A chainsaw.
Err, no. Read the rest of my post.
Edit: I'm talking about cutting seasoned timbers, not raw. You're probably thinking of those massive static saws that use a chainsaw to cut big logs, no? My local timber suppliers don't have anything like that, they only get in rough sawn seasoned and treated timber, then mill it down. They won't touch anything like proper old railway sleepers, because of the hazardous chemicals and old nails etc that are often embedded. If I wanted some of those cut down, I'd get an idiot with a chainsaw. Life's too short to risk your own safety. 😉
I did.
But I don't have one of those saws at home.
I'd hate to get all my wood cut then dig my foundations out and find the suitable ground is deeper than expected and have a heap of now too short wood.
Or a garden in a dug up state with large holes for longer than necessary.
Bit like when I did my fence I could have had the mill cut my posts to exact height and found it looked like **** all when I found immovable rock under footings where the posts had to land.
Used the chainsaw to cut angles on top of them too*
*But I do have a couple of chainsaws and training /ground working PPE which is what makes it the right tool for me. If you really want to play with your own life. Forget the circ saw or the chain saw. A 9 inch grinder makes the chain saw look like a electric carving knife by comparison.
Honestly, sawing them by hand is an absolute piece of piss, and it's so quick and easy compared to the rest of the job it's not worth the expense and risk of a power tool, or even the faff of plugging it in. I'd be surprised if it takes 60 seconds to get through.
they might be straight by spirit level but they look squint as **** to the eye which is going to piss your wife off no end.
She's out there with me digging, and assessing the results as we go. You didn't assume that she was leaving me to it just because she's female and landscaping is man's work, did you? 😉
Anyway they might look squint compared to the remains of the old lawn but that's not level, and it's coming out to be properly levelled off anyway. At first I used a line to make sure they were parallel with the patio slabs - I put in the first few and bound them to each other with a ratchet strap. Then I tapped them down to as level as I could get it, whilst adjusting the alignment with a spirit level on all sides. Then I added some soil/rocks to hold them in place whilst I put in the postcrete. Once the first few were in I installed more by lashing them to the first few. However, it turns out that not only do they vary in length a bit but also depth and squareness, so this technique has taken us down the 'rustic' route. Which is fine, really. Now I've set a line horizontally across the garden (not in the picture) because whilst they aren't all even heights I don't want them to trend upwards or downwards, cos that'll look like crap.
Now I'm digging the sub-soil out of the bottom of the garden from where the new patio slabs are going, and really it's not soil at all, it's actual rubble, there are so many stones in it.
A 9 inch grinder makes the chain saw look like a electric carving knife by comparison.
Oh, I bought one of those to take up a little square of tarmac that was in the wrong place. It wasn't too bad, once I figured out the easy way to hold it, but yes, pretty terrifying. It also produced epic amounts of dust that coated everyone's car, especially my neighbour's new (to him) Z4 he'd just lovingly waxed. He then waxed it again, now it's covered in dust from the digging 🙂
landscaping is man’s work
Then there's 'manscaping', which is something a bit different...
It also produced epic amounts of dust that coated everyone’s car, especially my neighbour’s new (to him) Z4 he’d just lovingly waxed. He then waxed it again, now it’s covered in dust from the digging 🙂
We once had some work done, and in the process of taking out rubbish, our neighbour's car got a bit of dirt on the front. So I got a bucket of hot soapy water and a hose, and gave it a bit of a clean. Problem was, the car was a quite filthy to begin with, so it now had a nice clean front which contrasted with the rest, so I cleaned the entire car. I went to explain this to the neighbour when she came back, and she took one look and said 'oh my god, it's never been that clean before!' 😀