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- Bozeman Build Report #14
Bozeman Build Report #14
Daniel Zavadil
May 27, 2024
Howdy builders of Montana!
Happy Memorial Day to everyone tuning into the Bozeman Build where we cover blue collar/build topics around Montana and the Northern Rockies. Today, were pealing back electrician pay, taking a look at who has health code violations around Bozeman, tearing down ski lifts, elevating wages, dodging meteors, short circuiting electric semi trucks, and more. Thanks again for reading and enjoy the next 5-7 minutes of some blue collar madness.
Framing near complete on a new apartment build East of the Gallatin Valley BMX track
Keep the saw sharp,
When, what, and who is the Bozeman Build? The BB is a 1x/week free email newsletter delivered every Monday morning focused on mountain West trades with an emphasis on Montana. The author is Daniel Z who has a background in accounting, commodities, construction, trucking, and has a small business called blockbiome. Daniel is not a financial or building advisor.
P.S. Reach out and tell me what you’re working on, maybe you’ll get featured!
Block Biome + Bozeman Build Research and Finds
Dump truck rates SW MT
Hourly rate for a dump truck with a typical haul capacity of 15 tons
Yellowstone County - $130
Park County - $125
Gallatin County - $135
Source being phone calls - one call per county. Please note these rates can vary per company and that these quotes are for side dump for hire by the hour not including materials.
Journeyman Electrician hourly pay by Rockies city
Each sample was the average of >5 journeymen wages per city. Data from Indeed.
Craigslist/Marketplace find of the week
 They don’t make em like they used to |  Oil pipe reliably goes for $60-$70/stick |
 The US Govt banned 3 wheelers in 88' |  Ya, my house has an elevator |
Matts pole barn rough price breakdown
My cousin Matt built a post frame structure back in 2021 around Central Nebraska. I felt inclined to share some cost figures with the Bozeman Build Audience. Dimensions are 48 × 64 amounting to 3,072 square feet with a 17.5’ ceiling. Matt saved a bunch of money installing the radiant heat himself also purchasing R10 foamboard at $25/sheet before it near doubled in price the following year. Please note that current prices, contractor rates, other environmental factors may lead you to different numbers than what’s listed below.
 Exterior view of the pole barn |  In floor heat system |
 4×6 post w/green treated base |  Sturdi-Wall, Drill Set Bracket |
70k - frame, prodex, steel siding and roofing materials, labor (contracted)
12k - in floor radiant heat with a 144,000 btu unit running 7/8 tubing (DIY)
18k - concrete, foamboard, rebar, labor (contracted)
25k - fixtures, doors, ceiling spray foam, misc (contracted)
125k total for 3,072 sqft or appx $41/square foot
Commodities
Prices as of Friday May 24th 2024 around 2pm.
Montana hard and soft commodities
Hard | Price | Weekly | Monthly | YoY |
Copper | $4.76 | -5.72% | 4.91% | 32.70% |
Crude Oil | $77.72 | -2.34% | -7.21% | 8.05% |
Natural Gas | $2.53 | -3.40% | 27.73% | -0.87% |
Soft | ||||
Wheat | $699.62 | 7.43% | 12.75% | 15.78% |
Live Cattle | $183.69 | 1.57% | -0.02% | 11.48% |
Lumber | $529.53 | 0.38% | -0.37% | 8.29% |
Volatile commodities
Volatile | ||||
Copper | $4.76 | -5.72% | 4.91% | 32.70% |
Wheat | $699.62 | 7.43% | 12.75% | 15.78% |
Orange Juice | $476.74 | 6.31% | 25.56% | 64.11% |
Cocoa | $8,122.76 | 11.52% | -24.99% | 169.23% |
Salmon | $91.00 | 10.29% | 2.16% | -9.00% |
Feeder Cattle | $260.37 | 5.70% | 5.71% | 10.94% |
Local, State, US Wide Trade Pulse
Bozeman trade pulse
Overhead Bozeman
Google Street View Car spotted in town Friday May 24th
New Snow on Thursday - appx 2-3” intown and 1.5’ at Bridger Bowl
Lone Mountain historical Snotel data
Bozeman Restaurant Inspection Map
6 Shooter Teardown
Found some footage on R/Bigsky of the Six Shooter lift tear down. The lift and chair components were trucked to Boyne Resorts Sugarloaf Mountain. Big Sky Resort plans to replace Six Shooter lift with the Madison 8 . Read up on the History of the Six Shooter high speed chair on the Lift Blog.
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BG Mill Development in Downtown Bozeman Moves Forward
May 23, 2024 - The BG Mill project would demolish the buildings on the east corner of the lot and construct a five-story residential building that will consist of 19 residential units, a ground-level parking garage, and residential amenities. -Bozeman Real Estate Group
BG Mill Renderings
Finally found someone willing to do small jobs
$30/hr at Big O and Gallatin Valley Contractors
The last couple of summers the Big O advertised hourly wage was sitting at $25 sometime this Spring it appears they bumped it up to $30/hr.
Gallatin Valley Contractors sent out this mailer around the area throughout the Fall and Spring, just a sample of local wages, not a paid ad.
Remodel of the Week
Nothing crazy, just some new siding work, the purple picket fence is what grabbed my attention more so.
Siding rehab off 5th and Peach Bozeman
Montana trade pulse
Montana Festival
Thursday May 30 to Saturday June 1, 2024 - MONTANA'S ANNUAL GATHERING OF ENTREPRENEURS, CREATORS, & COMMUNITY BUILDERS CO-CREATING THE FUTURE. montanafestival.org
INVITATION FOR BIDS LETTING OF JUNE 6, 2024
Bids on the following projects will be received by the Montana Department of Transportation, Construction Contracting Bureau, until 9:00 a.m. on JUNE 6, 2024. All bids will then be reviewed for correctness and then publicly read in the Department’s assigned room. - MDT
MT-37 BRIDGE PRES MP 0-64 STPB 33-1(46)0 CONTRACT NO. 02624 |
SCHOOL SIDEWALKS - EAST HELENA TA 5899(71) CONTRACT NO. 04624 |
CUSTER AVE SIGNALS - HELENA CMDP 5899(61) CONTRACT NO. 02B23 |
MDT News
News Releases last week dated May 20-May 23 - MDT News
20240523-073749 | Ninemile Slide Bridge Posted At 5 Tons - released May-23-2024
20240522-081947 | Proposed Resurfacing For North Montana Street In Dillon - released May-22-2024
20240522-080708 | Proposed Resurfacing On US 2 Northeast Of Kalispell - released May-22-2024
20240522-075400 | Proposed Pavement Preservation For US 12/US 287 Near Helena - released May-22-2024
20240521-112308 | Merrill Avenue Improvements To Begin - released May-21-2024
20240520-150814 | Epoxy Paint Striping MT 35 And US 93 - released May-20-2024
Overheard Montana
MISSOULA — Hit TV show "Yellowstone" returns to film season 5 in downtown Missoula this week. - KPAX Missoula
BILLINGS — What kind of businesses do yall believe should be introduced or would do well in Billings? R/Billings
Fireball in the sky
Fireball meteors captured peoples cameras around Conrad, Great Falls, and Ryegate Montana on Monday May 20th at appx 11:45am - KRTV Great Falls
Petition for the Cowtown Amtrack line
Which has Great Falls and Billings as a potential stop
We call on the relevant transportation authorities to establish a new train route from Fort Worth, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta. This proposed route, named "The Cowtown," would not only connect these two major cities but also include stops in Amarillo, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, Cheyenne, Billings and Calgary. Change.org
USA wide highlights
Bozeman Builds top picks from the Construction Dive last week dated May 20 - May 24.
Tesla data center delay highlights industrywide challenges Elon Musk reportedly fired the director of infrastructure for the firm’s facility in Austin, Texas. Finding a replacement could prove tough, even as more firms enter the space.
Microsoft plows $3.3B into data center at former Foxconn site The software giant, which previously committed $1 billion to the project, has increased its promised expenditure amid a surge of data center activity.
Walsh-Herzog JV completes $650M Indiana rail expansion The two-phase, double-track project improves safety for riders and reduces travel times between Michigan City, Indiana, and Chicago.
Commerce Department wants more women in construction To capitalize on the CHIPS and Science Act and other federal funding, the agency has called on the industry to invest in equitable hiring practices and supportive services.
Ag, Mining, and Transport
Ag
Used Farm Equipment: Big Deals On The Way? “The demand is still strong, but I would say that maybe the edge is a little bit off. - AgWeb
Combined State Labs Groundbreaking to be Held May 24, 2024, at Montana State University BOZEMAN, Mont. – A groundbreaking event for a multi-use agricultural building off South 19th Avenue will be held Friday, May 24, hosted by the Montana Department of Livestock, Montana Department of Agriculture and Montana State University. - MT Department of Agriculture
Mining/Oil
MAY 17, 2024 Feds to end coal leasing in Powder River Basin, nation’s largest source of coal - WyoFile.com
May 23, 2024 Stillwater Critical Minerals Discovers New Sulphide Mineralization in 12-Kilometer Electromagnetic Anomaly in Resource Expansion Drilling at Stillwater West in Montana, USA - criticalminerals.com
May 23, 2024 Smith River coalition petitions USFS to withdraw mineral leases - Missoula Current
Transport
May 21, 2024 CSX Reopens Curtis Bay Coal Piers After Tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse - CSX
Truck electrification on the rise
Seems like more and more electric semi articles are released with every new Month. Pepsico, Amazon, Walmart are some of the earlier adopters of these E fleets. The Toyota Tern RC8 claims there is a 200 mile range while the Tesla Semi claims to boost a 500 estimated range.
May 23, 2024 Prologis, Maersk launch heavy-truck charging hub near SoCal ports “Depot can charge 96 electric trucks simultaneously” - FreightWaves
May 23, 2024 PepsiCo to add 50 Tesla electric semi-trucks to California fleet - Freightwaves
May 20, 2024 Toyota announces nationwide dealer rollout of Tern Class 8 electric semi “The new Tern RC8 electric truck offers a 68,000 lb. GVWR, 680 peak horsepower electric motor (494 continuous), a 200 mile range, and the ability to go from 0-80% charge in less than two hours at 240 kW. Energy comes from dual Hexagon Purus Gen3 269kWh battery packs in a 750-volt, 538 kWh configuration.” - electrek
Misc of the week
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
Media - Looks like an OSHA violation but ok - Facebook Group
The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.
Thanks for reading,
Daniel - NaFBA - Not a Financial or Building Advisor
The best compliment you can leave is a referral or feedback!