Dreaming of Sunny Summer Days with Fisher Excavating

For many, this time of year is spent dreaming of sunny summer days. Perhaps thoughts like these get you preparing for your spring cottage or waterfront home projects. Whether it’s landscaping, building or new dredging, there are many steps needed for your project to take place. If you’re thinking about changing your shoreline, Fisher Excavating is the team to call.

Dwaine Fisher and his wife, Lindsey, decided it was time to go into business for themselves in 2006. Today they carry six to eight employees, depending on the time of year, and have a growing fleet of equipment including a construction barge which facilitates shoreline and island work. Following its purchase in the summer of 2018, the Fishers spent months customizing the barge to assist the type of work they do. The barge is an integral tool for allowing accessibility; it provides safe and easy transportation of the equipment and supplies needed to tackle your shoreline restoration, demolition, excavation for a new build or septic installations and repair, especially at hard-to-access waterfront properties or islands.

“Having our own barge means we can do the work on our timeline, instead of having to wait for the availability of someone else’s barge,” says Dwaine, “and there is the added

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peace of mind that comes from knowing the barge is in good repair, fully licensed and insured.”

For the Fisher team, the job doesn’t begin when the equipment moves onsite – it begins by walking the customer through all aspects of the job, no matter the project. Lindsey explains that it isn’t uncommon for them to take the customer to the location of a past project, or use photos to provide a “before and after” to show them what is possible.

Establishing a good working relationship with other contractors on any jobsite is integral. In the end it’s all about the overall customer experience – Fisher believes everyone involved in the process bears the responsibility of making sure the experience is a good one. The customer also has a big role to play in this, Dwaine adds. “It’s important to ask for the credentials of your contractor before starting any construction or renovation,” he explains. 

A jobsite where everyone is properly trained and knows their job is a productive, proactive jobsite. “As a construction business owner, we understand that we need to have insurance on our machines and our workers, but many people don’t know that environmental insurance is required when a construction company would like to work on and around any waterways.” says Dwaine. Fisher Excavating takes all these insurances seriously and ensures they are following eco guidelines.

For every job, Fisher arranges for all required permits. A new build could involve permits for demolition and septic, as well as those required by the conservation authority. For example, did you know there are rules in place which prohibit disruption of the water sediment during certain months based on your area? With such a delicate balance when working between water and land, details like these are of utmost importance.

If a client is considering purchasing an existing house or cottage, Fisher will inspect the current septic system and evaluate its viability – it may not be up to spec if one is planning changes to the capacity of the household. Septic installers must be licensed, and the Fisher team have gone to school and obtained the necessary tickets to do the job knowledgeably and efficiently.

If a planned project involves a boathouse and/or shoreline work, this requires another field of expertise. Dwaine Fisher understands local water levels and the ramifications of changes in those levels. He has an excellent working relationship with Trent-Severn Waterway and the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority, and understands their perspectives on shoreline conservation, habitat protection, etc. This allows him to work with contractors and builders, lending his expertise in order to avoid problems which could prove disastrous down the road.

From residential to commercial, grading and dredging to concrete work, river rock, armour stone and so much more, Fisher Excavating and Grading is proud to serve Kawartha Lakes.

Check out their website: www.fisherexcavating.ca, or contact them at 705-878-3714 (Bus), 705-878-6474 (Mobile) or by email at fisherex@live.ca