Smiling JOe said:
more upsetting to me is the looks of the beach at Blue Mtn Beach. .......
Smiling Joe,
I agree with most of your assessment.
Here's how I see "it". BMB has a lot of older beach style houses. Many were built before a CCCL even existed (from what I understand). The cost basis that some of these owners have in these homes is very low. Some of those owners may not have the financial means to just throw in up to $200,000 for a decent retaining wall and sand. And don't forget, some people are just "financially imprudent" =
cheap.
So.. an owner asks him or herself, why should they put in a lot of money to protect this old structure. So they don't. They look for the lowest bid for the type of wall they want.
So what happens... contractors with experience mainly in bay or land based construction now solicit jobs on the beach which require more expertise (in my opinion) that it does on the bay or land.
The contractors started off with a low bids because of (I believe) inexperience. Some owners managed to lock in these bids with a contract. What I notice is that some of these contractors became stretched out as they executed, with the large amount of work they received and also, because of inefficiency.
The speed, efficiency and professionalism of our contractor completely dwarfed (in my opinion) the majority of contractors out there. This is not just my opinion by the way.
What's the point of the above you ask?.................
I too see the same craziness in regards to material, equipment (both functioning and non-functioning) and so on.
Located east of the 83 access, I once mentioned on a post that a composite wall that was going in. The driven sheet piles looked like crooked teeth on a red neck who can't spell the word dentist (sorry if I offended anyone
). Now they have been yanked back out like bad teeth, the last I saw. Are they starting over? I'm not sure. Maybe you saw, SJ? But now the April 30th deadline is bearing down on everyone. Talking about pressure for some. If they don't finish by then, the wall may be open to destruction if we get hit during the summer before they can come back during the winter to finish.
There are good contractors and there are bad contractors. I believe a few local contractors got in over their head and simply can't perform to the level needed for a good retaining wall that is built to withstand forces of a seawall.
About your statement....
"HOWEVER, what the phuck were they thinking not bringing it back at least as far as the cliffs which were exposed in the previous storms? That will be the first one to wash out after the first decent sized storm."
Now you're sounding like me with my concern for one of my neighbor's inferior wall. In addition, because of that, I asked our contractor to "extend" the end curtain wall adjacent to the inferior wall a few more feet up to the bluff.
You'll also notice (probably buried now), that the return wall for the house just west of the 83 access went back quite a ways for the same reason you're discussing.
SUMMARY:
I believe BMB will clean up nicely, no real worries here. Just hang in there. I and my neighbors certainly have. I bought in to this area for its beauty. I still believe it's there. I will personally try to do anything I can to preserve it (believe it or not).
Today's weather was gorgeous. The beach looked gorgeous (other than the above). The tourists are upon us. Restaurants are packed again. Our retaining wall is finished. Our walkover is in. Things are looking up from my perspective.
Let's take it one hurricane season at a time. We're getting good at that.