The Man From Masolite

Hopefully next week we will take Mark Disler to task as we install a large paver job using his products and expertise. We will also be building a grill surround for a new drop in BBQ grill. We are anxious to incorporate his ideas to increase our productivity and see if he has any new tricks up his sleeve.

I say hopefully because the weather this past week sucked, we only got in 20 hours because of the rain and cold. Next week the prediction is bad as they are calling for rain the first three days in the week. We are building the patio and grill for Craig and Jane and have to wait for the excavator to dredge the channel which was finally permitted this past Thursday.

Two Down

The first two weeks of work have gone rapidly. We had a couple of episodes of putting "humpty dumpty" back together again after winter damage but overall not to bad. Things are shaping up, we have four new houses signed with complete landscaping, a large finish for a project we started last season, a job with rock wall terraces and a large flagstone patio and walk.

Theresa has been out applying fertilizer and herbicides, evaluating the needs of our maintenance customers and gearing up for spring clean up and flower planting. We do not install annuals in this neck of the woods until after mothers day the traditional last frost day.

We have picked up a couple of new crew mates this season and lost Darrick who left us to move away and get married. Rick Roudebush has returned, a former employee who has been attending college he will work through the summer. One of our good pals has a son taking landscaping in college he has joined us part time and will work full time in May. Our multi talented employee Gary crashed his 3 wheeler last week end and has been in the hospital having had surgery to repair a broken bone. He will be missed during his convalesces but we are fortunate to borrow Bruce Pardue a 16 year veteran equipment operator who is laid off from M & C Trenching our excavation partner.

Larry and Charlene's flagstone patio and walk is nearly complete and looks awesome. One of the coolest features are the two snap cut steps that span the 16' staircase and they were not part of the original plan. After taking drop (the distance between the top of our patio and the bottom stair) it was evident that we would either have to have steps or a retaining wall or possibly a combination of both. I saw the opportunity to add a greater sense of elegance with a sunken patio in an already stunning location. It took a bit of convincing for others to see my vision but I think everyone really likes the result. We should wrap it up this week. Charlene and Larry will be grilling bunnies on the patio for Easter .

Progress at Jane and Craig's has been stellar for the painters, they are mostly finished and have produced the warm and cozy background that is the foundation for the interior decor. I did learn a new unique method of painting doors from the painters. The barrel roll porch has been framed and the concrete steps and porch have been poured. We will be installing pavers over the concrete surfaces. The siding is progressing and should be complete this week. Our final hurdle is waiting on the dredging of the channel between the shoreline and the island, the state of Michigan has been holding this up since last fall in the Never Never Land know as the permitting process.

Unilock Unplugged

This is Adam he is the Territory Manager for Unilock Pavers a product line we are pleased to now carry. Jane and Craig on Lake George will be the first to benefit from our new paver line, I am stoked. With Adam from Unilock, Mark Disler from Masolite and Matt Felger from Felger's we have increased our sales team and product knowledge. There should be no application where pavers are involved that we can not solve. I am currently working on paver driveway quote on Clear Lake and a permeable paver quote for a customer on Lake Gage where they will violate the 50/50 rule (50% of your lot can be covered with a hard surface and 50% must be green) if they pour all the walks, patio and driveway surfaces they desire. Permeable pavers are counted as 50% more porous than concrete.

Bob Seger at the Huntington Center

I came one step closer to high speed Internet today when I shut off my Wild Blue Satellite and signed on with Hughes Net or so I thought. Hughes claimed to be 70% faster than Blue and they were but come on it still took six hours to load this video. One of the interesting facts of the Hughes installation is that it is part of the governments pledge that rural areas be able to have Internet connections at a reasonable price. Hughes delivered and installed my dish for free and my only expense is the monthly fee of $39.00 which is 10 bucks less than Hughes. I do notice the speed loading photo's and surfing. However I now have an unsightly dish poking holes in my new roof and detracting from my clean roof line. I hope I don't decide I have made a mistake but the speed of the old service was a real bummer. It is amazing that I could upload a video in St. Lucia in ten minutes. Any way I wanted to share this video I recorded a couple of weeks ago at my first Bob Seger concert. Our great seats made for a pretty decent video. Special thanks to George. Enjoy Bob singing, "Main Street."

Felger's

Felger's located off Dupont Road is a third generation business in Fort Wayne, IN. Started by Grandpa Felger on land where he grew up it is now run by son Jerry who is known by many as the King of Peat, along with wife Dee Dee and their children who are working in the office and the field. The fourth generation of Felger's are already riding in the loaders and wearing company hoodies.

Grandson Matt is responsible for the hardscape development and he has done a fine job. Felger's boasts one of the tri state's largest selections of hardscape products. Their display area is retail friendly, well planned, amazingly representative of their various product lines and has a knowledgeable sales staff. In addition we can meet our customers there and see all the materials to take the guessing out of hardscape selection.

Three different product lines of pavers and wall stone including Unilock and Belgard are on display. A grill enclosure with a stainless steel drop in grill, various free standing walls with columns and caps along with a swell fire pit are just a few of the items in the elaborate examples awaiting perusal.

Matt's goal is to have every product they sell all encapsulated in one display area and he is well on his way. The landscaping industry is bursting with manufacturers of pavers and block. The shape, color and variety of these products is mind blowing. Looking at the new paver and block catalogues is eye candy for even those with minimal interest. It is a great time to be designing and installing landscaping as we have never had such an abundance and variety of materials with great accessibility and reasonable pricing.

When I first got in this business state of the art meant upgrading retaining walls from used railroad ties to rough cut timbers. Installing boulder outcroppings was once considered out of the box and we had to dig through farmers rock piles to get the boulders or unearth them in the fields. Or years ago if you wanted something exceptional and your client could afford it you could import some rocks from Wisconsin or the Carolina's and Tennessee, there were no places like Fort Wayne Rocks or Felger's.

As my career winds down my job is actually getting better and better, more challenging with a wider palette of materials and better educated customers who have seen the explosion of hardscape and are anxious to renovate their gardens with 21st century ideas and materials. It is easy to maintain a passion for your job when your job is exciting and rewarding.