If you’re thinking of selling your home, ensuring that any lingering marine construction improvements are taken care of will be crucial to sealing the deal.  Potential buyers will be wary of purchasing property that has significant repairs that need to be made, most especially major damage or rehabilitation to seawalls, docks and decks, or boat lifts.

Consult with a trusted company that can advise you on what needs to be completed in order to protect your investment. Get a few estimates on repair costs and the time frame in which it can be handled. You don’t want to set up an open house for viewing and get caught with construction in progress.

Prepping your home for the market is one of the most important things you can do and will give you a better return on investment, as well as, help you sell your property quicker. Read here for more tips on preparing your home to sell with even little details on both the inside and out.

If you’re considering putting your house on the market and are interested in a free consultation for your marine construction repairs, please call (727) 942-3111 or email info@gibson-marine.com. We’ll come out and take a look!

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL – Leslie Pappas prides herself on making intelligent choices especially on high dollar investments involving her home. With a successful career in commercial real estate, Graduate degrees, and years of experience in marketing, Pappas was confident she performed her due diligence in choosing the right marine construction contractor. But, when it came to choosing the right company to repair and rebuild her seawall, she only made the right choice the second time around.

Pappas’ waterfront home sits on the edge of beautiful Indian Rocks Beach. With waterfront property, also comes waterfront issues and costly repairs, and in her case, a failing seawall in desperate need of restoration. In 2008, Pappas called around to local contractors and obtained eight cost and time estimates for rebuilding her seawall. Based on a previous relationship with a contractor who had performed piling work at her home, she contracted a company who was able to match the lowest bidder. Pappas would soon discover the company she chose first would be a costly mistake.

The company originally contracted to undertake the massive task of rebuilding the seawall had claimed it would take two weeks to perform its contracted duties. Upon completion of the project, seventeen weeks later, the nightmare for Pappas had only just begun. Within 6 weeks of completion, rust began seeping from under the seawall cap. Pappas hired an engineer to verify the defects of the wall against City code and the original engineer’s plans. Upon further discovery, there were 2-inch gaps between the seawall cap and the vinyl; rebar was protruding from the underside of the cap; the vinyl used was two grades lower than engineered specifications; and the concrete strength was 500 psi lower for the vinyl and 2000 psi lower for the cap than the original plans called for. The engineer declared her property in a state of emergency.

Pappas called on Gibson Marine Construction, one of the original eight bidders on the project, who immediately took action. They were forced to deconstruct and rebuild the newly rebuilt seawall due to shoddy workmanship and the use of low-grade, low quality materials which were used against the engineer’s plan and city code.

Despite the recourse she is currently facing with the previous contractor, Pappas couldn’t be more thrilled with the quality craftsmanship, professionalism, knowledge and integrity that the entire team at Gibson Marine demonstrated. “Professionalism isn’t a word big enough to describe Eric [the owner], Mike [the project manager], all the way to each construction worker. I knew from the first day I was dealing with honest, ethical people. And now, for the first time since I bought this home two years ago, I finally feel safe on my property thanks to Gibson Marine.”

Her message to consumers is to be proactive in due diligence when seeking contractors for your home. She also says to “Do your research! The lowest bidder isn’t always the most experienced or highest quality contractor for the job. I wish I had gotten references for the original sea wall contractor and checked with the county’s licensing board for complaints. Had I known how many complaints were issued against them, they never would have been hired in the first place.”

When Eric Swauger, owner of Gibson Marine Construction, was asked what sets his company apart from other contractors, he said, “Standards are raised at Gibson Marine Construction. For our sake and yours, we will always do the right thing; take the time to do the job right; and, pay attention to every detail….and that is our standard at Gibson Marine.”

Contrary to Pappas’ feelings about the original contractor, she says she doesn’t have a negative thing to say about Gibson Marine Construction. “From the time I moved into my home, knowing I had a failing seawall, to the day Gibson Marine completed the project, I have never felt as safe as I do now. If there was a higher score than A+, they’d get it!”

Failing seawalls, broken docks and maintaining our decks, boat lifts and waterfront lighting are additional issues that we, as waterfront property owners, must address in order to protect our personal property. It’s important to understand the  purpose of these necessary and costly features that surround our homes and how to choose the right contractor to help you with repairs or construction should one of them begin to fail.

A seawall, also known as a bulkhead or retaining wall, keeps the water from eroding the soil back into the water. The stability of any seawall is dependent upon variables such as wall height, sheet pile length and strength, wale system, backfill, foundation soil and tide. Curved seawalls allow waves to break against them while reducing their energy. Others are straight, designed to bring waves to a standstill.

Homeowners are looking at new ways to protect their properties due to the frequency of storms and hurricanes. The challenges of owning waterfront property include storm surges causing erosion, UV damage to traditional materials, corrosion of aluminum and steel, and deterioration caused by marine borers that thrive on pressure-treated lumber.

A seawall is an invaluable structure for those homeowners who live close to the water and rely on the wall to protect their homes from water damage. The constant ground movements and battering of the wall by the elements can often lead to unsightly cracks and a pitted surface. Once you see an area of your seawall starting to fail, its time to get it repaired. Putting it off will only cost you more in the long run.

Docks and decks can rot or break after time and if they aren’t protected with pressure-treated lumber or built with quality materials, they immediately become a safety hazard to your family or visitors.

Seawalls, docks and decks all present safety hazards if left untreated or unrepaired. Repairing or constructing can be costly, so it’s imperative that you choose the right contractor for the job.  Meet with potential contractors and learn about their experience, knowledge and staff who will be handling your project. And don’t always go with the lowest bidder without doing your research first.

The lowest price contractor may be missing some key elements to make it a quality project: highly skilled labor whose pay is commiserate with experience; a quality control and training department who knows what works and what doesn’t; and, manpower to conduct supervision and inspection to ensure no shortcuts are being taken, to name a few.

It’s only a matter of time before problems emerge and the joy of finding the lowest price is shadowed by the bitterness of an improperly completed job, ultimately resulting in unnecessary additional expense and inconvenience.

For your first choice in marine construction, we hope you’ll consider calling Gibson Marine Construction.  We only use the highest quality materials to save you time and money down the road. For our sake and yours, we will always do the right thing, take the time to do the job right, and pay attention to every detail. Gibson Marine Construction is a state certified general contractor and has over 30 years of local experience in building seawalls, docks and installing boat lifts for homeowners, resort and residential communities. For more information about Gibson Marine Construction’s services and experience, please call 727-942-3111 or visit our website at www.gibson-marine.com.

Crystal Bay, FL – The challenge of rebuilding a seawall is a massive undertaking in itself. When the project falls within a couple of feet of resident homes, that presents a whole new set of challenges. Crystal Bay Mobile Home Club on the Gulf of Florida, tasked local seawall company Gibson Marine Construction to take the project head on.

Crystal Bay, a 55 and older mobile home community, created a Seawall and Dredging Committee among its residents to research and contract a local company who would serve this unique project best. The committee met with the owner, Eric Swauger, and project manager, Mike Mittler, of Gibson Marine and unanimously decided that based on experience, knowledge and price that Gibson was the one for the job.

The project consisted of replacing approximately 285-feet of existing seawall in the waterfront community. Gibson developed a plan that allowed Crystal Bay to replace the existing seawall with a new vinyl seawall, cap, and tiebacks; also removing and replacing davit pads. Gibson had to work within a tight timeframe since most of the homeowners, whose homes sat so closely to the project worksite, would be affected by noise and minor inconveniences. They agreed to work in the month of July, when most homeowners were out of town.

Becky, the office manager from Crystal Bay said, “Both the job itself and the clean-up process was quite labor intensive and the whole crew put forth an effort above and beyond our committees’ satisfaction.” She also said they would not hesitate to work with Gibson Marine on future projects.

Owner of Gibson Marine Construction Eric Swauger said, “the project was certainly a challenge, but not one we couldn’t handle. Our depth of experience allows us to take on unique projects like Crystal Bay and we’d be happy to continue working with them in the future.” Eric has years of experience in concrete pumping, construction and seawalls combined and the company itself has over 30 years of local experience in marine construction.

Gibson Marine Construction is a state certified general contractor and specializes in building seawalls, docks and installing boat lifts for homeowners, residential communities, resort communities, and developers. For more information about Gibson Marine Construction’s services and experience, please call 727-942-3111.

About Crystal Bay Mobile Home Club: Crystal Bay Mobile Home Club is a lovely 55+ community on the Gulf side of Florida. Conveniently located on ALT 19, it is one of the few waterfront communities left in Florida where each resident owns its own property. The community is approximately 15 miles west of Tampa and about the same distance north of Clearwater Beach. For more information about Crystal Bay, please visit their website at www.crystalbaymhc.com.