Sledge & Hammer Construction's owner, David, began his general contracting career in 1977. He worked as a laborer for a Pennsylvania-based construction company that specialized in building single-family homes. He assisted the carpenters with the exterior framing and observed how anchor bolts were embedded into the concrete footers so that the framing could be attached to the foundation. This was the start of his love for the construction and concrete business. In 1980, he enlisted in the United States Navy to further his construction education and increase his work experience. He joined the Seabees, which is an acronym for Construction Battalions.
During his first deployment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo Bay), in 1981, he worked as a crew member on a 22-mile sidewalk and curb project. This project allowed additional accessibility to the barracks, which was necessary since the population of service members were increasing.
Upon completion of this project, he assisted with the construction of 10 metal-framed cabanas, which were built throughout the base on the sand and coral beaches. The challenge of this project was hoisting the 15-foot by 30-foot concrete molded roofs onto the frames. These cabanas were to replace the wooden structures that were decrepit and providing little or no shade from the sun.
In 1984, while completing a deployment in Puerto Rico, he worked as a crew member on the 80-foot by 50-foot clubhouse for the service members who were among the enlisted ranks. This project gave the enlisted members a place to socially meet on the base. He worked with a team to pour the building’s concrete footers, foundation pads, walls and interior columns, as well as the sidewalk leading to the building. In addition, this team was responsible for laying 70 feet of sewer lines that connected to the base’s main water line.
In 1988, David returned to Gitmo Bay. During this deployment, the base’s commanding office determined that the libraries at the elementary and high schools were inadequate. He approved a request to have one library built on base that would be accessible and beneficial to all service members, their families and students. David worked as a crew leader on this project. He managed the monolithic pour for the building’s concrete footers, pads, columns, walls and roof. He oversaw the proper installation of the building’s sewer lines, as well as the HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems.
Upon the completion of this project, David became the crew leader for Gitmo Bay’s childcare center. He managed the concrete pours of the building’s footers and foundations. He taught his crew the proper way to build exterior block walls and interior metal walls and assisted them during the process. He taught his crew how to hang drywall. He also taught them how to install sewer lines as well as HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems. Due to the cooperation of his crew, David completed this project 20 percent ahead of schedule. This was a happy occasion for the service members and their families, since there was no preschool available before that time.
In 1995, David was stationed in Gitmo again and was asked to take on the position of MLO (Military Liaison Officer). He oversaw the distribution of construction materials valued at more than $52 million. His responsibilities included reviewing and scoping each project to insure that all blueprints were correct, the proper amount of manpower was assigned, start and completion dates were reasonable and that each crew leader had the correct amount of materials.
In 1998, David started a deployment in Honolulu. During that time, he worked on one of his most difficult projects. The base’s commanding officer felt the service members needed more recreations opportunities and asked David to oversee the completion of a concrete batting cage. This cage was to be 100-feet in diameter with 16 separate pie-shaped sections that were to be 35 feet long and slope 15- to 18-degrees. His first challenge was cutting more than eight feet into the coral for a drainage pipe that was to surround the batting cage. His second challenge was making sure that each pie-shaped section had a smooth and continuous surface that started six inches above grade and ended 42 inches below grade. In addition, he had to run 125-feet of conduit underneath each section from the six batting machines to the control buttons to the main feed. David completed this project in just 89 days, 26 percent ahead of schedule, and was awarded the Navy Achievement Metal.
During his last deployment, David accepted a special assignment as an instructor at the Port Hueneme, California Seabee base. He was responsible for teaching the Navy’s new Seabees the art of brick and block laying, concrete pouring, hanging drywall, installing windows and doors, installing HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems and installing sewer lines. David retired from the Navy in January 2001.
Sledge & Hammer Construction provides general contracting and concrete services to residential customers and businesses located in the counties in the upper northern Illinois and lower southern Wisconsin areas.
