Category: The Construction Biz

The Construction Biz, The Early Days2 Comments

Learning To Fly

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In my younger days in the construction business I had a bookkeeper, G.K. , that was always after me to take up flying. He wasn’t a pilot but claimed he almost was. He told me how we could fly to faraway destinations to look at and bid jobs. How we could head out to the coast and go fishing at the drop of a hat. I was a little queasy about me flying an airplane, but I finally figured that I’d get used to it, as many people had. Why would it be different for me? Finally one day I … Continue reading Learning To Fly

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction BizLeave a comment

Harold wasn’t known as a man with a stellar reputation

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Sometime in the later 1970s Harold showed up in Austin as an underground utility contractor. There have been a bunch of them that have come and gone in Austin over the past almost 50 years that I’ve been around. But none like Harold, that would cause you to feel like you needed a bath, from just having a conversation with him. Okay that last sentence is a little bit of a lie. There have been several others that gave me that feeling. Harold had a gift of gab and you knew he was a bullshit artist the second he started … Continue reading Harold wasn’t known as a man with a stellar reputation

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Construction BizLeave a comment

Just About The Most Insane Thing I’ve Seen

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And I’ve seen some insane things. Seeing the video’s yesterday of the big wind generator blades coming through Marble Town, after coming up Texas 71 out of Austin, then turning on on FM 2147 and going through Horseshoe Bay and turning north on US 281. The question was raised of why didn’t they just turn at the 281/71 intersection? That would the seem the most logical, in anyone’s estimation. Nice loop around out there get from one highway to the other. But it has to do with permitting. All highway construction is marked on a master map at TxDot so … Continue reading Just About The Most Insane Thing I’ve Seen

The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Bureaucratic Red Tape

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Several years ago we contracted with a developer and the City of Georgetown to install a large wastewater line that paralleled the South San Gabriel River heading west out of Georgetown. The project was extremely challenging. It was for a 36″ diameter pipe, that was at depths between 35′ to 40′ deep in solid rock for the whole length of approximately 7 miles. The first property we crossed was still owned by the Wolf Family, hence the naming of Wolf Ranch Shopping Complex at Hwy 29 at I-35. I knew one of the Wolf family members and made it through … Continue reading Bureaucratic Red Tape

Amazing Things, On The Job, The Construction BizLeave a comment

Customer Testimonial – Ex 1200 Hitachi Excavators

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The Hitachi Dealer ask if I would mind endorsing their machines. They were the first ones of that size they had sold. They said they would send someone out to interview me. I thought fine. I assumed an interview would be something like – ask me a question and I would answer it to the best of my ability. A camera person showed up on the job, stuck a microphone in my face and said “tell us about your project and the EX 1200 Excavators. I did the best I could, given that I had not even thought about what … Continue reading Customer Testimonial – Ex 1200 Hitachi Excavators

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

A Sudden Stop

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Back in the 70s and early 80s, after Kenny returned from his stint in the Army, he came to work with us. Most of the crazier things that ever happened was during that time period. It was customary that he and I would load up every few days and ride the jobs. We often had eight or ten projects going on, all over the Austin area. One day we met up out on the north end of town and he climbed in with me. I had a new 1980 Buick Riveria. We were driving through a project, The Cliffs Over … Continue reading A Sudden Stop

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days1 Comment

Another Rock Blasting Story

lewisotr

During the first 15 years of my contracting career most trenches in rock were blasted, before good productive and dependable rock trenchers were developed. We had one crew that their primary job was drilling and shooting (term we used for blasting) rock. We were building a new subdivision right behind the Bannockburn Baptist Church (it wasn’t there then) on Brodie at McCarty Ln. in the Southwest part of Austin, Texas. All was going real good on that project. Don the crew foreman and our ace blaster was short handed, so he hired an old hippie that happened by. The old … Continue reading Another Rock Blasting Story

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, On The Job, The Construction Biz2 Comments

An Unfortunate Incident While Blasting Rock

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Back in 1975 we were putting in wastewater lines to serve newly incorporated areas of Austin that had previously been on septic tanks. This was up in the area around North Lamar between Rutland Dr. & Braker Ln. One of the lines followed a creek that crosses Sagebrush Ln. about a block west of N. Lamar. Just before it reached the next street which was Neans Dr., it came up out of the creek and headed out into the streets as it continued on south. This meant it ran in an easement between two houses. It was a very narrow … Continue reading An Unfortunate Incident While Blasting Rock

Construction, Crazy Times, The Construction BizLeave a comment

Just One More Accident

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I had a new gold and beige colored crew cab Chevrolet. It was a beautiful truck. It had everything imaginable on it. This was in the mid 1980s. It still had paper tags on it. I pulled up in front and center at Holt Caterpillar in Austin one morning. Just as I reached the front door I heard a crash. I looked around to see a one ton welders truck had backed into the drivers door. As I got closer I saw that he had a pair of fork lift forks on the bed of his truck. They extended over … Continue reading Just One More Accident

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Old Dog - New Trick, The Construction Biz2 Comments

Eating Foods You Hate

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When I was about 13 years old, on a hot summer day Cec took me to a John Deere Front End Loader on the top of Taylor Mountain, as we always called it. From up there you could see Marble Falls, because you were up there looking down across the town. It was far into the distance. I was clearing off brush on several lots and then leveling them up for future house site. It was early in the morning when he dropped me and I didn’t think about taking a jug of water. When noon rolled around I had … Continue reading Eating Foods You Hate