Miles ahead with design and welding

A metal gate with metal window screens is an original design and fabrication of Mile High Landscaping. Each bar is individually bent to the shape of the concrete windows, and each tiny leaf with green patina is individually attached via welding.

Most of us think of landscape design as simply arranging a few flower pots, Adirondack chairs, and tables on our patio, or deck. While it can be that simple, the best outdoor spaces are carefully crafted retreats with design elements in mind that suit the homeowner’s desire for a functional living space, a quiet and serene retreat, or gathering point for family and friends. Landscape design is an art form, much like painting, drawing, or metal sculpting, except this art form doubles as your own personal oasis.

Denver-based Mile High Landscaping is putting its expertise to good use, creating peaceful, contemporary outdoor living spaces that combine elements of fire, water, concrete, and metal. But there was a time when much of its metal work was contracted out to local fabricators, removing some control of its install times. That is, until company owner and founder Will Hyde learned how to weld.

Welding, Anyone?

Hyde and his employees have always pushed the envelope with their designs, whether they be traditional, modern, rustic, or contemporary. But it’s their originality with metal that puts them over the edge.

“We always use steel in our project for gates, fences, and specialty hardware for arbors and things of that nature,” Hyde explained.

Mile High Landscaping is a small business that, due to demand, must adhere to strict schedules to ensure that when one project wraps, they can move on to the next, and so on. Delays of any kind, especially those that can be controlled, hurt their ability to deliver on the start times promised to clients.

“We are not a 200-person firm, so we have limited resources between myself and my other salesmen and down to the guys doing the work. To take on projects, get the designs, create plant lists, etc., we have a lot of pressure on us.”

Not only is there pressure on company employees to deliver on timeliness, creativity, and quality craftsmanship, that same pressure applies to partnering subcontractors. When subcontractors don’t deliver, Mile High is left hanging.

This, said Hyde, is the scenario that occurred with the company’s welding subcontractor.

“We were doing a big six-figure job and I had given the subcontractor about $10,000 worth of steel work for the project. We had completed the entire project but he hadn’t finished his share of the welding work.”

As someone who had always wanted to learn how to weld, little did Hyde know that this would lead to an opportunity that eventually changed his business.

In the background a metal arbor brings shine and pop to the fire engine-red wall.

One of Hyde’s employees knew of his desire to learn to weld and by chance poked his head into the 23rd Avenue Art Studio in Denver.

“Sure enough, at the front desk there was a ‘learn how to weld’ flyer. So he picked one up, brought it into work the next day, and said, ‘Here you go, Will. Here’s your welding class,’” Hyde explained.

Hyde contacted the client, explained to them how he was fed up with the subcontractor, and told them he would weld the last two trellis pieces himself if they’d foot the bill for the welding class. They were all for it.

“I went to the class, learned what to do, welded the last two trellises in about half the time period allotted for the class, and brought it to the client. They actually liked it more than the subcontractor’s work. That’s how it all started.”

In the second portion of the class he branched out and made a modern chair and ottoman. The process was natural to him, and the ease with which the creativity was able to flow out of him ignited a full-blown welding addiction.

No Bounds on Creativity

A process that was just supposed to help his design business has actually helped create a spinoff endeavor. In addition to creating custom pieces for his landscape clients, Hyde also designs and fabricates unique metal patio furniture, decorative outdoor wall art, fountains, and fire pits at his store, Creative Living, managed by his wife.

But most important for his business, gone are the days of relying on a subcontractor to do the welding and wondering, “Do they understand our vision for this piece? Can they get this turned around in the time frame that we need them to?” That creativity and control are now in their own hands thanks to Hyde’s new welding skills, and it’s been a huge win for the company. Now he just fires up his Forney 3-in-1 multiprocess machine and lets the creative juices flow.

“It’s stuff like this that is putting us just so far ahead of our competitors here in Denver and allowing us to be more artistic and creative with our projects.”

But nothing compares to reveling in the finished project to see how their hard work comes together to create someone’s ideal outdoor living space.

“The best part of my job is going back to the projects when all of the dust has settled, the accent lights are on, and the fire pit’s going, and I can see the vision in its peak form. These finished spaces started out as our brain child, and a lot of what we do are things that we’ve never done before. To just be in the space and feel the energy of the structures that we created and the flickering of the fire from the fire features, and plants dancing in the lights from the low-voltage lighting system, and finally seeing happy clients. That’s what makes it for me.”

Mile High Landscaping, 303-595-0404, www.milehigh landscaping.com

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