Guy digs basement for 15 years using R/C construction equipment

[VINMAN]

This is almost as bad as the dude with the Lambo...

Since 1997, A Man Has Been Digging Out His Basement Using Only R/C Scale-Model Construction Equipment


A Canadian guy named Joe has been digging out the basement of his house using nothing but radio-controlled scale model construction equipment... since 1997. Yes, you read that right — he's been digging out his basement for 15 years — with nothing but little R/C tractors, diggers and even a miniature rock crusher! Amazing.
At an average rate of eight or nine cubic feet of earth moved each year, the process has been absolutely glacial. But what do you expect when every morning he drives his little excavator on its transport truck down to the basement, unloads it, and then uses it to dig out the basement walls.

Then Joe uses the excavators to load R/C trucks and they work their way up a spiral ramp to the basement window where the soil gets dumped outside.

Then, once it's outside, he uses bulldozers to consolidate the pile of excavated dirt.

So why does he do it? Good question. No idea. CarScoop noted Joe as saying:

"I feel quite fortunate to have stumbled onto this basement excavation idea, it's been a great past time to date dreaming up new ideas to tackle different projects along the way," Joe wrote on the Scale4x4rc forums where he also posted pictures and videos of his feat.

"It's been a great hobby thus far, dreaming up - building all sorts of different minature equipment from kits or from scratch for this "mining" project. If it wasn't for this mining project I probably would have lost of interest in this hobby by now b/c once the models are built - the novelty of how they work & perform would wear off with no task to be accomplished them," he notes in another post.


View the gallery
I can't believe this is the first we've heard about Joe and his amazing little excavators — especially considering there's an amazing 53-page thread about him over at the scale4x4rc.org forums.
OK, so maybe I can see why I might have missed it. Still — this is amazing.

You can spend the next four hours wading through the 53 pages on the forum — but when you get bored, take a walk through the best videos of the epic process in the gallery to the left.

[lowyder993s]

I H8 Tweakers!!!

[LWJ]

Hmmm. I was bored at 11 seconds and stopped at 15 seconds. Both vids.

I guess I know what hobby I won't be doing. The world takes all kinds.

Thanks!
Larry

[Superman]

I excavated a basement once. On my belly. About 20 CY. It was more pleasant there than in my house, where my wife was.

[RWebb]

it is things like this that provide irrefutable proof that humans really are just monkeys with no tails or fur

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Hmmm. I was bored at 11 seconds and stopped at 15 seconds. Both vids.

I lasted a little longer, but I was mistakenly optimistic.

[Noah930]

Figures it was done up in the Great White North. Long winters, eh?

[john70t]

He's been trying to make a dirt pit in the ground cave-in for 15 years.
Still hasn't succeeded.
Why stop him?

[jyl]

My daughter: "Does he live with his mother? She brings him sandwiches with the crusts cut off? Because he's infantile."

I defended him of course. He's my new hero.

[rsNINESOOPER]

any head doctors in the house that could take a crack at this fruitcake? 15yrs?

all one can say is... Why?

[jyl]

You know, if he moves 8 or 9 cubic yards per year, I recall a cubic yard is about 30 wheelbarrow loads, that's pretty darned impressive. Anyone want to take a stab at estimating how many hours/year he spends at the controls? Why is he not a wreck of repetitive strain injury?

[Jim Bremner]

If I lived in Canada I might think of it!

[slodave]

Why does he need to drive the excavator to the "site" every morning? I think it would normally stay onsite. Must be really bored. I don't think I'd want to drive that thing on and off a truck everyday for 15 years...

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by slodave

Why does he need to drive the excavator to the "site" every morning?

Jobsite thieves?

[slodave]

I think it has to do with the truck and need to use everything. The hauler would not be needed again until the project is complete - which may be never in this case.

[vas930]

Thats awesome!

[gtc]

Now I know what I'm buying from the [Cat] company store with my bonus bucks.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by slodave

Why does he need to drive the excavator to the "site" every morning? I think it would normally stay onsite. Must be really bored. I don't think I'd want to drive that thing on and off a truck everyday for 15 years...

You're just not cut out for farming...

In winter, if you don't farm large amounts of animals, just not as much to do, and you've got to find something to do when the weather prevents you from working outside. This is a farmer in Canada we're talking about.

[GH85Carrera]

At least after 15 years he has accomplished SOMETHING.

I know of a guy that ended up buying his neighbors house just to set up a model rail road. It is an amazing RR track and village, but in the end the trains just go round and round, and other guys have a bigger and better model RR setup.

To dig a basement with all RC models is at least doing something productive. Very slowly, but productive. I still think he is a little nuts however.

I have been working on my 911 for 16 years and it still have some projects left to do.

[asphaltgambler]

His TV Phillco (19" crt) must have been on the fritz all that time..........good grief