tnmtn
01-09-2008, 02:42 AM
first off thanks to chris for inviting me here.
to introduce myself i will start off with i am coming into hardscapes from an entirely diffrent direction than most.
i have been a boat captain for 20 years mostly working on dive support vessels involved in offshore construction. when i was younger i did run landscape maintennance and construction for a small garden center in nashville. after 20 years on the boats i started thingking it was time to stay home more. kids getting older and i have missed too much already. started thinking of what next. always had a love for equipment and working outside so i picked up a backhoe to see where it would lead. started picking up small jobs for homeowners and some for contractors. working on my time off from the boat. while doing these jobs i started to notice how the yards were torn up from construction and began working a little toward finish grading and hydroseeding to bring them back into shape after the damage from construction. for the time i have put into it i am happy with the results. i live in a mountainous area where erosion is part of life. many of the jobs i get involve erosion issues of some kind. usually lack of planning in the building stage. started noticing many retaining walls that weren't built with proper drainage and are starting to show sign from it. so my thought was if these fly by night guys can get work maybe this should be another avenue for me, not knowing any locals to refer for this work. started patrolling the various forums on the net. starting to feel a bit more confident and ready to start with some smaller jobs.
i really appreciate the great help many on this and other forums put out. it is priceless to be able to learn from others hard knocks. it has been 3 years since starting in this bussiness and still haven't gotten to the point of retiring from the boats but is coming soon.
again thanks,
to introduce myself i will start off with i am coming into hardscapes from an entirely diffrent direction than most.
i have been a boat captain for 20 years mostly working on dive support vessels involved in offshore construction. when i was younger i did run landscape maintennance and construction for a small garden center in nashville. after 20 years on the boats i started thingking it was time to stay home more. kids getting older and i have missed too much already. started thinking of what next. always had a love for equipment and working outside so i picked up a backhoe to see where it would lead. started picking up small jobs for homeowners and some for contractors. working on my time off from the boat. while doing these jobs i started to notice how the yards were torn up from construction and began working a little toward finish grading and hydroseeding to bring them back into shape after the damage from construction. for the time i have put into it i am happy with the results. i live in a mountainous area where erosion is part of life. many of the jobs i get involve erosion issues of some kind. usually lack of planning in the building stage. started noticing many retaining walls that weren't built with proper drainage and are starting to show sign from it. so my thought was if these fly by night guys can get work maybe this should be another avenue for me, not knowing any locals to refer for this work. started patrolling the various forums on the net. starting to feel a bit more confident and ready to start with some smaller jobs.
i really appreciate the great help many on this and other forums put out. it is priceless to be able to learn from others hard knocks. it has been 3 years since starting in this bussiness and still haven't gotten to the point of retiring from the boats but is coming soon.
again thanks,