Billboard fabricator Matt Schulze of Selective Structures was a guest on the Bell Board Podcast. Here’s what he said when Neil Bell asked him about mistakes billboard operators make during construction
What are the biggest mistakes you see people make when building their first few signs?
The dig call. They mark everything, every response comes back check, check, check — maybe one out of twenty says there’s something there, or it’s marked wrong. We’ve had gas lines that weren’t marked at all, and when that happens you have to shut the whole job down.
I tell people: before you do anything — before you even lease the property — do an 811 call. It’s a four-day process. Make sure there’s nothing underground, then proceed. That is the number one issue we run into, partly because some utilities outsource the marking and some of those guys just don’t do a good job.
In recent years I’ve also tried to do the 811 before I even finalize where on the property the sign is going to sit. We put the exact location in the lease addendum, and I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to go back to the landowner and renegotiate the spot because of underground utilities. Do the call first. Don’t waste time.
Soil tests are important too. If you see rocks coming out of the ground, you’re probably going to hit rock. Just kick the dirt around before you start — it’s a simple thing that can save you a lot of money.
Can you talk about what happens when you hit rock on a foundation job?
We build a lot in North Alabama, and you never know. We prefer to drill because it’s quicker and cheaper, but I can’t tell you how many times we’ll be drilling and hit rock before we’re at full depth. Now I’ve already paid for the drill and I’m also paying to dig, and drill crews run thousands of dollars a day.
When you hit early refusal, you need new engineering. If your design called for a 20-foot foundation and you can only get 12 feet, every foot shorter means the spread of your footing gets smaller too — and sometimes you’re right next to a property line, so you don’t have room for a wider footing. Sometimes the only answer is a rock anchor, which is expensive. I’ve seen foundation drilling costs anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000.
I’ve got one coming up right now where we’re going to cantilever over a property line and we’ll have to drill into rock. I’m crossing my fingers on that one.
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