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The one man show to grow

Sawdus22

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
58
Location
South Carolina
Great looking work Fastdirt. Still can't get over how well you have kept that 312 with all the tight spots you get into.
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
I would go with a Cat, not for blind brand allegiance but for my relationship with the local dealer, product support and knowledge of their product.

Yeah, they are pricey. Compare what a new one costs to a larger sized used machine with low hours and it'll leave you wondering.

I might be guilty of the blind brand allegiance ;). Redneck and ignorant maybe :( If I could've afforded a Cat skid steer comparable to the TL150 I would've gone that route but there was no comparison in my price range and I always thought the Taks were superior in my experience so I guess brand allegiance only goes so far when making such serious decisions. I think the 308 is going to be too big and pricey for what I need it for. You're right about the price thing I've seen 325C's go for less than a pricey 308. I'll patiently be seeking a deal on mini but I can live without it too. Thanks, CM.

Did they buy fixed boom Deere's or swing boom? Job is looking good, as always Fast? You didn't happen to get a timelaspe of all that dirt shuffling, did you?

I'm not sure on the swing boom. Swing booms are great but they push the cab back and impair vision especially on the Takeuchi 1140 I demoed for a week. I hope to get some time lapse one of these days. ..and thanks again!!

We got an 8 ton Kubota. I think they have a new model of it out but ours is a good machine. We got a 24 and 36 inch bucket for it and it handles the 36 fine. I have set precast boxes and it did good. Something to take a look at.

I've heard nothing but praise on the Kubota line up. Nothing like a mini with a 36" bucket huh! It'll sit a lot so I got to keep it reasonable with this move. I Have to put some money in the 312 here soon and finish the lowboy project first so it'll be a bit before I squeeze into a mini....and I mean literally too. Those things sure make me uncomfortable.

Great looking work Fastdirt. Still can't get over how well you have kept that 312 with all the tight spots you get into.

Thanks Sawdus. I'm glad to say I haven't caused any metal damage in almost three years on the 312. A few scratches. The two good scratches came from my guy running it while I was gone but it's only cosmetic. I keep loppers in the cargo box on board at all times. I also will chainsaw any limbs or branches in my area. I cover the machine with tarps too if I have to squeeze through trees and brush. It's just taking the time to prevent the scratches and such. My customers are used to my obsession and they respect it but they are not used to it from past experiences with other operators. Most people just expect you to bulldog through branches and such. I'm not that guy lol.


Here's some fun pics from today. It was a rain day here in GA so I was passing through Atlanta while looking at a commercial pool for the city I'll be digging in the next week down in the ghetto of Atlanta. I stopped by my old friend's job and got to play around on the 650 (2900 hrs.). They had just finished assembling it after having it transported with a beam trailer. They will start digging tomorrow 30' deep to repair and tie into a 109 year old sewer line and bore under an access road. Just mind boggling what they do. They have a 51,000 lb. man hole coming from Newcastle . He said they will remove the bucket and re program the hydraulics for the lift and set. Of course they will bench down I'm sure. There is a hook at the top of the stick for that. My friend is about 5/6 years older than me and we took our CDL test together in his Uncle's 379 back when I started. He drove the lowboy to the testing place on a learners permit with me shotgun. We both passed luckily. He also showed me so much on the 953 and just general grading when I was green. He was born into and I remember seeing his Grandfather's occupation as "Heavy equipment operator" on one of their birth certificates. I know I might mention this often but if it wasn't for the key people in my life I might be somewhere else...maybe better, maybe worse, but I'm in a very satisfying industry that I love and give all the respect in the world to those before me and along side me. Nothing for granted in my eyes.



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Him
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Always some action on these jobs. I kinda miss commercial dirt work.
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Me
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Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Got bogged down here after discovering about 20 loads of bad dirt had to be dug out and we hauled in 20 loads of good dirt. I didn't capture any pics of the huge hole I dug out but it was pretty big for this job.

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We got on a 3000 sq. ft. commercial pool for the city of Atlanta. The contractor had a heck of time here before we showed up dealing with bad soil conditions but they built out the pools walls (roughly but on grade somewhat). We had to work with some wet material but we got through it. I don't count on anything for certain but we were told we will be getting the rest of the swim/pool parks in Atlanta where we will demo the old pools and re dig new ones. Sounds good. I am overwhelmed with work and have regular new work coming to me. A lot of it demo, clearing, and grading of house lots and pool builders. Even requests for bidding/proposals of small comm. site work. Help wanted!! and we shall grow. Lol, I've had many surface but I'm just too picky I reckon.

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Landclearer

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
1,227
Location
Southeast
Looks great as always. Don't worry about being picky, it is your equipment and your reputation. It is hard to find guys that really care but you will find one sooner or later.
 

clintm

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
974
Location
charlotte nc
Occupation
trucking,concrete recycling,grading, demolition
I see a sany in the background I know you asked about it ?
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Well Clint I wanted to rent it from the guy since I noticed it came from a popular rental outfit and I knew he didn't own it. It didn't quite work out though but he was willing. After seeing the operator in there with the windows closed and a 100 ciggy hanging from his lips all day I was ok with towing mine through those crazy streets. I was more afraid of vandalism after seeing broken windows in their machines from rocks. The job took Friday and half a day Saturday and I hauled it home Friday.
 

Dickjr.

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
1,484
Location
Kentucky

I can see why you stay busy , the work looks as good as it possibly could. Up here some people don't care about keeping clean sites , they look at the bottom dollar on the bid. Don't matter how long you been in business either. I have held my onsite waste water license since 1992 , I had a new start up get 2 jobs that I had, for the same money. When I say new start up I mean less than 1 year in. This happens a lot , usually I get a repair call a year or two later. These guys don't like repairs do to it being a little nasty. You know the saying , smells like $.
 

"acidoil"

Active Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
31
Location
Louisiana
Fastdirt.. Nice work.. How long do you think it will take them to lay that re-bar? That is one big pool.
John
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Thanks, acidoil.. The re bar crew could do that in a day. They are really good at what they do.



This was a good way to start out the week. It started to freeze over as I was loading up in the dark but I was happy to get it all broke up, removed, and hauled off. The wrecking ball ran great all day.

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Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
One section was around 40" and the ball broke it up good enough to load in the truck.

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Icing up with wet streets gets me on edge.

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Landclearer

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
1,227
Location
Southeast
Looks like the wrecking ball works great. Heck of a lot better than beating on it with a bucket. The last pool demo I did, I used big chunks of the pool as a wrecking ball. Did you do the whole job in one day?
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Yes that was a one day job. I always try to finish in one day. The wrecking ball is like cheating though. Even with house demos I always aim to complete in one day and move to the next job. I usually schedule five jobs a week and usually get them done. Then all my free time is trucks and tractor maintenance. They are like my children LOL. After that pool demo it was home to meet the tire guy to fix an inside floater. When I got home the tire guy had his service truck all stuck in my front yard against a power pole down hill. Had to tow him out. Then we pulled the wheels off to re mount the tire. It's a full time gig and I really do love every minute of it.

This was really really cold at this point.
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Some more jobs from this week. All I can say is it was cold for me. The last job on Friday had me coming home at 7ish with flurries and sub freezing temps. I HATE being at >70k lbs. thinking the streets are about to ice. Black ice is my kryptonite.

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This the last job leaving at dark with flurries and we were in North GA where it can get slick. On edge with lots of brake checks. This is nothing to those used to it but I'm ready for spring.

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Deliacorpny

Active Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
33
Location
Westchester ny
Occupation
Owner/operator excavation business
953

Yes that was a one day job. I always try to finish in one day. The wrecking ball is like cheating though. Even with house demos I always aim to complete in one day and move to the next job. I usually schedule five jobs a week and usually get them done. Then all my free time is trucks and tractor maintenance. They are like my children LOL. After that pool demo it was home to meet the tire guy to fix an inside floater. When I got home the tire guy had his service truck all stuck in my front yard against a power pole down hill. Had to tow him out. Then we pulled the wheels off to re mount the tire. It's a full time gig and I really do love every minute of it.

This was really really cold at this point.
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Some more jobs from this week. All I can say is it was cold for me. The last job on Friday had me coming home at 7ish with flurries and sub freezing temps. I HATE being at >70k lbs. thinking the streets are about to ice. Black ice is my kryptonite.

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This the last job leaving at dark with flurries and we were in North GA where it can get slick. On edge with lots of brake checks. This is nothing to those used to it but I'm ready for spring.

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Hey man we spoke a while back and I know you said you were thinking about eventually buying a 953 or a dozer? Any luck on one? Still lookin
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
I can see why you stay busy , the work looks as good as it possibly could. Up here some people don't care about keeping clean sites , they look at the bottom dollar on the bid. Don't matter how long you been in business either. I have held my onsite waste water license since 1992 , I had a new start up get 2 jobs that I had, for the same money. When I say new start up I mean less than 1 year in. This happens a lot , usually I get a repair call a year or two later. These guys don't like repairs do to it being a little nasty. You know the saying , smells like $.

Hey, I appreciate every word of that. I still believe in good manners like "thank you" "please" and "you're welcome". They are still a part of my life even though most these days people say "yep" to a thank you or nothing at all. They can keep the head nod too LOl. So thanks!!

Also I had a new start up company yank a job from me. Well they were a landscape supply company who jumped into the grading and demo market. I had already locked in the job with a repeat customer of mine. It was a demo job. The builder said this other company simply searched the demo permits in public records and emailed a cheaper bid to them on my demo and haul off bid at $16k. It was a huge all brick full basement house. They offered to do it for $13k. The builder told me I could match the price but I passed on it. I was a bit ticked off but now I'm going to dig the basement for the new house this week on that lot. I didn't ask what happened but I'm sure the super intendants will clue me in.

Hey man we spoke a while back and I know you said you were thinking about eventually buying a 953 or a dozer? Any luck on one? Still lookin

I'd love to get a 953C. A good customer of mine recently bought a 953C for a personal project building his new house, pond, clearing, etc. I've moved it for him and he said he would sell it to me when he is done. Here's a pic. I think my next move is to move the L9000 though but I change everyday with the wind. Some days all I want to do high end residential grading only, some days I don't ever want to go grading again, Some days I want to jump into commercial grading because I have the experience. Some days I just say ah, I'll just dig pools till I die. Either way I'm always progress minded though.... although I would never get into dump trucking LOl. But I think you should own at least one dump truck or even a dump trailer. See there I go again thinking a dump trailer would be a good thing. Oh yeah all that takes reliable decent operators or drivers.

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JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
That 953 looks like it belongs behind what must be the nicest L-9000 dump truck around.
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
That 953 looks like it belongs behind what must be the nicest L-9000 dump truck around.

Dang!! Thanks, Jerry. I have been searching for a wrecked L9000 with a big Cat because I'm about over the L10. I actually found one that isn't wrecked but it's a set back axle. I might sell/trade it if that doesn't work out, but I would let my mechanic do an engine swap once the Peterbilt is done also.
 

Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Here's some more from the last week.
This was a fun job. I had a lot of dirt to cut out and covered the Bobcat up as he was loading trucks. He broke a track. The owner went and got his old track and was back in 30 minutes. While waiting the boom went up and wouldn't let the door shut. It won't operate unless the door shuts. It was a mess as it came off the hinges. I had to mount the new track for them. I just released the grease fitting and popped the front idler a couple times with my bucket and it went all the way in. The track went on easy after that. I didn't get a pic of all the dirt on the roof because he would wipe it off occasionally but he never cleared the dirt off the back. I wonder how much got sucked through that funky Bobcat fan system.
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Finally got married last week for the first time. We had a rain day and were running errands and were just going to stop by the court house for a marriage license. Decided to just go ahead and do it there on a Wednesday afternoon. I was in my work boots and she was in the safety orange company shirt. Then on Saturday we did get cleaned up for a suite down town. Wasn't planned but what do you know if we didn't end up at the SX race. More dirt. We plan on a real getaway soon.

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Fastdirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
743
Location
GA
Even though my bucket is about to fall off we put a new set of teeth on this week. My guys found this rod on a demo job and it has been a wonderful thing with the locking pin removal and installation. I am working on the remedy for the bucket, linkage, bushing problem. The Cat rep has been great. He has done all the leg work and even came to my house to assess the repair. Of course his quote came in at $11k including the used bucket. They had a 42" bucket on the yard and I grabbed it. It will avoid some downtime. My 160 bucket needs repair so this Cat bucket will go right on once we get the rest right. I might stick with it but think the 160 bucket is better. We'll see. I've got the price down by going with an aftermarket H-link and hope that's not a bad idea. I also got on the local line boring guys schedule but he is covered slap up with work. Cat wants around $1100 per set up on the line boring. The local guy is about $400 less a bore.

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