Starting a crane service

[CM1995]

But, I call Auburn the field of dreams, if you build it they will come. From one Auburn graduate to another, War Eagle!

War Damn Eagle! BSCI grad here.

I thought to myself having a mini-x for small demo jobs busting rock/old slab foundations may not be a bad idea in this area.

We have a 305E with a B6 hammer that we use all the time. It's a small hammer but it does great on slabs and small trench rock. Use it 10X times more than the H140 GCs we have for the 325.

A 305 sized machine is big enough to do real work and still able to tow behind a pickup albeit on the top end of towing capacity.

 

[Jod0001]

Concrete can be very heavy and easy to overload even if a bin is not technically over filled. I think there's different densities. I hauled away some old sidewalk blocks and they were super heavy. Not sure how expensive it is to have a load scale on the bin or the truck.

found one on Amazon, can’t verify the accuracy but for 50$ it’s worth a shot. Probably wouldn’t trust it if i was close to being 26k and subject to DOT but… having the DOT check you would be one way to determine it’s accuracy

 

[Jod0001]

War Damn Eagle! BSCI grad here.



We have a 305E with a B6 hammer that we use all the time. It's a small hammer but it does great on slabs and small trench rock. Use it 10X times more than the H140 GCs we have for the 325.

A 305 sized machine is big enough to do real work and still able to tow behind a pickup albeit on the top end of towing capacity.

Let me ask you a question, how well does that 305e handle the hammer. I’ve heard guys say those hammer bust a lot of hydro lines, can’t tell you what size machine they run, maybe their machine is a little on the small size for that type of application even though they can run a hammer attachment.

 

[CM1995]

Let me ask you a question, how well does that 305e handle the hammer. I’ve heard guys say those hammer bust a lot of hydro lines, can’t tell you what size machine they run, maybe their machine is a little on the small size for that type of application even though they can run a hammer attachment.

Very well. The hammer is well matched to the machine. Our 305 also has a manual QC and hydro thumb so it can get tippy as expected extended out. When we first bought the hammer I was impressed at how hard it hit.

We have had zero issues with hyd hoses although we had to replace one hyd QC on the machine, can't remember if it was the male or female one. Bought it used from Thompson so hard to tell the root cause of its failure.

Cat Financial was offering attachments at 0% for 24 months so we decided to buy the hammer as we had several small demo jobs coming up. The payment is $395 a month which is easily made. The hammer is about to be paid off next month so looking at buying an auger. The retail GC's we work for are always asking if we can drill light pole bases and menu board foundations.


Some folks can destroy a steel ball with a rubber mallet - we work around them from time to time in the commercial construction side.

 

[Jod0001]

That is good info to know. I see you are listed as an Administrator. Just wanted to let you know that I am a member of other forums. I’ve noticed in those other forums, especially the Jeep Wrangler Tj I’m apart of there is a lot of egos being displayed on many of those threads. I appreciate the response I have received on this thread they are realistic but respectful. Many times in other threads you read not how wrong you are, but how stupid you are for not already knowing the answer to your question. That all you accomplished by posing that question just prove to all the other members how deep your stupidity runs.

 

[cuttin edge]

That is good info to know. I see you are listed as an Administrator. Just wanted to let you know that I am a member of other forums. I’ve noticed in those other forums, especially the Jeep Wrangler Tj I’m apart of there is a lot of egos being displayed on many of those threads. I appreciate the response I have received on this thread they are realistic but respectful. Many times in other threads you read not how wrong you are, but how stupid you are for not already knowing the answer to your question. That all you accomplished by posing that question just prove to all the other members how deep your stupidity runs.

Most of the auto forums are like that. Everyone is an expert there, and even if they don't know they will tell you what they think. You can get good info here, but sometimes threads can spin off topic, perhaps a sign of ADHD among construction types.......SQUIRREL!!!!!

 

[Jod0001]

Well this one kind of spun off from cranes to demo but that was good because the opinion at the start of this thread was it will be hard to get into because of the insurance issues, no operating experience and the low demand for what I was looking for in the crane industry. Rather than letting the thread die other viable ideas were mentioned. I’m kicking around multiple ideas, I’ll be 38 in June so I have a little time to figure something to do to prevent me from staying home and sitting on the couch after I “retire”. Whatever I end up doing I would like to be working for myself if possible. I have thought about demo but was trying to find something that was not a one and done deal. A lot of people like the idea of forestry mulching but my understanding of that is a lot of times it private land owners looking to clean up their property or a builder who has a client that wants a lot that is not completely cleared of all trees. Not many neighborhoods are wooded anymore. It cost more to do because the person hired to clear has to be careful of what to remove rather then just stripping the land and then bringing some trees back in. I have dealt a lot with concrete and concrete pumping is something I thought about too but I know I’m not (can’t) going to drop half a million in a pump truck. I have thought about a concrete pump trailer but I would have to hire a helper. I definitely don’t want to be dragging a concrete hose around in my 50’s, now if I mainly just operate the pump and had a helper to drag line with the finishers, that would not be bad. From my understanding it’s hard to find help running those pumps because of the physical demand on your body. But if you are dependable and have a well maintained pump you can get a lot of repeat business from the same contractors because pumps are so heavily relied on. Other then work comp injuries your liability exposure is relatively low. You get the concrete from point A (concrete truck) to point B ( slab, footings, wall, etc…). Your not responsible for the finish or mix, just pray you don’t get bad plugs in the line. The business model for concrete pumping is great because the contractor is “renting” the pump with a 4hour minimum so the pump gets paid regardless of if concrete is pumped or not. So inspections failing is not a concern for the pumping company.

 

[Acoals]

but I would have to hire a helper.

Don't bet much on finding a good reliable helper.

What business do you know now? Unless you have pretty deep pockets and are mostly looking for a hobby, buying a crane or concrete pump or anything other piece of machinery that you know nothing about and have never operated isn't really a good business plan.

 

[Tugger2]

I think concrete pumps are right up there with cranes when it comes to problems. They are good at finding soft spots and sink holes with thier outriggers. They also seem to hook up with powerlines at the wrong time.Long story short they deliver a heavy load at long distances with men under the "hook" at all times.They require competant operators. For a long time they have run without a lot of regulation ,but thats changing a lot now.

 

[Welder Dave]

A major PIA if something goes wrong too, especially if they stop pumping when full of concrete. I was talking to an operator years ago and he said it's a major problem if the concrete starts harden too much.

 

[Jod0001]

Don't bet much on finding a good reliable helper.

What business do you know now? Unless you have pretty deep pockets and are mostly looking for a hobby, buying a crane or concrete pump or anything other piece of machinery that you know nothing about and have never operated isn't really a good business plan.

I am in residential construction but you are correct I haven’t had experience behind the controls of equipment, I have operated a skid steer and mini-x before but would not consider it experience. I agree with you a spydercrane is a no go but I do believe I have time to learn how to operate some other equipment. I try to live by Bigfoots motto, you know, “believe in yourself even when nobody else does”. I have contacts who own these types of equipment (skid steers and mini-x) and have discussed learning how to operate them. They are open to the idea, I told them I would throw them some cash for fuel. Don’t have deep pockets either but what my wife and myself do have are jobs that have retirement plans. So I figured if I was ever going to take a risk retirement would be my best time to do it. My wife has an MBA so she could definitely run the “business” side of things. But before I had a kid I cut grass on the side in the afternoon. Between work and having the kid something had to give so I stopped doing that so at the end of the day I could always start that back up. But I got time to get some experience behind the controls and I know a few people who have made career changes, had no real experience operating equipment but they went for it are figuring it out and succeeding in it. Hell I know one guy who went the other way. He was operating a dozen and landed himself a job as a residential superintendent. I figure if your going to bet on someone why not it be yourself.

 

[Jod0001]

A major PIA if something goes wrong too, especially if they stop pumping when full of concrete. I was talking to an operator years ago and he said it's a major problem if the concrete starts harden too much.

Yep if the concrete had been in the truck for over 90min you should dump it on the ground. If it’s below 40 degrees you should add an accelerator but the funny thing is this everyone wants to add Calcium - Chloride but that stuff will cause your reinforcement to rust out over time and compromise the concrete’s integrity. Don’t ask me why they want to use it, I don’t know why but there are other approved accelerators that don’t have chloride in it. Along with the pool that was added to the Miami condo that collapse the parking deck had major signs of corrosion on its reinforcement. Obviously there we multiple contributing factors to the collapse but one was the state of the concrete and it’s reinforcement. I have read articles stating that many of the water sources in Florida have some amount of salt in the water. Hopefully when they mix the cement they are able to somehow filter the salt out but you have to wonder about some of the older buildings that have been built.

 

[Columbo]

One niche market that is underserved in my area is helical pier installation. They are increasingly popular for decks, docks, etc and can obviously be sized to support significant loads. I’m not sure what your market is like but I’ll throw that out there as food for thought…

 

[cuttin edge]

One niche market that is underserved in my area is helical pier installation. They are increasingly popular for decks, docks, etc and can obviously be sized to support significant loads. I’m not sure what your market is like but I’ll throw that out there as food for thought…

Yes that is something that has taken off here. There were 2, and now there is one local guy. He has a truck, a trailer and a mini excavator, and he goes steady. I think you have to buy into a franchise, and they supply the driver head for your machine, and the screw piles. I think he actually has a remote to operate the machine for installing. But he works out of his home. No store front, just a web page, doesn't need much of a laydown yard, and because it's only a mini excavator, he doesn't need a large shop.

 

[Jod0001]

Helical piers are used in my area only when bad dirt is hit and it would cost more to remove the bad dirt. I’ve seen them go 40’ in the down before they hit suitable ground. I’m not sure how often they are used in the surrounding area. It’s my understanding that areas like in the mountains in Colorado they use them a bunch partially due to the expansive soil. I can say this, no way I could live in Co, my wife would loose her mind if she came home and the house rose up 6”.

 

[CM1995]

Here there a few big boys that have the helical pier market saturated. Probably room for a small independent contractor but one would have to counter market the barrage of junk mail, radio and tv commercials and bill boards every 2 miles from the big 2.

The big outfits do crawlspace encapsulation, basement waterproofing, slab jacking and helical piers. Good friend of mine built up one of the companies to the point of covering the state and recently sold out to a VE group that owns foundation companies all over the East coast. Now he doesn't have to worry about retirement or anything really.

One brand of piers are made in Birmingham.

 

[CM1995]

That is good info to know. I see you are listed as an Administrator. Just wanted to let you know that I am a member of other forums. I’ve noticed in those other forums, especially the Jeep Wrangler Tj I’m apart of there is a lot of egos being displayed on many of those threads. I appreciate the response I have received on this thread they are realistic but respectful. Many times in other threads you read not how wrong you are, but how stupid you are for not already knowing the answer to your question. That all you accomplished by posing that question just prove to all the other members how deep your stupidity runs.

Here at HEF we want to be a friendly exchange of information about HE and construction without politics and hotheads. From time to time we'll get a new member that's a hot head however they are short lived either voluntarily not returning or having to be shown the door.

Just makes the Forum more interesting.