# Going Green in Excavating



## Vinny (Jul 21, 2007)

Corey, unless your clients are enviromentaly aware it wont matter(unfortunatly).

But if you have a client base that it can matter to, then you need to market it. Drve it home. Make it yours. 

You can also consider running your iron on bio diesel, but again you cant be the only one it matters to for it to be a niche though I admire the nobility of the cause.


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## tnmtn (Dec 15, 2006)

you might consider brushing up on erosion control products and how to use them. npdes phase 2 legislation has been out for a while but in my area not many even know about it. erosion control consists of a silt fence and maybe some straw wattles. someone with your education background might do well in planning erosion control plans for larger sites or developments. it would be a green niche that has to do with excavating.
good luck,


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## BrianHay (Jun 17, 2007)

Hi Corey 
I think what I'm doing is a green niche. Our machine runs biodegradable hydrolic oil, I'm looking into bio diesel and will probably use it as well as engine oil and grease. And its low impact, I can get into any jobsite without disturbing anything on the way in. That gives me a huge advantage on the right jobs and people are willing to pay a good price to have it. Today I had to give an hourly rate, something I didn't want to do until I was established but it worked out fine. My rate is way more than what you can hire a conventional machine for but its worth it to him for the green aspect of it as well as how efficiently I can work in water and extreme terrain. Even though my rate is more its still cheaper in the end because I can get it done a lot faster with less problems. I think it would be hard for you to get into though. Only because it would be next to imposible for you to find a good operator...or someone to trane one for you.


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## POOLMANinCT (Oct 7, 2006)

brian if memory serves your the guy with the creepy crawly spider machine? running that on 
green fuels, wow you could really bang the snot ouy of environmental research companies, just scooping soil samples.

I'm not into the whole green thing..

ray


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

Yep, thats him. I'd love to see some of his work though. Post some pics of the Spider Brian.


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

POOLMANinCT said:


> brian if memory serves your the guy with the creepy crawly spider machine? running that on
> green fuels, wow you could really bang the snot ouy of environmental research companies, just scooping soil samples.
> 
> I'm not into the whole green thing..
> ...


I would be difficult for you to be green. People like their pools BLUE:laughing: Most pools are NOT Enviromentally Friendly so it would not pay. That being said, I LOVE MY POOL! Can't wait to put an InGround in though. Humph, thinking about that, Maybe I LIKE my pool, its that Hot Tub that does it for me.:thumbup: seeing as I can't swim in my pool right now, but use that hot tub every night.


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## BrianHay (Jun 17, 2007)

Mine still hasn't arrived yet LNG  It's supposed to be washing ashore on the 26th. Then we have to wait for it clear customs then truck it here. Its coming from Switzerland. But there are a ton of pictures I gathered up while I was researching them that I posted in my Gallery if you want to check those out http://spyderhoesolutions.ca/gallery2


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

i only use bio degradeable/recyclable jim beam.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I'm not sure I would want any of that "recycled" Jim Beam there Day, Thanks just the same.


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## POOLMANinCT (Oct 7, 2006)

:clap:


LNG24 said:


> I would be difficult for you to be green. People like their pools BLUE:laughing: Most pools are NOT Enviromentally Friendly so it would not pay. That being said, I LOVE MY POOL! Can't wait to put an InGround in though. Humph, thinking about that, Maybe I LIKE my pool, its that Hot Tub that does it for me.:thumbup: seeing as I can't swim in my pool right now, but use that hot tub every night.


 

poolguys are the hieght of ecoterrorism.:whistling

ray


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

BrianHay said:


> Hi Corey
> I think what I'm doing is a green niche. Our machine runs biodegradable hydrolic oil, I'm looking into bio diesel and will probably use it as well as engine oil and grease. And its low impact, I can get into any jobsite without disturbing anything on the way in. That gives me a huge advantage on the right jobs and people are willing to pay a good price to have it. Today I had to give an hourly rate, something I didn't want to do until I was established but it worked out fine. My rate is way more than what you can hire a conventional machine for but its worth it to him for the green aspect of it as well as how efficiently I can work in water and extreme terrain. Even though my rate is more its still cheaper in the end because I can get it done a lot faster with less problems. I think it would be hard for you to get into though. Only because it would be next to imposible for you to find a good operator...or someone to trane one for you.


 


BrianHay said:


> Mine still hasn't arrived yet LNG  It's supposed to be washing ashore on the 26th. Then we have to wait for it clear customs then truck it here. Its coming from Switzerland. But there are a ton of pictures I gathered up while I was researching them that I posted in my Gallery if you want to check those out http://spyderhoesolutions.ca/gallery2


Brian, I am confused, what machine are you using now?



POOLMANinCT said:


> :clap:
> poolguys are the hieght of ecoterrorism.:whistling
> ray


Ray, Thats exactly what I and each of your customers are thinking as we dive in that beautiful clear water:thumbup:


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## BrianHay (Jun 17, 2007)

I grew up around heavy equipment and have been an operator since I was a teenager but only for other people. The machine we are waiting for will be our first shot at it on our own. It has been a long hard struggle getting it. It took me about nine months to find someone willing to finance us and when I finally got the funding together the machine we were going for sold two days before. Then we found another that was within our budget but it is in Switzerland and was rented out. So we had to wait for it to get back to Kaisers shop and get overhauled before they shipped it. Then it finaly got shipped and then delayed in Germany because of a rail strike. Now it is supposed to arrive in Montreal on the 26th. Then IF it clears customs without a hitch it will get trucked from there to the West Coast were we are and should arrive about January sixth...one year after we started working on getting one.


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## TMatt142 (Apr 28, 2006)

Corey, it was mentioned before but the mainstay right now to be environmentally sound on dirt projects is controling watershed off projects. Erosion control is a HUGE thing here in Minnesota. Spoil piles that have not been touched for 10 days are being required to be be hydroseeded. They will not let you begin projects now until erosion control measures have been put in place. I've seen inspectors on my jobs take samples out of catch basins to test water clarity. More and more projects are being let that deal specifically with watershed. I just finished a project that dealt specifically with a creek that kept eroding. We installed 55 16'x8' articulated block mats. Sheet piling...bla bla bla. I'm sure it will be different in relation to what part of the country your in, but the laws pertaining to erosion control on jobsites are here to stay in MN. I'm sure these laws will (if not already in place) migrate to all the rest of the states eventually. To put it in perspective, environmentally...My inspector would let me use 10w-40 motor oil as a release agent for my concrete work, on the project, but wouldn't sign off on the job the last day unless my seeding subs had all required staples in their cat III erosion blanket.
BTW...Hi all....been awhile


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## coreylkh (Nov 24, 2007)

Hi guys! I had a few days off, thanks for keeping my thread alive! Ok, this is what I've read from all of you since my last post......correct me if I'm wrong. Erosion control is and has been huge since I've started in the early 90's. We've got ditch checks, erosion control blanket, hydroseeding, silt fence, ground stabilization, geotextile, inlet protection, nothing new. The Army Corps. of Engineers oversees the majority of the projects from the WI line down to Chicago since we have a HUGE amount of wetlands. You impact a wetland, you fix it or replace it somewhere near. I guess eco friendly is SO rampant around here that I thought I might find something new and innovative that I could market to the Engineers....i.e. "grabbing at straws...".

Anyways, I'm going to start applying for certifications, grants, credit, blah, blah, blah on Jan.8th. I believe my employer is going to pack up and leave everyone high and dry so I have to have a plan. What a PERFECT time to start an excavating company.....recession, scandal, tax crap, winter, market collapse.......yeah! Thank goodness I have alot of support because this is going to be HARD! :drink: Merry frickin' X-mas! :clap:


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## BrianHay (Jun 17, 2007)

It will be hard, but nothing you can't handle if you set your sights high  oh and merry frickn x-mas to you too


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