractor who has 70 trucks of dirt he needs to get rid of from another job. I will be gettin about 20 trucks from him. We also need to build up and level a significant slope behind the house for where the slab for the new shop will go. They have been bringing in truck after truck for the past two days so I hope that part will end soon. Well grading out dirt is a bit expensive as you could probably guess. Being the optimistic do-it-yourselfer that I am I decided to tackle the erosion back fill part myself. I went down to one of the U-Rent-it equipment sort of places and rented a Gehl mini skipper dozer, (a Bobcat sort of a vehicle). Actually this was a little larger than mini, one of the larger sizes. The rental rate was the same so why not. So the the yard worker loaded it on a trailer and hitched it to my '99 Ranger. Now I figured this would be a heavy load, but that is an understatement. Somehow I got my truck to groan to a start and away I went to move my dirt. I soon came to realize that this load was WAY too heavy for this size truck, (a full size V8 should be minimum). Somehow after burning some clutch I got it wound up enough to get on the freeway. With it floored in first gear I gradually got it up to forty. Once I was going I left it in third and cruised at 45. Things were going real good now and and I was feeling pretty confident that I would get it there. Then came a down hill area and the trailer began to fishtail really bad. After some hard and careful braking I slowed it down and got it under control. Fortunately I hit all the green lights after exiting and slowly my little truck groaned to a stop as I pulled onto our lot. I let the ramp down, removed the tie down chains. Mission accomplished. Now a new challenge. Having never driven a dirt machine before I began the exciting task of self instruction. Somehow I found reverse and backed it off the trailer. Now what? Slowly I tried all the levers to see what each one did. Right forward... ahhh, that makes the bucket go up, fair enough. Then twist the lever sideways. to the right, that makes the bucket pivot down. The other direction makes it go up. Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Then the lever on the right. Forward for forward gear, pull it back and you are in reverse, that makes sense. Twisting it in either direction makes the machine turn left or right. Okay I think I got a handle on this now, let's go move some dirt. Oops, I stalled it... Oh, the brake is on. Okay, here we go! Very slowly I bounce across the lot toward my first dirt pile. Then I notice that there is a gas pedal. Hmmm, didn't notice that before. BRROOOOOM!! Hey, this is fun! Kind of like bouncing through dirt on an ATV. Okay, a scoop of dirt. As I approach the pile I place the bucket in proper position and give it a running start. That worked, now let's raise the bucket! Pull the lever and up she goes. Okay, I head over the the place where I want to dump it. Going down hill now. Oops, something's happening, I'm getting a little fast here. Slow it down... no, that's the wrong lever!! I see the bucket getting higher and higher and the machine starts to pitch forward. Ahhhh! Crash!! Okay, so now I'm facing the ground. Hmmm what next? Stroke of genius, I lower the bucket and use it as a jack to push the machine back upright. Here we go.... BOING!!! Well that worked but it was quite a ride!! Then I notice that the guy at the rental yard forgot to lock the bucket into place and it falls off the machine. Sheesh, what next!! A little creative maneuvering and I manage to latch onto it again. This time with the locks secured I'm on my way again. Well the hours go by and slowly I get the hang of it. A couple more hours and I'm Mr. hell on wheels with this thing. Now I'm having fun! Look honey! See how fast I can scoop up dirt!, (she rolls her eyes). Well somehow in 8 hours I manage to move more than 90 cubic yards of dirt where I wanted it. I get it packed down tight and flat and the erosion problem seems to be getting manageable now. A few loads of gravel on top and it ought to stay there. I call Alan Meyer and we borrow his Daughter's Ram V-8 to return the machine. To bad it had to go, I was just getting really good at it, kind of like driving a big Tonka Truck. As far as myself, I was absolutely covered in dirt from head to toe. My hair was almost solid. I won't go into the details but let's just say what came out of my nose could have been used for laying bricks. More trucks have come today leaving more dirt. I have decided that I will hire someone a little more experienced and with heavier equipment to lay out the building pad!! I got a guy coming to take a look at it. Once we get the dirt finished we can pour a slab and and build our shop. The most amazing thing about this whole project is that it is ALL for music! From dirt to concrete to lumber to shop to piano. Something to think about the next time you listen to a concerto!!! Rob Goodale, RPT Las Vegas, NV >> Good luck with your project. Be sure to wet down the dirt and allow the water to saturate. You may even want to add some chemicals to help harden the dirt. I do not know what to use for chemicals but I have seen it done. My shop is coming along quite well. We are on 2/3rds of an acre but only have room for 864 SF shop. The house, garage, and shop sits above, and everything below is a drain field. Lotsa mowing to do. Dave Peake, RPT Portland Chapter Oregon City, OR www.davespianoworks.locality.com
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