It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It's the beginning of a new year and we here at EZ Grade are welcoming it with open arms!

So far 2011 has greeted us with rain, warmer weather, and more rain.  This weekend approximately 5 inches of precipitation fell in NW Oregon.  One thing is for sure - as long as it doesn't get icy, I'm fine with rain!  The rain keeps temperatures up and if temperatures stay up that means we can work!

I make it a point in my life to avoid the news at all costs - I'm not really a big fan of the negativity it brings.  But I did notice through little 'previews' as I was watching Desperate Housewives (one of my absolute FAVORITE shows) last night that there are floods EVERYWHERE! Several things are happening because of all this rain: rivers are rising, mud slides are sliding, and people have no choice other than to evacuate their homes.

Sand bags are a pain.  They're heavy, it's wet.  Let us come and help you!  EZ Grade trucks take away the hassle of having to deal with shovels and the mess.  Our trucks can haul up to 20 tons of sand - that's a LOT of sand bags!  (Quick math says a full load of sand could fill about 1,000 40-pound sand bags.)  The sand comes directly out of the back of the truck, fills the sandbag that two people hold open and the flow of material stops when the bag is filled appropriately...no mess, no shovels.

If your home is in danger of a 'slide' and a retaining wall is built, we can backfill it for you.  Our conveyor trucks have the ability to clear a 20 foot obstacle, a retaining wall is no problem! 

Mud puddles? Slippery cement? Give us a call and let us help you protect your family's home!

As I close this post about rain and mud, the sun has decided to come out and show its beautiful face. So, I'm going to go enjoy the rays before they disappear!

Until next time...

Kristin

You can always "Fall Back" on EZ Grade!

In honor of the recent Daylight Savings time change, I've decided to dedicate this edition of the EZ Rock blog to how we can help you in the always rainy, sometimes slippery fall season.  Keep in mind, the list and ideas below are only a small part of what we can do to help you enjoy the beautiful colors of the season to their fullest extent.  

We can bring you ROCK to do the following*:

- Dig out Covers for new homes, sheds and shops!

- Driveway dress up / fill in for those darn potholes that are now your own personal version of Crater Lake

- Rock base for parking areas, areas you're looking to pour concrete, etc.

- Dog runs  (because we all love our pets so dearly, you deserve to have a nice area so they don't have to tear up your lawn or track mud into your house)

- Retaining wall backfill

- Dry creek beds

- Drainage

- Fill decommissioned oil or fuel tanks and old swimming pools

We can bring you SAND to do the following*:

- Lightly cover a slippery area to give you confidence in each step you take

- Sandbags! In case of flood, we are able to bring you sand so you can fill sandbags to protect your home or business

- Horse paddocks can get muddy and dangerous for your animals, let us bring you sand to help ease your mind

- Mud control

We can bring you BARKDUST / MULCH / WOOD CHIPS to do the following*:

- Erosion control

- Insulate plants to keep them from freezing

*And now for the "mandatory" asterisk explanation: As previously stated, the above lists are only the tip of the iceberg and are meant to help get the creative juices flowing.  Our trucks can fit anywhere a dump truck can and instead of them leaving you to push a wheelbarrow in the rain, we put it right where you want it!  That means you can grab your umbrella, a cup of your favorite hot beverage and just watch us do it for you!

Our drivers go through an intense training period and are skilled at a wide variety of applications with different materials.  By using the conveyors we can place some materials up to 120 feet from the truck, over a 20 foot obstacle or even THROUGH a hole as small as a foundation vent!  We have ten trucks to serve you and always guarantee service within 24 hours of your order being placed. If you're in a hurry to beat the storm that's rolling in, we can often get to you the same day.

Getting materials delivered has never been this EZ and once you experience our great customer service, you'll be hooked! 

It's been a pleasure, as always. And until next time - stay safe and stay dry!

Kristin

We ROCK, even in the rainy season!

Heading into the rainy season in Oregon and Washington, it is likely that you will find pesky little (or large…) muddy areas around your home or office. Your animals might track that mud into unwanted places such as on your beautiful new driveway or that expensive white carpet. Or perhaps if you live with big animals, such as horses, you might need their paddocks dressed up. Keep us in mind! We will gladly bring you rock, bark chips, or sand to help clean that up!

We are also constantly working with our suppliers through the rainy season to keep a stockpile of dry soil in the Salem, Portland and Albany areas. Call or email us at Sales@EZGrade.com any time for a free estimate!

On a lighter note, you may or may not be aware that EZ Grade has a Facebook page. If you have a Facebook, you should definitely check it out and ‘like’ us! We’d also appreciate it if you’d leave comments and reviews if we have ever helped you out with a project before. This should help you get there.

I just realized that in the last post I didn’t give a big shout out and thank you to all of our EZ Grade employees and friends that were total ROCK STARS! Each of the guys below donated their time to help us be such a big part of the Extreme Makeover project. In no particular order, we would like to thank the following:

-          Ronnie Simons

-          Clyde Eli, iii

-          Dan Houston

-          Mike Hart

-          Brian Lulay

-          Justin Barrett

-          Zach Leigh

-          Dan Schleicher

-          Jimmy “Trina’s Little Bro” Donohue

Thank you SO much guys, you’re awesome and we appreciate you so, so much for everything you do!

And then, of course, there’s Trina who was there orchestrating the whole thing. Even while running around like a crazy lady at times and dealing with an injured husband, she managed to keep a smile on her face through the whole week. Without her, we wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome as we were. Special thanks to the Big Boss for keeping us all on our toes and running smoothly!

So, that’s that. Thanks for tuning in!

Until next time,
Kristin

Extreme Makeover - Rocked

Hey everyone!

The Extreme Makeover project is done and over with and it was a GREAT success! Everyone worked so well together – tradesmen worked with their competitors, volunteers worked with strangers, etc. It was so awesome to be a part of the project at the Oregon School for the Deaf. The kids (and adults!) were so excited when they learned that they were going on a vacation and...oh wait, you'll just have to tune in on Halloween to check it out! :)

Our drivers were seriously rock stars, I have to say. On Monday night (the 6th) we moved...are you ready? Brace yourselves... four trucks moved 800 TONS OF ROCK in four hours! Oh my goodness! They were hauling like crazy! On Tuesday Mike manned the site all by his lonesome, on Friday Brian and Ronnie placed sidewalk grade and did the porch fills.

Saturday we had to call in the troops! We had six trucks on site from about 8 AM to 9:30 PM, it made for a long day, but we took care of all the landscaping soil and some miscellaneous rock.

I was totally surprised and in awe when at precisely 8:55 AM on Saturday, September 11^th, the entire site shut down. Machines were shut down, work inside and outside the building ceased and hard hats were removed for a moment of silence followed by a prayer to remember those whose lives were lost nine years ago.

I should also note here that all day Saturday there were several firemen onsite helping out with anything and everything from sweeping to landscaping. It was so cool to see them just working away with their helmets on!

Later in the evening, Rich and Shelly Duncan were joined by a few servicemen and firefighters as another tribute was done. There were flags stationed everywhere all day long, both near the VIP tent and on each EZ Grade truck that was working on the site.

Have you ever noticed how beautiful our flag looks while flying high and proud?

All in all, this was a great project to witness and I’m SO glad we were presented the opportunity to be such a large part of it. Trina and I, as well as everyone else here at EZ Grade, cannot thank the Extreme Makeover team enough for such a unique and totally awesome experience. We sincerely wish them all the best and hope we get the chance to work with them again!

My time has run out and now I need to get back to work…so…

Until next time!

Kristin

The first installment...

Here at EZ Grade, we've been working hard to make sure our customers are ALWAYS 100% satisfied! !

We've recently been invited to work on the Extreme Makeover house in Salem starting September 6th! We are SO excited to have this opportunity and can't wait to help out!

Don't forget to visit our new website at www.EZGrade.com and check out the awesomeness! We also have a Facebook page at EZ Grade Conveyor Trucks. Make sure to let us know what you think!

Trina and I will be updating here every so often, just little quick tidbits and some info so keep checking in and call us any time for help on a project requiring delivery and placement of Rock, Sand or Soil!

Thanks guys!
- Kristin