A few projects I have done recently

[CM1995]

CM how do they pour the building slabs down there, is there any frost/heaving issues in your region?

Our imaginary frost line for design purposes is 1'. So any monolithic slab on grade for a building has to have at least 1' of the outside turn down buried. Take a slab house tract home for example, the outside edge of the slab will be 18" thick 1' bury and 6" from ground to wood which is also code to keep the termites out.

Our sidewalks are only 4" thick and usually poured right on the ground. Heavy duty concrete paving like a dumpster pad will be 6" of concrete and 6" of gravel as a capillary break.

We fight water building structures more than any other force of nature.

I'll try to remember to take some pics of the footings going in on the job above.

 

[Browning.270]

Thats kinda what i was thinking they would prly do, we have poured some slabs up here (IL) like that for sheds and small garages

 

[CM1995]

The most frost we ever get might be 1/2" to an inch and then it's gone the next day.

 

[AzIron]

You mean ground can freeze lol

 

[CM1995]

You mean ground can freeze lol

I know right?!!

 

[Don.S]

At least when its frozen you dont have mud.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Nyoplast inline drains this size are not that aggravating to set like the larger diameter basins. We call them Gumby's for obvious reasons, you younger guys won't get that reference.

 

[CM1995]

View attachment 238028

I'm Gumby Dammit! Eddie Murphy is an awesome comedian.

 

[CM1995]

As the area turns.

Look what the Cat drug in.

2021 D3 LGP pretty much fully loaded. We got it Monday to demo all week.



Our other dozer is a 2004 D5G which this model replaces as Cat redone their dozer lineup. 17 years of innovation is impressive. The rear view camera is a nice touch which kept me from backing over the general super's go buggy.



This D3 replaces the previous D5K model which preceded our D5G. Now our D5G is an XL and the D3 is an LGP but the size difference is notable.



This job all started on that corner outside the blue fence panels 1 year and 1 month ago when we met with the general super to discuss the job. I'll be honest I was scared shitless when we won this project but we put our nose down, did our job the way we do it and never gave up. The real bonus is we've made a lifetime friend with the general super, there's just something special about this job that's hard to put into words.

Finishing out the final grade with a new dozer at that very corner a year later.

 

[skyking1]

cat really messed with the scale of things.

 

[dirty4fun]

Glad that the out come was so good on such a big project. Has to make you wonder when you get the bid on something that large what did I miss, or were the other bidders just trying to make to much on the job. Since I am a one old man show no way would I bid a big job. About 2/3 of my jobs are the former customer calls asks me to just do the job. Small town, knowing a lot of people over the years helps, and I don't have to waste time trying to bid the work. Makes for a variety of work which isn't as profitable sometimes, but always profitable! Even on bid jobs I usually point out things to the customers that they need to have done before anyone can do the job. A lot of building demo jobs they don't realize that to get the natural gas unhooked is two to four months wait after they have received their money. The others never mention that, to me it's about trying to help people, which in turn makes me feel good. Just like when I finish a job, I am proud of how it looks and what I have done, pride in workmanship is important to me!

As the area turns.

Look what the Cat drug in.

2021 D3 LGP pretty much fully loaded. We got it Monday to demo all week.

View attachment 238380

Our other dozer is a 2004 D5G which this model replaces as Cat redone their dozer lineup. 17 years of innovation is impressive. The rear view camera is a nice touch which kept me from backing over the general super's go buggy.

View attachment 238375

This D3 replaces the previous D5K model which preceded our D5G. Now our D5G is an XL and the D3 is an LGP but the size difference is notable.

View attachment 238376

This job all started on that corner outside the blue fence panels 1 year and 1 month ago when we met with the general super to discuss the job. I'll be honest I was scared shitless when we won this project but we put our nose down, did our job the way we do it and never gave up. The real bonus is we've made a lifetime friend with the general super, there's just something special about this job that's hard to put into words.

Finishing out the final grade with a new dozer at that very corner a year later.

View attachment 238379

 

[CM1995]

Dirty it's like the project that was just bid under the interstate bridges in the background. It's a 34 acre park complete with skate park, roller rinks, amphitheater, out door class rooms, art displays, climbing walls, etc, etc.

We bid that job with one of the 3 GC's bidding, the GC building the arena was not bidding. I bid high as it had 108 nyoplast gumbies and a couple 100,000 SF of fine grading. The job went for $34,000,000 with a difference of just $200,000 between low bid and second lowest...that's tight. The GC we bid with was #2..

 

[CM1995]

cat really messed with the scale of things.

Although the size difference looks substantial the weight difference is only a couple thousand pounds.

At first I didn't like the new numbering system but it does make sense. At one time Cat had 3 different D6's - D6K, D6N and D6T which were all very different tractors.

This 3 is balanced enough as it is where we don't need any counterweight.

 

[oarwhat]

I never understood why Caterpillar makes each new series larger.

 

[John C.]

Weight is the determining factor on model designations. Cat has been installing more sheet metal to give the perception that the new machine is bigger, stronger, heavier and implying that it is more productive. CM hit the nail square when he said it is only a couple thousand pounds different that his older unit. It is probably only marginally if any more productive. All the manufacturers have been playing the name games since the nineteen sixties. A D8L became a D9. A 330 Cat excavator became a 336 and the same can be said for all the rest of the equipment builders.

 

[CM1995]

Also has to do with all the emissions BS. You need more room for the DEF tank, DPF ect. so the tractor gets a little wider.

Cat has made daily checks and routine maintenance much more accessible on this tractor compared to the G model. Check engine and air filter standing on the ground. Oil filter is right next to engine dipstick.

The G you have to be a contortionist to blow out the air filter even checking the oil is awkward.

 

[Raildudes dad]

We bid a job one time. Low bid $1.0 M, 2nd $1.25 M. I asked the low bid flat out, what did you miss? He said nothing, then asked if the 2nd had ever worked with us before. I said "no". He says there's your answer. We know it's gong to be a messy job with some extras that will show up. (We knew it too) I didn't have to put in any contingency money because I know you will fair on negotiating the extra.
Some guys feel good if the low bid is way below their estimate. I take pride in being right in the middle

 

[CM1995]

The 2nd lowest GC was tore up about loosing it over that small of amount compared to the job's size. They lost the job by .58%.

We hardly ever do hard bid government jobs as most of our jobs are bid but negotiated at the same time. I tell estimators all the time "I am confident you can find someone cheaper than us" when they say they have a lower price from someone else.

The GC's we work with all the time know we don't rely on CO's to make a profit, I bid the job at a price that will build the job. Of course unforeseen's come up on jobs all the time but we're fair when dealing with it.

My father gave me some great advice a long time ago - " I've never lost money on a job I didn't get."

 

[skyking1]

I've seen the change order kings. It is a crappy way to do business IMO.

 

[CM1995]

A pic showing the progress on the addition.

This week the crew worked from the storefront glass out towards the intersection fine grading for the hardscape sub.





Another shot of the new dozer finishing out the plaza grading. We weren't able to work our way out of this job without finding one last buried treasure.

The white line in front the 3 is an old sandstone foundation for some building long gone. The previous crews poured the sidewalk right over the top of them.



Digging the sandstone blocks out. They were approx. 1.5' thick and 3' wide. I'll sort these stones out at the dump and push them aside for a future project.