Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 18:00:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Mike Resnik
Subject: Business Introduction: Collins Mountain Grading
COLLINS MOUNTAIN GRADING
919-929-3324
www.collinsmountaingrading.com
I am Mike Resnik, and I write to introduce my business, Collins Mountain Grading. But first I want to thank Gene for the Chatlist and for providing small businesses this opportunity. I also want to thank my friends and customers for voting Collins Mountain Grading Chatham’s Best in every Chatlist survey.
Collins Mountain Grading specializes in small jobs usually taking less than a day or two. We have worked with home owners, farmers, contractors and property owner associations. Much of our work consists in grading, repairing and graveling driveways and subdivision roads as well as solving drainage problems and installing French drains.
Although driveways have been our mainstay, our work has included a great variety of tasks: moving large rocks and boulders, spreading dirt, mulch, and gravel, digging footings and basements, digging and renovating small ponds, clearing and grading for building sites and gardens, constructing riding arenas, and doing the “final grading” for buildings under construction.
In addition to myself the business employs a very able and hard working assistant, Ken Withers. He does most of the hand work–chainsawing, shoveling, raking, placing rip-rap, etc. Sometime we collaborate with other grading contractors with bigger equipment. (We carry workers compensation insurance as well as general liability insurance.)
We usually bring just one machine to a job. One our machines is a medium sized skid steer with wheels and over the tire steel tracks; the other is a CAT 257B with rubber tracks. We generally use the rubber tracked machine for work involving crossing paved areas and lawns. Both machines weight about 7500 lbs. and are powered by 57 horsepower diesel engines. With the tracks, weight and power they can function as small “bulldozers”. The machines have a number of attachments including clam-shell buckets, a forklift, a brush grapple, and a small backhoe for digging ditches.
We also have a farm tractor for grading longer roads and driveways, and finally, a medium sized dump truck for carting brush, logs, and up to 6 tons of dirt or gravel.
More than one customer and professional grader has used the term “amazing” to describe what I can do with our small machines while making less mess than larger ones. On the other hand, when bigger equipment is needed, we rent it or enlist the help of another operator. And for hauling large amounts of gravel, dirt or mulch I turn to contractors with large dump trucks.
For 39 years I was a philosophy professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, specializing in Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics. I retired formally in June of 2006, but still retain some ties with UNC and academic philosophy. My wife, Janet, whose pottery you may know, and I have lived on our farm on Collins Mountain Road in Chatham County since 1967. We have been busy clearing pastures, building barns, studios and rental houses, and raising horses and timber ever since. Janet gave me my first “bobcat” as an anniversary present. I learned to use it on our farm by clearing pasture land, digging two small ponds, building a three quarter mile road to our children’s house sites, and then clearing and landscaping their lots, excavating their basements. My business was born when our son, Dmitri, suggested that I “stop pushing over OUR trees and go push over somebody else’s.”
I am in this business because I enjoy the challenges it provides. I will dedicate myself to doing a good job. Our equipment is suited for working on a small scale and can get into most backyards. Our rates are very reasonable: you can probably hire us for an afternoon for not much more than you can rent anything like our equipment, and get more done due to our experience. Finally, although my business keeps growing, I am still available. I can promise you that if you call or email me, I will respond quickly. If you decide to use me, I will be able to turn to your job within weeks rather than months–often within days. For example, a couple of years ago a builder called me on a Friday about digging a basement for an addition to an existing house. He needed the work done ASAP. I was able to look at the job that day, line up a friend with a backhoe, and commit to doing the job the following Monday. We were able to complete the job that Monday and to charge the contractor less than his other estimates. Perhaps, this why Collins Mountain Grading has been voted Chatham’s Best in all the Chatlist surveys.
I haven’t done this previously, but in these times it may be appropriate to say something about prices. We charge $65 per hour. This pays for one machine, me and my helper. We also charge an equipment moving fee, which varies with the time and distance we have to travel (usually $40-$60). Of course, there is often a charge for materials: gravel, dirt, pipes, etc., and dumping fees involved in disposing of debris (if you want this). We can usually grade and cover a 250′ driveway with 18 tons of gravel for around $650. Often grading is enough to fix up a driveway without having to add the extra expense of gravel.
Please visit our website (www.collinsmountaingrading.com). I think you will find it entertaining as well as informative. Thank you for reading this.