Custom Skate Ramp Installation Days...
During the holiday rush (October through December) of 2011 to be specific. We (OC Ramps Inc) got flooded with calls for projects to build half pipes for customers in their backyards in and around the Orange County area. The first up was a house in Huntington Beach which was located down the street from a golf course. It was Saturday around eight in the morning that we got to work unpacking all the wood from the back of the company truck.
Time to assemble and build. Thirty minutes later the build crew raised the first piece of wood in place then fastened with nails and electric screw drivers. Randy, a seasoned half-pipe building expert was doing one half of the build while the other was done by the “New Bloods” learning how to get their hands dirty. The crew wanted to be done by the afternoon to beat the lunchtime crowd. Four hours later after hundreds of screws and perilous work looking at every screw hole, making sure there were none missing. The job was complete we made the deadline but we knew we could meet it because the crew were overconfident in their building skills. Time to reflect back on the drive home. How did the customer who bought the half pipe react? Based on their facial expression and body gestures they were ecstatic that they had a ramp in their backyard to ride out the rest of the day. Another satisfied customer. Our next stop would be in Tustin—a few weeks thereafter.
We arrive to the project site in Tustin for another custom mini ramp build. Same as before unloaded all the fabricated wood from the trucks for build assembly in the backyard. But what made this build different was that there were an eight men building crew instead of the usual four which of course made it four times faster. Within no time at all the build crew were done by eleven that morning an hour earlier than expected. The customer as always was all but happy once the last coat of Skatepaint was applied to the ramp for added protection to ride on their newly constructed half pipe. Two half pipe builds down one left to go.
The building crew arrived at the OC Ramps warehouse (in Santa Ana) for the last build of the season. Load up on hardware supplies and drive down to Laguna Beach with the rising sun behind us as we coast down the highway in our cars to the final project destination. In some way the crew could sense that the hardest part was yet to come. Maybe it was the fact that we had two half pipe builds lined up back to back in the same day or possibly it was getting hotter by the hour as the day rolled on. Whatever the cause by the time it hit the afternoon and the first build done we had to take a break to recharge the batteries for our power tools. So this was as good as any time to find the nearest convenient store to stock up on Doritos's and Gatorade for some much needed energy boost so that we could eventually finish what we had set out to do. With the plywood birch laid down and the last screw set into place (hours later from when we had started) it was time to wrap things up; time for last minute details and quality control. All set for the layers of skate paint to be applied to the half pipe. Once again it was time to reflect on what we had spent building. How did the customer react once the build was over? The kids went nuts. Completely nuts. They were so jazzed and excited I thought the glass windows were going to shatter from their cheer! The day was over everyone who had been a part of the three builds knew that they had built a solid product that they could be proud of at the end of the day.
The most beneficial thing for the crew of OC RAMPS is the expression we get from our customers with our products. We pride ourselves in quality and professional ramps; when you order from OC RAMPS…that’s what you’ll get!