March 2008 Newsletter

March 3, 2008
Erosion Times
E.F.S., Inc. / Grassworx SE, LLC.
Volume 4, Issue 3
The Edge of Paradise
!All the easy to de-elop
construction sites are gone5.
How many times ha-e you
heard that: Well< the
counterpart is that some of
the older
de-elopment
areas<
including those
on or near
lakes< are
suffering the
effects of
longtime
erosion and it
is now
?eopardizing
their sur-i-al
along the
shores. All of
the great lakes< the ocean
states< and other large lakes
ha-e issues with real estate
falling into the water or
eroding from the top down.
The main difference here is
the type of erosion. O-erland
flow causes different damage
than that of erosion by wa-e
action at the foot of these
properties. Historically< most
ha-e used block retaining
walls< with geogrid tie backs
that ha-e been solid when
installed correctly< howe-er<
they ha-e not met the DgreenE
reFuirements that ha-e
become so popular today.
The owners of these
properties< many with homes
built between 1880 and
1950< are frustrated after
losing se-eral feet of their
backyards and are looking
for solutions. In one case< on
a piece of property in Rocky
Ri-er< Ohio< their concern
peaked when their former
retaining wall partially fell
into Lake Erie.
The property owners
researched the topic on wall
structures< holding capacity<
ability to be DgreenE and other
factors. Their search
produced options ranging
from P20 per sFuare foot to
o-er P100 per sFuare foot
and included block
wallsRgabionsRother hard
structures as well as the
GeoGrid Reinforced Li-ing
Wall System.
The pre-ious wall system at
the property was a
typical wood tie
wall< installed about
15 years ago. The
pro?ect was re-iewed
to make sure that
the problem was not
caused by wa-e
action. It is actually
perched about 20
feet abo-e the lake<
on a shale shelf< so it
is really pretty stable. But
the erosion of the slope to
and o-er that shale shelf was
cause for concern.
The Li-ing Wall System<
which is an erosion control
tube or a combination of
geogrid and compost filled
DSoVVE which help increase
germination of the nurse
crop of -egetation. If you see
their backyard< it is like a
paradise of beautiful
landscape plants< and then
there is this mess of a wall
system that failed. So the
system allows them to blend
in with nature more and the
design actually mimics
nature closer than anything
else on the market.
To restore the Dgarden of
EdenE< the crew had to work
within the following
guidelines: limit damage on
eVisting plantsX due to access
use only small power toolsX
safety issues on steep slopesX
rapid establishment of
plantsX and use -egetation to
simulate parts of the rest of
the slope that has not yet
failed.
Inside this issue:
Employee Birthdays
2
Employee Anniversary
2
Inside this issue:
New Additions
2
New Employee’s
3
Look for the Good
4
Crew Leader of the
Month
4
Sales Corner
4
Who Am I Contest
5
Edge of Paradise Cont.
5
Employee Spotlight
6
Featured Jobsite
6
Special points of interest:
!" March 9th - Daylight Savings
Time Begins
!" March 13th - GUCA Hard Hat
Safety Awards, Turner Field
!" March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day
!" March 21st - GA DOT Letting
!" March 24th - Easter Sunday
!"ntin&ed "n *age -...
Employee Birthdays
#"Jose !Taco5 Lindero< EFS Crew
Leader< March 4th
#"Juan Flores< EFS Pro?ect
Manager< March 10th
#"Elder Diaz< GrassworV Laborer<
March 14th
#"Bernardo Figueroa< EFS Night
Crew< March 22nd
#"Fernando Cruz< EFS Crew
Leader< March 23rd
#"Ruperto Hernandez< EFS Crew
Leader< March 27th
#"Jose Fuentes< EFS Laborer<
March 20th
#"Ramon Guzman< EFS Pro?ect
/a**0 1i2t3da04
Manager< March 30th
Employee Anniversary
#"Jose Luis Flores< EFS Laborer<
March 1< 1995
#"Wilfredo Colocho< GrassworV
Laborer< March 26< 2003
#"Boris Diaz< GrassworV Dri-er<
March 21< 2005
#"Andres Feliciano< EFS Laborer<
March 8< 2000
#"Ruperto Hernandez< EFS
Crew Leader< March 7< 2005
#"Jose Martinez< EFS Warehouse<
March 21< 2005
#"FeliV Flores<
EFS Laborer<
March 5< 2001
#"Genaro Garcia<
GrassworV Dri-er<
March 5< 2001
#"Sandra Cruz<
EFS Receptionist<
March 12< 2001
#"Augustin Cruz< EFS Laborer<
March 21< 2005
#"Roberto Meza< GrassworV
Laborer< March 21< 2005
#"Carmelo Cha-ez< GrassworV
Laborer< March 21< 2005
#"Epifanio Soto< EFS Crew Leader<
March 13< 2006
#"Ilario Cha-ez< GrassworV
Laborer< March 21< 2005
#"Hugo Guarin< GrassworV Crew
Leader< March 27< 2006
#"Jesus Cha-ez< GrassworV
Dri-er< March 21< 2005
#"John Phillips< EFS Salesman<
March 7< 2007
/a**0 5nni6e27a204
New Additions
Congratulations to Epifanio and
Congratulations to Fernando and
Rosa Maria Soto on the birth of
Adriana Valencia on the birth of
their baby boy.
their baby boy.
Joshua Epifanio Soto was born on
Juan Sebastian Valencia was born
Friday< February 1< 2008.
on Thursday< February 28< 2008.
He weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces
He weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce
and measured 20 inches long.
and measured 19.5 inches long.
Mom< Dad and baby are all wellc
Mom< Dad and baby are all doing
!i#t%&' i) not ,'t a.aila0l'1
Page 2
1a80 9a:en!ia
greatc
Erosion Times
Carmen Dreier, Human Resources Manager
Carmen Dreier was born in New fork and raised back and forth
between New fork and Florida.
She attend a pri-ate college in Hollywood< Florida where she
recei-ed a Bachelors of Science Degree in business management.
She has worked in the Human Resources field for 13 years in
-ery di-erse industries and is currently studying for her
Professional Human Resources (PHR) Certificate.
Carmen and her son mo-ed to Atlanta fi-e years ago and she
has now found her way to us.
Please ?oin us in welcoming Carmen to EFSRGrassworV.
Luisa Williams, Customer Service Representative
Luisa Williams was born and raised in New Jersey. Two years
ago she mo-ed with her family to Florida. Howe-er< Luisa hated
all that fun in the sun< so they decided to mo-e to the peach
state.
She is currently enrolled in online schooling pursuing her
Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and has worked in
the customer ser-ice field for o-er 8 years.
Luisa has a three year old son that keeps her and her husband
busy with Tjball and a se-en year old daughter that is starting
soccer soon.
Please ?oin us in welcoming Luisa to EFSRGrassworV.
Magaly Barron, Customer Service Representative
Magaly Barron was born in Dallas< TeVas and mo-ed to
Clarkston< Georgia in 1987. She graduated from Clarkston
High School in 2000.
She attend Georgia Perimeter College taking Business
Management classes for o-er a year and a half.
Magaly has worked as a customer ser-ice representati-e for
UPS for se-en years and with Premier E-ents< bartending.
She decided she wanted to pursue a full time opportunity and
found her self here with us.
Please ?oin us in welcoming Magaly to EFSRGrassworV.
Volume 4, Issue 3
Page 3
Look for the Good
Congratulations to the winners of the February Look for the Good
contest< Santiago Cru, and -ane Martin. Santiago was nominated
by kane for always being such a great team player.
A few weeks ago we were scheduled to install three acres of hay mulch
on a pro?ect for GaryEs Grading. The area had to be co-ered that day<
the inspector was all o-er them about it. It was late in the day and the
crew was not going to make it to the site. To make things worse< it had
started to rain. Santiago -olunteered to go take care of it. He and two
laborers met kane at the ?ob. kane followed behind the crew to stop
traffic as they blew out the hay. While the inspector< yelled from his
truck< instructions on how to properly do the work. Regardless< the
customer was -ery impressed with our team work.
Thank you again Santiago for your can do will do attitude and thank
you kane for your nomination.
Crew Leader of the Month
Congratulations to the winners of the February Crew Leader of the
Month awardX Bonifacio Orda, and his crew Emmanuel Cende<as
and Gabriel Merida.
Bonifacio and his crew installed an a-erage of 73 feet per man hour
in the month of February. Their total footage installed for the month
was 34,717 feet. That brings their total footage installed to 69,680
feet in only two short months.
ludos to Fernando Cruz and his crew as well for coming in second
place< with 67 feet per man hour and a total of 29<582 feet installed in
February.
Way to go guys. leep up the great workc
Sales Corner
Congratulations to -ane Martin< winner of the Salesman of the
Month award for February. kane ?ust recei-ed the contract for
the Mulberry Creek pro?ect in Gaines-ille< Georgia from GaryEs
Grading and Pipeline. This was not an easy task. The pro?ect
will ha-e o-er 117<000 feet of Type C Silt Fence as well as
50<000 feet of Permanent Grassing.
We would also like to gi-e special recognition to 0ay Lambert
for his tremendous achie-ements for GrassworV in the month of
February.
Congratulations on a ?ob well donec
Page 4
Erosion Times
Who Am I Contest
Think you know this monthEs
mystery !Who Am I5 employee:
Submit your guess in the customer
ser-ice area or in the warehouse by
the time clock. The winner will be
drawn on March 31st and will
recei-e a P10 gift card.
The correct answer to last monthEs
contest was Billy Egan and the
winner of the Target gift card was
Sandra Cru,.
If you would like to submit your
picture for neVt monthEs contest
please email it or bring it to Carla
AVel to copy.
Edge of Paradise Continued...
The pro?ect began with a mini
eVca-ator remo-ing the top lip of the
1:1 slope< reshaping it to a manageable
2:1 slope. By remo-ing the lip and
laying the slope back< the fill was used
to le-el the areas below the steep lip
and repair some of the eVisting erosion.
Once the site grading was finished<
installation of the erosion control tubes
was undertaken.
The tubes were installed in combination
with a geoteVtile wrap. The grid allows
the tubes to be encased in a support
structure< while -egetation planted
comes out through the grid. The result
is a root< soil and grid miVture that
strengthens the slope and reduces the
chance for erosion or a slide. The first
tubes installed were at the bottom<
keyed into the slope and then
continually installed up the slope to the
top. Each layer was staked and
wrapped where reFuired< with the
geogrid. Duckbill anchors were dri-en
to a depth of about 3j4 feet to hold the
geogrid in place e-ery few feet. An 80
pound ?ackhammer was used to dri-e in
a 4 foot rod into the ground that sets
the Duckbill wire. The ?ackhammer was
needed because manual labor to dri-e
the anchors would ha-e taken days.
Once the tubes were completed the area
was top dressed with compost and
Page 5
planted with li-e stakes. Willows were
used along with perennial rye seeded
right in the tubes. The li-e stakes were
cut at an angle and pushed easily right
into the tubes and then into the slope
beneath them. Composted Dgrowing
mediaE was used as the filler material to
ensure Fuick establishment of the
-egetation. Planting can include plugs<
sprigs< seeds or li-e stakes and most
plants grow well in compost or high
organic soil miVes. The compost used
with the system pro-ides the ideal soil
reFuirements as Dfertile< well drained
soilE< along with the structural
component for stability.
One of the chief concerns for any pro?ect
is water reFuired for
germination and
establishment. Part of the
technology for wall
systems is to make sure we
can pro-ide water e-en in
the hottest months. A lot
of stream banks and wall
work like this may stop in
the heat of the summer. To
a-oid this problem the
crew installed irrigation in
each of the tubes so they
could work the entire
summer. The irrigation
was a crucial component in
the successful establishment of the first
wa-e of -egetation for this pro?ect.
In order to comply with current
drainage issues< the installation was
done in coordination with the addition
of slope drains and 45 drainage pipe< in
order to mo-e surface water and
downspout water into and through the
wall system.
Costs for the pro?ect utilizing the Li-ing
Wall were about 20m less than Fuotes
for a traditional block wall< while also
minimizing the potential for damages to
the eVisting landscapes. The finished
product< was the property owners
finally had their completed Dgarden of
EdenE on their edge of paradise.
Erosion Times
E.F.S., Inc. / Grassworx SE
Employee Spotlight - Reshma Frett
2450 Pleasantdale Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30340
Phone: 770-409-1515
Fax: 770-409-1117
Website: www.efsinc.net
www.grassworx.com
Your Erosion Control
& Grassing Solution
in the South
Reshma 4oined the EFS team on August 3, 2005>
She has been an invaluable member of our
accounting department and a
tremendous benefit to our company>
Featured Jobsite
This monthEs featured ?obsite is the Suwanee
Point pro?ect in Gwinnett County< Georgia.
On this pro?ect EFS installed o-er 5<100 sFuare
feet of the Grassy Pa-ers product for Arco Design
Build out of Atlanta< Georgia.
To begin this pro?ect EFS crews hand placed
each of the Grassy Pa-ers on a compacted and
le-el sand bedding layer which was placed on top
of the compacted subsoil.
If seedingX once the pa-ers are in place they are filled with a
topsoil miVture to the top of the pa-er 23'' in)'&t a0o.'4 and
watered thoroughly. If using sodX once the top soil is in place the
sod is rolled out on top of the pa-ers< watered and pressed into
place with a sod roller.