Recycled floorboards delivery

Recycled floorboards delivery – tick!  Job done and a very satisfying feeling it is.

After much planning and preparation, we successfully moved 24 cubic metres of recycled timber (mainly floorboards) into our garage.  Mark at Recycled Timber Specialists was holding the wood at his property in Kinglake Central since we bought it a few months ago.  However, with the bushfire season already underway, he was understandably worried.  Our purchase might be turned to ash if a fire passed through his property.

We had the motivation.  Now all we needed was the means.

Watch the movie!

Now you can read the book!

The garage was the only place to store the recycled floorboards delivery.

Not wanting to move the timber more than once meant finding a means to store it on our property.  Our options were limited to one possibility – the garage.  In theory, it was big enough.

The first order of business was to clear out the bits and pieces that had been tossed in when we arrived here.  At the time, things that didn’t belong in the house were stacked all around the garage, leaving enough room for the car.  After some heroic cleaning, the space was cleared.

But wait, there was one small problem.  Where would the Golf be parked?  This garage wouldn’t be big enough for the recycled floorboards and a car.

Having a large back yard devoid of garden beds is a major advantage when it comes to alternative parking spots.  A few quick measurements showed the car would fit between the car port and clothes line.

A couple of cubic metres of crushed rock was delivered, then spread to provide a firm parking surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voila!  A new home for the Golf – possibly not the best landscaping job but it should serve the purpose.

 

Delivery day of recycled floorboards arrives.

Since we had purchased about 2 tonnes of timber, Mark arranged for his mate Tony to use a crane truck to make the delivery.  We weren’t talking about tossing a few planks onto the back of a borrowed trailer.

Our neighbours kindly agreed to let us use their driveway for access to our property.  The idea was to park the truck next door so the packs of recycled floorboards could be lowered into the space in front of the garage.

All was going very well – Tony arrived on time, the truck fitted down the driveway and the weather was perfect.  What could go wrong?  Well, the crane hydraulics is the answer to that question!

Before Christmas, Tony had some repairs done and hadn’t tested the crane under load since then.  This was a time of nervous pacing by yours truly and a few phone calls by Tony.  While on the phone, Tony continued to enjoy the extra strong cup of tea that he’d asked Libby to make for him.  Apparently, there is no problem that can stand up to a “2 tea bag and let it soak” cuppa.  Just before admitting defeat, Tony tried one more trick.

Success and much relief all around.  I got into the act by serving as the crane jockey to make sure the loads were dropped in the right location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the problems were fixed, it only took 20 minutes to finish the recycled floorboards delivery.

 

Up close, you can see the history and character of these recycled floorboards.  We’re looking forward to getting them back to their original condition as floors in the bedrooms.

 

Now for the hard work – moving the stacks.

Let’s just say that taking the delivery packs apart and re-stacking the floorboards in the garage took a whole lot longer than the delivery.

Ben and John were invited to come over to give us their invaluable assistance.  Jess and John’s dachshund, Longfellow, came along for the entertainment and had a great time exploring the back yard.

There was blood (Libby grazed herself on a nail sticking out the side of a plank).  There was sweat (but fortunately it wasn’t one of those summer heat wave days).  There weren’t any tears.

Libby put her jigsaw skills to good use.  She was able to quickly match different length planks by eye so that the stacks were a consistent length.  The result was a condensed version of our recycled floorboards delivery, all safely tucked away in the garage.

One more thing to mention – the near miss with shutting the garage door.  When Ben and I went to pack up, we discovered the door didn’t quite close all the way.  Earlier checks hadn’t tested full closure.  Still, this problem wasn’t anything that a sledgehammer and saw couldn’t solve.  Problem fixed and door closed.

Our project just took another satisfying step forward.

 

 

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