Message Board: Cricket: [CLOSED] Renovation complete

11th Oct 2008 by martyn snell

today i spent 7 hours with a crew of cricketers from the club and have removed a spongy surface to a firm underfoot surface and they were all very happy about it.and all done with 90 bags of loam 3 bags of seed and a hire of a scarifier and my time and the total cost came in at £ 988, and the village club i look after i budget £1200 so every one is happy all round.im going to sleep well tonight now.

Soil temp was still 12c which suprised me.

11th Oct 2008 by mario

Excellent stuff, Martyn.

That leaves £212 for drinks!!

I know no boundaries.

11th Oct 2008 by has 2 mow

thats a pitchcare knees up and martyns paying . under budget , thats great everyones happy well done

11th Oct 2008 by widdywoo

How did you manage to get a crew of cricketers to work 7 hours? I can't manage to get them to turn up at all!!

"I'm cheap, and nought but fashion; fling me away."

11th Oct 2008 by dave r-b

well done, next year add 200 to your time and then offer to buy them a beer for there help and they wont question the extra dosh....quids in

im now an ex groundsman but hey old habits die hard

12th Oct 2008 by martyn snell

yeh i was surprised,but the club really do well and support all events

12th Oct 2008 by jontaylor

Well done Martyn,

Odd isn't it how some village clubs like Wiseton, Haxey and Hibaldstow can put in so much effort to improve their playing facilities, whilst the "big boys" around here think it's their god-given right, but won't invest in quality.

Great to hear you've broken the back of that thatch. Now the fun begins as you maintain and improve it year on year.

The ciderman rolls

12th Oct 2008 by bath

Martyn,

Can i ask, how many wickets did you renovate for £988 pounds.

I am sure that there are very many clubs did not spend that much.

A break down of the costs would be very much appreciated.

Very well done.

13th Oct 2008 by Minormorris64

I must admit that I do wonder about some of the 'costs' of renovation that get posted, ours was as follows

Loam - 5 bags per pitch (8 pitches) = £176
Grass Seed 2 x 20kg = £105
Scarifier = £0 (Club owns their own, £400, bought 3 years ago, Mountfield 38s, excellent machine)
My time = £0

Total = £281

so £35.12 per pitch.

Sorry if thats a bit too simplistic

13th Oct 2008 by martyn snell

jon, how many years did it take you, to remove all thatch and have it like you do today?

13th Oct 2008 by martyn snell

Loam 120 bags = £628 ( 8 bags in main body,1 bag either end)

Seed advanta mm50 £170 3 bags

Scarifier=£55 Sisis Rotorake

My time & fuel £135

13th Oct 2008 by jlawrence Last edited 13th Oct 2008

I need to cehck out exactly how much I've spent but I think it was iro £1500 - that was for 24 tracks in total.
That was working on 8 bags per track with some extra for hollow tining one square during the winter. It also allowed some extra see for topping up any thin patches during the winter/spring. AND it left me 20 bags of loam spare for during next season - which added to the 20 odd left from this year means I shouldn't need to order any extra loam in the spring.

ADDED:
It included 10 bags of seed as well - 7 for renovations and 3 for topping up.
I'll need to order another couple of bags of seed come spring unless I get a good take from renovations.

Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.

13th Oct 2008 by Mike A

I continue to be amazed at how much cheaper you guys are doing things than us. It is costing us atleast 40% more than you guys in most cases.

What amazes me even more is the fact the we are doing nothing whatsoever to remedy this blatant overspending. A fortnight or so ago I came up with a plan to reduce our white lining expenditure, which amounts to the best part of £1500pa, by atleast 60% and what was the answer to my proposal? A bit fat NO and a half an hours worth of berating and 2 days of post berating silience. Its a good job i've got a sense of humour!!!

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

15th Oct 2008 by jontaylor

HI again Martyn,
3 main tracks (nos. 2,3,4) took a tractor with a yard scraper and we literally peeled the thatch off. Today you'd hire a Koro I think. Those three tracks were dressed and seeded, left to stand for one year and then in full play. By year 3 they were as today.
Tracks 5 and 6 have never suffered thatch to any significant extent (but I always have to work hard to get seed to take on 6!?).
Track 1 is still slowly improving after 4 seasons of scarifying with the DJ machine (it's thatch layer was not sufficiently mat-like to peel off with the digger). 7&8 are being converted from outfield and 7 (the most advanced) will be good next season having been only adequate this (that will be 4 years after it was last outfield) and clearly it will be better each year after that.
I brought track 9 into the conversion program this year and will use it for juniors the year after next.
For those who wonder, there's a main road along the square boundary nearest to track 1, and the improving wickets and batsmen have brought this very much into the hitting zone, hence the square slowly migrating East!

The ciderman rolls

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