Scrapping Kinda Sucks

BOOT said:
Fifteen! Mobile homes are Gone!

Dang that was A lot of work. But i did pretty good. No way I was able to get all of it(prob not even half) but i got enough. Tried to get another guy in on it but he was too good for a bit of scrapping LOL Tho i did trade some of the tools/stuff i got for a bit of help.

Got lots of free stuff. Nothing super great but plenty of stuff to use, trade, sell and give away. Well did get two Snap-On 1/2" ratchets, normal and XL. Stuff i can think of atm. Three hand-carts(two need fixed), few alum ladders(only 1 or 2 good rest scrap), plenty of random tools(most i already have but good to have extras for scrap work), some decent and some meh. Got a small 6x4 alum shed(needs floor but fit in my truck standing up). Basic consumable stuff like trash bags or bleach(obviously not any food or drinks, well tons of plant-food for my neighbor that grows peppers). Prob like $20-30 in change. Even got a bit of Gold & Silver jewelry to scrap. Just a lot of random stuff, like decorative knives or fireworks. Pretty sure I'm forgetting some things, as it's been almost two months and just stashed most it.

Course I was like 3rd or 4th in line to pick, so there was much better to be had.

For scrap, I pretty much focused on collecting and staying ahead of the demo guy. Hard to do sometimes because of poor communication, waiting for power & gas to be unhooked or random demo order changes. Only took in a bit so far and piled it up mostly. I'll start hauling it in, well right after i build some wood sides(some of the wood i got from this job).

IDK how much weight yet but i got a towering pile of stacked alum siding. Plenty of wire, mostly romex but some better and meh, bit of alum wire too. I'll sort stash and strip most the good wire this winter. Not a ton of copper but there was some here n there. Pile of furnace blowers, those things were a pita to get whole so just took the best bits. I mostly ignored steel but got a couple loads prob once stuff is cleaned up. Kept telling them, I'm not trying to step over dollars to pick up pennies. Had to prioritize the best stuff but some places were so nasty, i didn't wanna go into them.

Some days i got $50 in scrap and others over $200. I mean it is nice to start or leave when you want and while it was more steady/profitable(but tons more work) than cursing for scrap, still bit random. Pretty sure the park guy was charging them some for my labor. I did one paid job for him and never got my $10. But otherwise i didn't mind giving them a quick hand, tho they did try to push some of their work on me. Not successfully, part of why some of my days were short or reasons for delays. I'm nice but not a sucker. Even tho i didn't get that $10(orig asked for a vise), my helper got two tool boxes he really wanted and helped me for a few hrs extra. Plus he did most the work for that quick job. And i learned to not work for them ;) Park/demo guy prob saved three or four dumpsters, alum siding crumples n takes up alot of space.

Wow that was longer than expected. Better that it dragged out cause i got more. Still it was 6 days a week for two months work, eat, laundry/clean and rest/sleep. I am pretty slow and could of got a lot more if in better shape. Was super hot in the beginning and had to take frequent AC breaks in my truck.

What a Fucking drama fest! I'm not a therapist or getting paid, leave me alone. Good scrap but glad it's over and i don't gotta see them daily. Might be more in the future but meh, this kinda inspired to just get a job(after i get caught up).

Post is long enough, sure I'm forgetting some :ROFLMAO:
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I was hoping you hauled 15 trailers to your house to piss off the town!
 
Lead-Farmer said:
I was hoping you hauled 15 trailers to your house to piss off the town!
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Be hard to fit them all but prob possible, deff not hiding those tho LOL

Heck I've had over 20ish vehicles and no complaints, several times. I don't now But when i cleaned up and they asked if i got rid of some of the vehicles(i did, they gone). They were like you can only have 1 vehicle stored outside. Yah ok, not even my closest neighbor can see my polebarn. No way they'd know if i did. LOL even the council rep who came out, tried to get me to show him it(Among other things that he tried to find reasons to stay in my biz, no minors, elderly or other to send cops to check on here). Nope, not gonna happen w/o a warrant.

Last meeting they brought up the stuff behind the privacy barriers or so i was told. But by the next it'll be mostly gone. Now that the demo job is done, I'll get back to what i was planning to do anyways. I can get alot more done in this cooler weather ;) Once the polebarn is organized and i haul off a few vehicles inside, I'll have a much better storage system.

Still who knows I expect them to knock on my door regardless and I'll do what i gotta, even if that means hiring a lawyer :)
 
They (the local government types) can "look" behind your buildings with satellite data.
 
KwiknFast said:
They (the local government types) can "look" behind your buildings with satellite data.
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Thought the courts already ruled drones are warrantless search, 4th or w/e. It's more of a first person or in plain view type deal, like vampires and why i didn't show him around. Look but can't do anything w/o a warrant or good reason to have one before using that info.
 
Satellites aren't drones, the local yokels just have to look at the right website and/or pay a nominal amount to look at satellite pictures.
 
Still taking it easy, pretty fatigued after the past two months. Lots of naps and my hand/forearms still tingle for mild task.

Used my neighbors table saw to cut the wood for my truck bed post boxes. Need to get a few more 1x4 8' boards and I'll slap it together n start to haul in the pile of alum siding. Bigger loads = less trips. So less fuel and also less 20lb +/- on the scale(house always wins, so you know it's gonna favor them on the 20 +/-)

Can't wait to see how much i got :)
 
AutomaticWeapon said:
15 trailers worth of siding should add up pretty quick.
Do you have a guesstimate in weight?
What is aluminum paying by you?
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couple weeks ago I got 70cents for sheet aluminum.
040 from making dirt racecar bodies..
 
AutomaticWeapon said:
15 trailers worth of siding should add up pretty quick.
Do you have a guesstimate in weight?
What is aluminum paying by you?
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Siding wasn't my first priority. It was more like copper pipe if any, wire, easy alum skirting or other valuables and then what siding i could get before the demo. Some i had plenty of time, others it was not much.

Well a few of them were vinyl, couple wood(usually under vinyl, park peeps removed the vinyl sometimes to save for other trailers) and one was galvanized steel. Prob half were multi layers. Every trailer was different. Some old enough to have asbestos and i mostly avoided those(hard to be 100% on insulation but also the floors, ceiling and furnace firewall).

Far as removing the siding, most were a pita and a couple easy. Even diff type of siding on the same trailer sometimes. Some were loaded with screws, ones that had vinyl over alum really sucked for screws. Sometimes the screws pulled easy and other it was faster to use my impact(if not covered in paint). Most had some type of hidden screw under the top lip. So i had to either go up n down the ladder a million times and because my foot, i just cut them with the sawzall high as i could. Sometimes there was porches or add-ons in the way. The ones with lots of windows also made it harder(plus AC units, vents and doors). The one dude told me to just go down the top n bottom of mid screws with my sawzall but that would get me covered/breathing in insulation. So i usually tried to remove those screws and fold the siding up n then cut it off.

I couldn't even get 100% of the alum skirting for the ones that had alum skirting. But as i went, i got better at it. If i had to do it again I'd be able to get more of the siding and wire. Still I got plenty, I'll try n post a pic later of my pile.

Also got a like 5 alum window awnings off one older trailer. Three porch awnings, one i had to cut into 4 large sections and a carport with alum roof(also two nice steel 11'-ish i-beams I'll hang onto). A normal size alum shed the demo guy knocked down for me and a small alum shed I was able to fit into my truck, that I'm gonna keep. Not many had gutters but i got a bit. Plus some alum steps or hand rails and the random bit of alum here n there. At the start the parks peeps wanted me to take the windows n bust the glass out for the alum frames. Not worth it(90% weight was glass) but i humored them at the start. Then they tried to get me to remove the windows(what they got paid for). Honestly people always try n get me to do stuff because they think I'm a dumb scrapper(For example if i stop by the road people will come out n offer to help me load non-metal stuff all the time. No i don't want your trash[saves them paying for it to be picked-up]).

My safe estimate is 1500-2000ish lbs for my pile of siding alone and maybe another 500-1000lbs of the rest of alum. The full load i took in for an older trailer with the thickest gauge alum siding(not much skirting in that load) that i got 80% off the trailer(can't get too high stuff or parts around areas that aren't worth the time), was only 380lbs. And it was flat stacked well.

The pile is bigger than my truck but I'm betting even with my new wood sides. I'll prob still be underwhelmed with how much i get in a load. I'd estimate another 100-150lbs per load with my higher sides. Find out Monday.

Part of why i didn't bother to take it in until after. Be a lot of trips/time and much more fuel. Plus everyday it was a random order of mixed scrap, so I'd have like 3-4 types at the yard to make it take longer. But again... everyone was surprised that i wasn't cashing out each day and buying crack :rolleyes:

LOL the park peeps were sometimes like all butthurt, if i had a good load for that day. Like they should of got it themselves and some stuff they did. Oh and at the end another scrapper was getting some stuff, still no way i was getting 100% so i didn't mind long as he didn't come in n get the stuff i was working on(tho one time, was signs he tried to get some of the wire, that i had to leave for the next day). Still nothing is guaranteed in scrap and they could of told me to get lost at anytime.
 
There was a reason I was the only scrapper most the time. It was A LOT of work!!!

If i was younger or in better shape.....

Still w/e scrapping gives me the flexibility to do what i want for now. Later after i get the things i want to accomplish done, I'll get a normal job.

People are simple, quick to judge and like to gossip. My neighbors think I'm a junkie because of scrapping LOL Also why i expect more trouble from the town. If one thing life has tough me, people will always try n take advantage of you or kick you, when they think you're down. My house and cars are not forsale, I'm not broke and I don't do drugs ;)
 
What no pictures of your work? I prefer pictures instead of reading, lol
 
BOOT said:
65 cents a lb last time i was in. Prices are higher farther away but this area has too many crackheads.
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It really is kinda nuts how much prices vary from place to place.. You'd think there would be some consistency. For example, the place I take my wheels is at $1.50/lb. - the place below is $1.33/lb. That $0.17 difference is huge.

Place by me (not the one I take wheels to) has several different prices/categories for aluminum. What would your siding be considered as? I'm guessing old sheet or painted?

Prep 6063 Alum Ext $1.25​

Prep 6061 Alum Ext $0.88​

Dirty Ext $0.83​

Painted Alum $0.95​

Old Sheet $0.87​

Cast Alum $0.78​

Alum Clip $1.00​

 
AutomaticWeapon said:
It really is kinda nuts how much prices vary from place to place.. You'd think there would be some consistency. For example, the place I take my wheels is at $1.50/lb. - the place below is $1.33/lb. That $0.17 difference is huge.

Place by me (not the one I take wheels to) has several different prices/categories for aluminum. What would your siding be considered as? I'm guessing old sheet or painted?

Prep 6063 Alum Ext $1.25​

Prep 6061 Alum Ext $0.88​

Dirty Ext $0.83​

Painted Alum $0.95​

Old Sheet $0.87​

Cast Alum $0.78​

Alum Clip $1.00​

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Yup all higher! Alum wheels actually went to to $1 but i think extrusion is still $0.70
 
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