Working with Marine Contractors-
People that own a lakefront home need to maintain thier seawalls, retaining walls, bulkheads, boathouses, boat docks, boat lifts, decks and railings on a periodic basis or they will fall apart. This situation is compounded when you have waterfront property. If you are really lucky, you or your spouse is skilled in performing repairs and making improvements around the home. For even the most skilled homeowner however, there will come a time when they need a contractor to work on their property. The following is my advice on working with contractors or handy-persons on your property:
If you are approached by a local handy-person and you know they don’t have Workman’s Compensation Insurance or Liability Insurance, then be aware that you will be liable for their injuries or death. The best way to go is to get contractors with the insurance coverage to protect you from losses and litigation. When you are considering hiring a contractor and I refer to any person or company that comes onto your property to perform work for you as a contractor, get a Certificate of Insurance coverage from them. The Certificate would be sent to you by the insurance company and not handed to you by the contractor. You would be listed as additionally insured on the certificate. If the certificate comes from the insurance company, then are assured that the contractor does in fact have insurance and that you are covered in case he or his workers get hurt on your property and you have liability coverage for his operations. If you are listed as additionally insured on the certificate, then if the contractor does not pay his premium or is canceled for another reason, you are notified normally 30 days prior to the cancellation that the contractor will not have coverage by that insurance company after that date. In this way, you will know that they either need to finish the project in that time frame or they have to have another Certificate of Insurance sent to you before the date of cancellation of the original certificate. Workman’s Compensation Insurance is statutory and is the same for all contractors. However, Liability Insurance coverage varies between contractors. Most contractors that have Liability Insurance coverage will carry at least $100,000. Some will carry $1,000,000. Cloud 9 Services, Inc. carries $2,000,000 worth of coverage because some of our commercial marine projects require that level of coverage.
A lot of contractors will ask for a deposit from you before doing any work. Sometimes a deposit is warranted such as in the case of a home addition or major repair. Deposits should not be given if there is not permitting or engineering involved or if there are not special materials that must be purchased by the contractor prior to starting the work. If a deposit is being required by a contractor, make sure it is covered in an agreement with that contractor. In fact don’t allow any work to be performed on your home valued at over $100.00 without some kind of written and executed agreement. There are always questions that will arise when performing the work on a project and having something in writing helps avoid disagreements and lawsuits.
Make sure the contractor is licensed appropriately for the work they are going to perform for you. Make sure they are State Certified Contractors if you are doing any kind of construction or repair that requires a building permit. Get their license number and make sure the license is for either the contractor himself if a sole proprietor or for his corporation. You can get this information through WWW.MyFlorida.com. This is important in that if you hire someone that says that they are a contractor but they have another licensed contractor pull the building permit, it is an illegal act. It is called aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor. If you want to go after the entity that you entered into the agreement with and he is not licensed, you will not be able to go after his license since he doesn’t have one. Also, do not pull a permit as the homeowner for a contractor to perform the work. This is also illegal and if something goes wrong on the project, you are left in a bad situation.
If you give a contractor a deposit and they fail to perform or if you are having a problem with a contractor failing to perform in any way, if they are licensed, you will have some recourse. The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board has a program to reimburse homeowners for damages caused by licensed contractors. If you call the FCILB or file a report on the contractor through the internet, the FCILB will contact the contractor and then you will most likely get a call from the contractor trying to resolve the problem. The FCLIB is very strict about making sure licensees/contractors do not harm the public and they will suspend or revoke a contractor’s license if they don’t walk the line.
The following is an excerpt from one of my standard agreements for dock or seawall construction. This clause is required to be contained in the proposals offered by licensees on residential projects.
Construction Industry Recovery Fund: Payment may be available from the construction industries recovery fund if you lose money on a project performed under this contract, where the loss results from specified violations of Florida Law by a state-licensed contractor. For information about the recovery fund and filling a claim, contract the Florida Construction Industry licensing Board at the following telephone number and address: Department Of Business and professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board, 7960 Arlington Expressway, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida 32211-7467. Telephone: (850) 727-3650.
Cloud 9 Services, Inc. specilizes in residential and commercial marine construction. We build docks, decks, boathouses, seawalls, bulkheads, retaining walls, pergolas, trellis and many other custom marine structures. Visit our website at www.cloud9services.com
Cloud 9 services, Inc. serves all of Central Florida including Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Geneva, Lake Mary, Lake Monroe, Longwood, Oviedo, Sanford, Winter Springs, Alafaya, Apopka, Bay Lake, Belle Isle, Christmas, Doctor Phillips, Eatonville, Edgewood, Lake Buena Vista, Maitland, Oakland, Ocoee, Orlando, Tangerine, Windermere, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Zellwood, Campbell, Celebration, Kissimmee, Poinciana, St. Cloud, Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, Dundee, Eagle Lake, Fedhaven, Fort Meade, Frostproof, Haines City, Highland Park, Hillcrest Heights, Indian Lake Estates, Lake Alfred, Lake Hamilton, Lake Wales, Lakeland, Mulberry, Nalcrest, Polk City, Providence, Winter Haven, Altoona, Astatula, Astor, Bassville Park, Clermont, Eustis, Forest Hills, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-In-The-Hills, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Mount Plymouth, Okahumpka, Paisley, Sorrento, Tavares, Umatilla, Yalaha, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, DeBary, DeLand, Deltona, Edgewater, Holly Hill, Lake Helen, New Smyrna Beach, Oak Hill, Orange City, Ormond Beach, Pierson, Ponce Inlet, Port Orange.
Cloud 9 Services, Inc hold State of Florida Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor, General Contractor, Mechanical Contractor and Plumbing Contractor's licenses.
Rick Fender
Cloud 9 Services, Inc. 407-481-2750
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Pile Driving and Jetting for Marine Construction of Docks, Boathouses and Seawalls
Pile Driving and Jetting in Marine Construction
When you are thinking of building your own dock or seawall or hiring a contractor, here are some problems to watch out for.
In general, do now hire unlicensed or uninsured contractors. This practice is wide spread in marine construction as there are plenty of people with a pickup truck and the ability to sell. If the marine builder does not have a license, he has (3) choices.
1- He can build the structure without a permit and hope he does not get caught.
2- He can get you to pull the permit for him as the homeowner. This is somewhat tricky as you have to swear to the permitting agency that you or your family will be constructing the project.
3- He could ask a friend with a license to pull the permit for him.
The last (2) of these options are third degree felonies. So really none of these options should be acceptable to you.
When you actually start installing either wood piling for a dock or sheet piles for a seawall, you must make sure that the post rests on a good foundation. This is accomplished by using water pressure from say a 2” trash pump with a steel wand reduced down to a ¾” pipe. The post or sheet is placed in position on the bottom of the lake and the water is used to wash the sand away from the base, allowing the post or sheet to settle slowly downward. When the bottom of the post reaches the hardpan or so much friction at say 4’ to 6’ below the mudline, the post will not go any further, you have reached a good foundation for the post. For the sheet pile, unless the sheet hits a void or deleterious materials at the pre-described amount of sheet penetration below the mudline, then it is considered to have been set to a good foundation.
The reason this good foundation is important is that if the post is not seated correctly, it will drop after a load is placed on it. Further, the post will be more susceptible to wave and wind uplift during high wind or wave conditions.
For the seawall sheet, the correct amount of penetration below the mudline will prevent the panels from kicking out at the bottom. If you have someone else setting the posts or the sheets, measure them before they are installed. That way when they are done, you can measure the length of the post or sheet above the mudline and calculate the length of post or sheet embedded below the mudline.
Sometimes you will find a root or rock or other obstruction impeding your way to getting the proper penetration. Don’t give up! Either jet or cut or dig the obstruction out of the way and continue down with your sheet or post. If you leave it up higher than required, you will have trouble in the future.
Until next time, “You’ve got to build on a good foundation!”
Rick Fender- Cloud 9 Services, Inc.
407-481-2750
rick@cloud9services.com
When you are thinking of building your own dock or seawall or hiring a contractor, here are some problems to watch out for.
In general, do now hire unlicensed or uninsured contractors. This practice is wide spread in marine construction as there are plenty of people with a pickup truck and the ability to sell. If the marine builder does not have a license, he has (3) choices.
1- He can build the structure without a permit and hope he does not get caught.
2- He can get you to pull the permit for him as the homeowner. This is somewhat tricky as you have to swear to the permitting agency that you or your family will be constructing the project.
3- He could ask a friend with a license to pull the permit for him.
The last (2) of these options are third degree felonies. So really none of these options should be acceptable to you.
When you actually start installing either wood piling for a dock or sheet piles for a seawall, you must make sure that the post rests on a good foundation. This is accomplished by using water pressure from say a 2” trash pump with a steel wand reduced down to a ¾” pipe. The post or sheet is placed in position on the bottom of the lake and the water is used to wash the sand away from the base, allowing the post or sheet to settle slowly downward. When the bottom of the post reaches the hardpan or so much friction at say 4’ to 6’ below the mudline, the post will not go any further, you have reached a good foundation for the post. For the sheet pile, unless the sheet hits a void or deleterious materials at the pre-described amount of sheet penetration below the mudline, then it is considered to have been set to a good foundation.
The reason this good foundation is important is that if the post is not seated correctly, it will drop after a load is placed on it. Further, the post will be more susceptible to wave and wind uplift during high wind or wave conditions.
For the seawall sheet, the correct amount of penetration below the mudline will prevent the panels from kicking out at the bottom. If you have someone else setting the posts or the sheets, measure them before they are installed. That way when they are done, you can measure the length of the post or sheet above the mudline and calculate the length of post or sheet embedded below the mudline.
Sometimes you will find a root or rock or other obstruction impeding your way to getting the proper penetration. Don’t give up! Either jet or cut or dig the obstruction out of the way and continue down with your sheet or post. If you leave it up higher than required, you will have trouble in the future.
Until next time, “You’ve got to build on a good foundation!”
Rick Fender- Cloud 9 Services, Inc.
407-481-2750
rick@cloud9services.com
Monday, October 15, 2007
When considering building a marine related project, consider these items that make our company better than the other Marine Contractors in Central Florida.
These are thing property owners should consider when deciding which Marine Contractor they should use when building a deck, dock, seawall, bulkhead, pergola, gazebo, retaining wall, boathouse, boat dock, boat lift or other related marine construction. This information is provided by Rick Fender, Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. located in Orlando Florida at 1201 West Jackson Street and available by phone at 407-481-2750 or on the web at www.cloud9services.com.
Materials used are better
Real tongue and groove v-joint roof decking
Typhoon Lagoon Polyester rope is better than the Polypropylene and Nylon ropes used by others
Copper caps we use have no wood just copper and have a longer life than the 2 to 3 years for the wood trim caps used by others
Heavier structural members- 6x6 piles, 2x10 bents, 2x8 joists and triple 2x10 boxed beam headers
Skirt board for trimming and strength
Trim blocks for beauty
Permitting is faster and easier
We don’t ask the customer to pull any permits
We have our own in-house permitting department run by Sally Li who has a Master’s Degree in Geology and is very experienced in Environmental Permitting.
We have our own draftsman and consulting engineers who work on a timely manner to get the plans out for permitting.
We guarantee that we will have your plans into the initial permitting agency within (10) days after the customer has provided their survey and other required information.
The customer is protected from losses
We carry $2,000,000.00 General Liability Insurance policy which protects the customer and Cloud 9 from catastrophic losses which could occur when performing the work of marine construction which can be very dangerous.
We carry the statutory Worker’s Compensation Insurance to not only protect our workers and ourselves from loss but also to protect the customer from losses if one of our employees get hurt on a project. If the customer deals with someone who does not have the required insurance, the customer could be liable for any injuries or death that occurs on the project.
Cloud 9 has gone the extra step to protect our customers. We carry United States Longshore and Harborworkers Act Insurance which covers our workers if they are injured over navigable waters of the US. Although most of our work is on non-navigable waters, the current trend in worker’s compensation Insurance litigation is that the attorneys go for the best insurance to sue. We don’t want our customers to be exposed to any litigation or losses so we have the insurance that 90% of the Central Florida Marine Contractor’s do not have.
Our customers deal with a real Marine Construction company
They enjoy the comfort and confidence of Cloud 9 Services’ 24 hour a day 7 day a week service.
When our customers call Cloud 9 Services, Inc., they get a live person 24 hours a day. That live person is an employee of Cloud 9 Services, Inc., not an answering service. Never would our customers have to leave a message on an answering machine in the middle of the day.
We have (20) employees, working toward giving you the best marine project available at a reasonable cost and in a short period of time.
Cloud 9 Services, Inc. was establish in 2001 and has many satisfied customers for you to talk to.
Rick Fender, the Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. was the founding President and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Florida Marine Contractor’s Association. Only the real marine contractors belong to this association. Less than 10% of the Central Florida marine contractors belong to this Statewide association.
If you are considering building a marine structure such as a deck, dock, seawall, bulkhead, pergola, gazebo, retaining wall, boathouse, boat dock, boat lift or other related marine construction. This information is provided by Rick Fender, Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. located in Orlando Florida at 1201 West Jackson Street and available by phone at 407-481-2750 or on the web at www.cloud9services.com.
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