Thanks everybody! Sorry drbill, hubby said that's the LAST bridge he's building for a long time
That is one nice bridge! I have a few questions. First, what part of the "and I built." did you do, the welding?
Nah, we hired the welding out. Took the guy an hour to put the braces on.
Rabbit assignments:
**Help hubby load, unload and stack 12 railroad ties (We picked them up the weekend prior to the build)
**Help hubby figure out how to rig the chains so a 16 foot long beam could be lifted by the front bucket of a backhoe that only had the ability to extend 6 feet from the edge of the creek. (Rabbit knows zero about rigging but we got the beams off the old abutments and set out of the way without killing anyone using my idea)
**Take dog to get microchip put in while hubby and niece's husband dig old abutment out (Hey, we've been trying to get that dog chipped since Jan)
**Use gigantic drill to make the pilot holes so the boys could hammer spikes into the railroad ties to secure them together. The drill is from the 1950's with a bit nearly as long as my leg and the rest of the drill is so tall the whole thing came nearly to my chest. It's a two handed drill and I had to lean over it to keep it under control while standing on the stack of railroad ties. Not such a big deal when the stack was only 2-3 ties high but we put 6 high on one side and 5 high on the other. Hubby told me to be careful because if I lost my grip on the drill it would kick and break my arm. Nothing like standing on a slightly wobbly narrow surface wrestling with a large drill.
**Move large rocks to build some protection around the ends of the railroad ties so the creek won't wash them out when it's running high.
**Lift and guide the end of the I-beams when putting them back into position. We used the back bucket of the backhoe this time but it still couldn't reach far enough across the creek to let us chain the beams in the middle to keep them level. My niece's husband leaned down on the end near the hoe to help bring the far end up and I lifted on the far end and wrestled the beams into position.
**Moved 5-6 tons of #2 (fist size) stone by hand. Hubby figured out it was faster to have me sit on the stone pile in the trailer and push it out with my feet. (Who needs a Bobcat when you've got a rabbit
)
**Drilled holes or hammered nails for the decking
**Hand installed 61 lag bolts to secure the decking to the rub rail (using a short ratchet...I only managed to overtighten and break 3 bolts...OOPS! Maybe we should have used thicker than 1/4" bolts)
Hubby knows he can use me for heavy labor...I have a sneaking suspicion that might be why he married me.
When we were dating we cleared trees for a 900 foot long, 14 foot wide lane and cleared enough room to build our house in the woods. His dad (72 years old at the time) was our only other helper.
Second, where do you live that you need your own bridge to get home?
Actually that bridge is at my in-laws house, it crosses the creek into the back part of the yard. They actually live on something like 12 acres in town LOL!
We do have a bridge at our house but it's a 4 foot diameter culvert in a 10 foot deep irrigation creek bed. That had to be installed by the Soil and Water Conservation District because they maintain the irrigation creek though I believe the creek is no longer actively used. Every so many years they come through your property and clean out the creek, when they do this they tear out your bridge. If they built the bridge in the first place they replace your bridge, if not...well you come home to no bridge LOL!
Off Topic: My lovely bride and I are looking forward to meeting you and Bruce in November, I know it will be great fun for all!
I'm really looking forward to coming out and meeting everyone! I'm SOOO excited!
Ber :lilbunny:
