precision dirt
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2014
- Messages
- 86
- Location
- brenham tx
- Occupation
- machinist, fabricator and owner of precision dirt
Ok guys I need some advice some of you seasoned vets. Let me start by giving you a little background. At the ripe old age of 17 I bought a Massey ferguson 1155 from an ol friend of my fathers that I started doing contract ploughing with. I did that
For some years until the end of 2010 when I found a 7 yd eversman scraper I bought, put some work into and away I went, figured I could make a little side money.
Coincidentally the historic 2011 drought left lots of dried ponds to clean.
2012 I decide to start a true business called PRECISION DIRT & GRAVEL I Decided to buy a low hr case 650k that stays busy. 6 months later a large job is thrown my way and I buy a cat 615 scraper, all is well.
Fast forward to 2015 and my arsenal has grown to include as follows
International 8100 haul truck
Bellydump
25 ton haul trailer
Case 650k
Cat 615 scraper
New holland L190 skid steer
CID mulcher
JD 310SG BACKHOE
MF 1155
Cat D8H
Cat 977L
Komatsu D58
Business has been good and I'm working on my largest job so far..... a private air strip 4000' long pitched 4/10 th % grade the entire length, 2 ponds, 3 building pads
1 acre parking pad and 3/4 mile road.
The job is going well until one day late evening I try to hook up something that I should have had help with and snap.... I feel an incredible burn right between my shoulder blades. Figured I pulled something...no big deal. 2 days later I'm hauling gravel and by noon my back is really starting to bother me, 3 o clock my chest goes to hurting. 4 o clock pit closes so I head in, as I climb out the truck back and chest hurting my left arm falls numb then starts to throb. I'm rushed to the ER and they think I'm having a heart attack. I'm 29 yrs old at this point so 5 hours of testing and nothing. Pinched nerve is all they can figure. The last 2 years of my life have been with off and on chest pain (mostly on). I was sent to a cardiologist for stress test and a number of other test and all came back good. But still no answer...... and no choice but to keep on working.
Let me not bore you with too much but with the everything that has happened I still manage to keep 5-6 months worth of work piled up with no advertising other than my t-shirt uniform, and the calls keep coming. Now here is the catch..... I have no employee s. I have done everything myself up until this point and I can't keep up. Between the bids, the work, invoicing, paperwork I'm to a point I don't think I can go any faster or harder. I leave at 5:30 get home at 8:30-9 six days a week and my wife and kids aren't to happy with it. Oh and did I mention I'm the shop Forman for my fathers machine shop and work a 40 hr week there too.
If your still interested after reading all that my question for you is, what now? I really don't want to leave the family machine shop because my family and I work very well together and I like it. On the other hand my construction building has done much better than I anticipated and has outgrown what I intended it to ever be, but it's also my passion.
Do I find some good guys I can trust and spread the work out and see how it pans out?Or just downsize back to where I can keep up myself and turn work away?
I hold mY work to very high standards and with today's terrible workforce just a few careless mistakes can cost a fortune.
Im 32 years old now but really don't know if me or my body can keep this pace.... I'm open to any and all inputs or opinions
Thanks for your time guys
For some years until the end of 2010 when I found a 7 yd eversman scraper I bought, put some work into and away I went, figured I could make a little side money.
Coincidentally the historic 2011 drought left lots of dried ponds to clean.
2012 I decide to start a true business called PRECISION DIRT & GRAVEL I Decided to buy a low hr case 650k that stays busy. 6 months later a large job is thrown my way and I buy a cat 615 scraper, all is well.
Fast forward to 2015 and my arsenal has grown to include as follows
International 8100 haul truck
Bellydump
25 ton haul trailer
Case 650k
Cat 615 scraper
New holland L190 skid steer
CID mulcher
JD 310SG BACKHOE
MF 1155
Cat D8H
Cat 977L
Komatsu D58
Business has been good and I'm working on my largest job so far..... a private air strip 4000' long pitched 4/10 th % grade the entire length, 2 ponds, 3 building pads
1 acre parking pad and 3/4 mile road.
The job is going well until one day late evening I try to hook up something that I should have had help with and snap.... I feel an incredible burn right between my shoulder blades. Figured I pulled something...no big deal. 2 days later I'm hauling gravel and by noon my back is really starting to bother me, 3 o clock my chest goes to hurting. 4 o clock pit closes so I head in, as I climb out the truck back and chest hurting my left arm falls numb then starts to throb. I'm rushed to the ER and they think I'm having a heart attack. I'm 29 yrs old at this point so 5 hours of testing and nothing. Pinched nerve is all they can figure. The last 2 years of my life have been with off and on chest pain (mostly on). I was sent to a cardiologist for stress test and a number of other test and all came back good. But still no answer...... and no choice but to keep on working.
Let me not bore you with too much but with the everything that has happened I still manage to keep 5-6 months worth of work piled up with no advertising other than my t-shirt uniform, and the calls keep coming. Now here is the catch..... I have no employee s. I have done everything myself up until this point and I can't keep up. Between the bids, the work, invoicing, paperwork I'm to a point I don't think I can go any faster or harder. I leave at 5:30 get home at 8:30-9 six days a week and my wife and kids aren't to happy with it. Oh and did I mention I'm the shop Forman for my fathers machine shop and work a 40 hr week there too.
If your still interested after reading all that my question for you is, what now? I really don't want to leave the family machine shop because my family and I work very well together and I like it. On the other hand my construction building has done much better than I anticipated and has outgrown what I intended it to ever be, but it's also my passion.
Do I find some good guys I can trust and spread the work out and see how it pans out?Or just downsize back to where I can keep up myself and turn work away?
I hold mY work to very high standards and with today's terrible workforce just a few careless mistakes can cost a fortune.
Im 32 years old now but really don't know if me or my body can keep this pace.... I'm open to any and all inputs or opinions
Thanks for your time guys