Sometimes it's not all pritty and stuff...

Some of our best work isn't all that pritty.

We excell in finish excavation with our precision equipment. We pride ourselves in a finished product no matter how ugly it may be.

The picture above was of a 150 foot building and it was so big that I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture......just half. 

We finish graded the floor (after dropping it 12" in the center) to make it ready for pea gravel and concrete retaining walls

This was a round pole building for tribe meetings just outside of Grand Coulee in Nespelem

We work for some of the best contractors in the Northwest. This particular project we completed for Stimson Contracting.

And just to clarify....The dirt was ugly...the building....

Beautiful

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

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What does "Quarry Direct" mean for you?

After a long weekend at the Spokane Home & Yard Show....

I just wanted to reflect for a moment......

I spent a lot of time this weekend explaining to prospective  customers that we are "Quarry Direct"

What does that mean to you? (the prospective customer)

Well it means a significant cost savings. That's what it means!

We have relationships with all of the rock quarries in the Pacific Northwest and when we make a plan for your project that involves boulders, I get on the horn and get the ball rolling.  We send our drivers out and get your materials directly from the source.....

No Middle Man.....

We are the middle man....

Other landscapers around Spokane buy their materials from us.

What that translates into?

More material for your hard earned dollar when you hire us to do your project

 

And you wanna know the kicker?

 A lot of the time I go and sort the material out for your project myself.

So in summary.

I come to your home and look at your project, I go to the quarry to find just the right material for your project and I do the work on your project. 

Talk about Quality Control.....Just sayin'

TTT

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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Artistry in motion

Making a water feature isn't just putting in a liner and throwing down a couple of rocks and hoping for good water flow over the top. It has taken me quite awhile to get to the point where I can look at a rock and tell immediately if it will fit in "my" design. The background work I put into each and every one of my water features is really never something the customer sees. I spend many an hour pouring over our endless plies of rocks searching for those ever elusive falls rock. I always find them....just sometimes it takes longer than others. Each feature I put together is unique to the surrounding yard and the rocks I pick need to reflect that as well....

Because

When I get done and turn on the pump I truly want it to be artistry in motion.....

I can't draw worth a darn but I can sling a heck of a rock...

TTT

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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Having a little fun....Just part of the job

I was raised with the notion that if you didn't enjoy what you were doing that......

1. You weren't going to do it very well.

or.

2. You were going to be a grouch doing it.

Let me tell you right now that

We love what we do

and it shows

There is no reason that you cannot have fun while you work. 

As long a the job is getting done well

If you enjoy what you are doing 

You will do a better job

So if you hear us laughing and hanging off the equipment for a picture just remember that your project will look better because of it......

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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The request for Jaden's Journey

It was brought to my attention by a comment in this blog that I have been discussing Jaden's Journey in this blog but have never really explained what Jaden's Journey really was. Well in the last two weeks I have been blogging about this Journey in another blog called Spokane Grapevine.

If you would like to read more about Jaden's Journey please follow the link below.....

Jaden's Journey on Spokane Grapevine

Jaden's Journey and The Home & Yard show...Can you say Juggle?

We took a few minutes today to break away from Jaden's Journey 

We went down to the Fairgrounds

and

Set up our booth at 

The Home & Yard Show

I thought it was gonna look pritty pathetic

BUT......

It ended up looking kinda cool

Very simple and to the point

WE DO ROCKS!

That is what we do

That is what are booth says

and quite honestly....

Jaden is more important than spending thousands of dollars putting up a booth that you tear down in 3 days.

I do believe that our potential customers will understand

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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My friend Scott Travis

My Friend....

Scott Travis

(he's the one on the right)

I just wanted to say a few words about Scott before I put in the Testimonial he wrote for us

Scott is one of the nicest guys on the planet

always willing to pitch in and lend a hand

I am honored to call Scott

My Friend.....

He is the co-owner of Twisted Pair

They do Web Streaming

Let me just say that I didn't really get to know him until after he wrote this testimonial

I met Monte from Cascading Creations on a cold snowy day in December. He was plowing an adjoining businesses parking lot.  He had already without being asked plowed out a path for some of our News vehicles that were having difficulties in the snow. I hired him on the spot.  He took a pro-active interest in the safety of clearing our lot.  He was calling before it snowed not after it snowed to get permission.  I have received many complements on the condition of our lot as compared to others around town. And in the midst of the worst snow year Spokane has ever experienced. Monte's equipment allows him to clear the snow almost to the pavement and to place it where you want it rather than just push it into piles.  We lost very few parking spots to piles of snow. The safety of our employees is very important to us and most of the credit goes to Monte.

Sincerely

Scott Travis

KXLY Broadcast Group

Engineering/Building Maintenance     

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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The story behind the steps.....

Sometimes you may look at one of our projects and say.....Cool.....

Well, behind every one of our projects is a story.......

Here is the story behind this unique set of steps.....

Their was a gentle slope of grass following along the concrete edging granting easy access to the flower bed. That is, easy access for someone without M.S. 

You see....this gentleman came to me with a problem. His wife loved her flowers but could no longer tend to them because of the gentle slope of grass. Her balance would be thrown off by the slope and she was prone to falling. Her husband was just beside himself because his wife had lost yet another one of her passions to the disease. 

His wife was scheduled to be out of town for a couple of days

He asked us for our help.

This was our solution......

We put this set of sandstone steps along the flower bed so each step was a level landing

We finished the project and were raking out the flower bed when she arrived home

She had no idea

She cried.......

So did I......

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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Yep...It's that time of year agian. The Home and Yard show time

Well...it's that time of year again. 

We will be in the Spokane Home & Yard show agian this year.

Last year we had a huge 30 foot display.

This year is a little different

Due to Jaden's Journey and The Extreme Team we have decided to shrink our display to just one 10 foot booth. 

We feel it is more important to be with Jaden this year

I hope you understand

We will be there with bells on Starting Thursday the 24th of February and ending on the 27th. 

You can find the schedule on the Jim Custer website

I really hope to see you all there....

TTT

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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Just workin' for the little man.....

 

He is my boss for the next week or so

Nothing really to report today

I just wanted to share

TTT

Monte Tareski
 

Cascading Creations

 

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We pay the sales tax

We run a Home and Yard show special every year

This year we are opening it up to our blog followers 

and

FACEBOOK FANS

If you sign with us on any project we bid

Before March 1st

WE WILL COVER THE SALES TAX

It's that simple

Call now for a bid and save some money

509-244-0900

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Commitment to our community.

 

Commitment to our community.

It's not just something we say

It's what we do....It is how we live

This community supports us....We know that....We give back

So do our employees

Thank you Jake for helping Jaden on your day off. 

He was watching!

My hat is off to you my friend

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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The Grapple and The Flower

There is nothing substantial with this post....

It is just that sometimes you need to stop and pick the flowers

This is how I do it...

I hope this made you smile....

TTT

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Speaking of Column Rocks!

Did you know we can supply Column Rock in Spokane Cheaper than anyone else?.....

How do I know?

Because I checked!

and Guess what?

It comes from the same place!

We charge by the truck load not by the foot!

We can deliver a dump truck load of Column Boulders 4' tall and under (appx 35 columns). for a mere $1500.00 + tax. If you do the math on that same truck load of columns from our competitors you would be looking at a load of rock that could exceed $5000.00!!! 

Yea.......I'm not kidding.

You want to know the funny part?

We still make a small profit at that price.

So it makes you wonder why they charge so much huh?

Well to be honest....

So Do I

And if you are so inclined to have us place those rocks after we drop um off we can accommodate that as well. Keep that in mind the next time you think you may want to decorate with this beautiful natural rock from right here in the Great Northwest. We carry plenty of them in stock so come take a look for yourself.....you wont be dissapointed!

TTT

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Stairway To Heaven......

 

Ok....So it really was just a stairway from their back porch up to the roadway but hey...I really enjoyed this project.

For me it was a stairway to heaven 

I love working with Column Rock

They make AWESOME natural rock staircases

What you see in this picture was a half load of Columns (around $1000)

And a day's worth of equipment time ($1720)

This portion of the customer's project was under $3000 with tax. There were over 30 Column Rocks involved in this project with 20 stair treads,  the mock hand rails, a small retaining wall and all the finishing touches. Compare that pricing with the cost of  concrete or any other contractor doing work with columns. The picture does not do this piece of art any justice. It was truly amazing and a blast to complete....I love....love....love....working with Column Rock.

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Tootles Till Tomorrow (TTT)

In a tight spot? Gettin' the job done with Cascading Creations

One of the more uinque abilities we have is to get into places that only have 6 1/2 foot fence and doing all the work of a large machine. 

It's all about leverage. 

 -

We can place boulders up to 4 ft in diameter with this fine piece of equipment (even bigger with our skid steer). We have built rock retaining walls in back yards from Medical Lake to Liberty lake. The best part is that we don't tear up your back yard in the process. We take the time to take care of the ground we are working on. See...It's eaiser to not have to fix the ground than tear it up and try to patch it......Just sayin'..... 

Tootles Till Tomorrow (TTT)


Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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What in the heck are we doing here?

Take a good hard look at this picture.....

We have been asked to do some pritty interesting things with our equipment but this one had to take the cake.....

Just thought I would share.....

If you are so inclined to comment....Let me know what you think we were doing....I'm thinking your answers might make me smile.

Tootles Till Tomorrow (TTT)

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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The Extreme Team: Jaden's Journey

I know this is kind of a goofy picture of me but hey......I enjoy what I do.

Remember I told you all a few posts ago that we like to donate time in our off season?

Well Mark Peterson of KXLY's Good Morning Northwest is a friend of mine. When he asked if we wanted to be part of their latest project.....

I thought about it (for about 5 seconds this time) and jumped on board with both feet. 

We will be providing the excavation for this project. Let me tell you that I am proud to be part of such a great cause. The credit does go to Mark for this.

We are just a piece of the puzzle.  

If I can wrangle Mark into it, I will see if I can get him to write up a little something for this blog as well.


Tootles Till Tomorrow

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Demolition....It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.

We do Demo...

Yes we do...

We do Demo...

How bout you?

Many times in the course of a landscaping project we are needed to tear out existing landscaping and replace it with rock. Pictured above is a railroad tie retaining wall that we tore out to replace it with a column boulder retaining wall.

We have teamed up with a local disposal company to economically and quickly remove all the unwanted debris from your project to give it a whole new appearance.

So not only can we put in the new....We can tear out the old.

We have a complete package set up if you are just waning to clean up your property as well.

We are here to make you look good and save you money in the process.

Come check out our "Site Clean Up" page for details.

Tootles Till Tomorrow (TTT)



Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Nine Mile Falls Elementary....It's a kid thing.....

 

In our off season we find ways to stay busy.....

What you see in the first picture is what we had to start with.

The Nine Mile Falls Elementary PTG hired us to put in an outdoor classroom.

Here was the problem....They didn't have enough in their budget to cover the whole project. 

After long consideration (approximately 10 seconds) My wife and I decided to donate our time (equipment and labor) to get this done for them.

It was a labor of love. 

"Why" you may ask yourself....

"We LOVE kids" would be the answer....

To put in something this beautiful for a school had always been something I had wanted to do. The Nine Mile Falls PTG did cover the cost of the rock, so we weren't out the cost of the whole project. But together we were able to make an outdoor classroom that could be enjoyed for years to come. 

We just wanted to share.....

Tootles Till Tomorrow (TTT)

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Retaing walls for sale....Get your retaining walls here.

So wadda ya think it costs for a retaining wall built out of bolders? Well let me tell you. Since my competitors want to keep it a big secret on how to determine the cost of a retaining wall built out of boulders, I thought I would break down how we figure it out. 

Remember we charge Time and Materials directly to the customer. 

For a complete discription of what that means. 

CLICK HERE

Lets just say you have an area that is 50 foot long and you want a retaining wall that is approximately 4 foot tall. That would mean you have a total face foot of wall of around 200 ff. 

Here is how we figure it out.

• One Box of Rox (one dump truck load)
• 1/2 day for two pieces of equipment.
• 1 Box of 7/8 basalt back fill (optional)

Cost $1000.00(rock) + $860.00 (equipment) + $300.00 (optional back fill) = $2160.00

That works out to $10.80 per face foot. 

Your choice of several kinds of rock too.

If you upgrade the materials to Column Rock (you know that really cool 8 sided rock by the airport) you only add $500.00 per box of Rox.
 

Premium COLUMN BOULDER WALL is only $13.30 per square foot!!

Ask any other company in town how much it will cost to build you a Column Rock Wall and watch um squirm.

Here is the kicker. 

We will also install a set of steps 

(using the rock you have selected) 

AT NO EXTRA CHARGE!

Now that you are a little more educated on retaining walls made out of boulders you can make a more informed decision.

Tootles Till Tomorrow. (TTT)

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Date night....At Les Schwab?

No....I didn't take my Daughter on a date night at Les Schwab. I did however take her out on a date night so I didn't have much time to write a post. So I just thought I would show you a really neat picture of the Sign we did for Les Schwab.....That's all. See ya back here tomorrow!

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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Time to fix things around the shop with Gizmo Fabrication

It would seem that every now and again we need to take a break from building walls and making water features. Well that only makes sense since it is winter and all. 

So wadda ya do?

You fix stuff....Thats what you do.

I invited Thomas Carbary from Gizmo Fabrication over to "help" me fix the Aluminum Elk that had fallen over last summer in a wind storm. What really happened is......Thomas came over and fixed the Elk that had fallen over last summer in a wind storm. Let's just say I held the welding rod......

If you need something welded, fixed or fabricated then Thomas is your guy. See the difference between him and any other welder is that he has the eye of an artisan since that is what he primarily does.....art.

Great Guy....Great work

Monte Tareski
 
Cascading Creations

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What in the heck is T & M.....

So....What in the heck is T & M?

T&M Stands for Time and Materials. You may hear contractors talk about T&M this and T&M that but and basically it is "Code" for what the job is going to cost them. 

Here is what I do with all of the estimates that we do. We bid T&M to the customer. 

"Why would you do that?"

 I have been asked

Here is what I tell the prospective customer....

"We are the materials"

• One: Owning a landscape materials yard means we are the materials.  

• Two: as I am the one going to be running the equipment most of the time I sure as heck know how much time it is going to take. If I didn't, I have no business doing the estimate. Don't you think?

 So if you ever hear a contractor throwing around the term Time and Materials you will know what that means. For most  it is their cost on a job. For us it means YOUR cost on a job. And trust me they are one in the same (Their cost with them, and Your cost with us) if you catch my drift.

 

Monte Tareski
Cascading Creations

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So....How much is it gonna cost me?

Have you ever had a contractor come to your house to bid on a project? If you have, what was the turn around on the estimate?

Well.....let me tell you my take on it.  

When I first started doing estimates for homeowners I would walk on to the property and have a look around. Nine times out of ten I would already have a number in my head before I left. I would then tell the prospective customer that I would get them an estimate within a week or so. That was just plain dumb.

Here were the problems with that method of estimating:

• I did believe that I would produce an estimate within a week, but guess what? Life happens.
• When (and if) I  found time to do the estimate a week later I had forgotten several details about the project.
• I may need to go back and re-measure. (more time involved)
• I would  forget altogether and (heaven forbid) the customer has to call me and ask where their estimate is.

Here is my simple solution (and it has worked flawlessly)

I do the estimate while I am there going over the project with the customer.

Why is this important? Well, let me tell you.

I already have an idea what it will cost and you (the customer) have asked me to come to your home for one reason.....an answer to your question.

"So......How much is it gonna cost me."

Since then I have changed things up a bit.....

I've made it my mission to answer that question when I am there the first time. Not a week later. Not on the phone. Not by email. Right now right there. You will have an answer to your question before I leave. I do follow up with an "official" estimate by email within 24 hours, but 95% of the time it hasn't changed from when I was sitting there with you going over all of the details. All of that and it is a Time and Materials estimate to boot......I will go over that more tomorrow. Untill then, have a fantastic day!

Monte Tareski
Cascading Creations

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