He Builds Custom Residential Bridges

He Builds Custom Residential Bridges FARM HOME Building Techniques Jonathan Overman of Joplin Mo builds custom pedestrian small vehicle and animal bridges “My wife and I started a steel fabrication business a little over 2 years ago ” he says “We dealt primarily in metal buildings but about 6 mos ago we built our first bridge to keep the guys busy while waiting for concrete to be done at our next construction site We really had no intention of building bridges as such a large portion of our business After we built the first one things took off ”  Overman uses pipe trusses for railings which makes the bridges exceptionally strong “Our target customers are looking for residential or private property bridges ” he says “When we place a bridge and a homeowner gets to walk to their island pond for the first time… that’s priceless We also run into a lot of property owners that have never been able to access parts of their property ” He’s also installed bridges for city parks Overman will deliver or install his bridges across the country “We recently installed a 55-ft bridge in northern Pennsylvania as well as a couple of pretty cool bridges in Georgia ” he says “We hope to be selling more and more hours from us Customers might not be able to justify the freight expense on a small bridge but the larger bridges have enough cost savings to justify the freight cost ”  Overman shares that his most popular bridge is 6 ft wide “We sell those bridges for $175 a linear foot so a 40 ft by 6 ft comes in right at $7 000 ” he says “We can custom-make any size and width and we’re typically 2 weeks out for a lead time ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jonathan Overman ph 417-499-0181; overmansteelandfab@gmail com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.