ABOUT US

While Dale Hickman opened Dale’s Marine Construction in 1990, his father opened D.W. Hickman Marine Construction in 1979. Dale worked alongside with his father until he opened DMC in 1990. Dale has more than 40 years of experience in the industry and marine construction is his passion. Furthermore, most of our foremen have worked for DMC for over 10 years and our newest foremen have been with us at least 5 years.

At Dale’s Marine, our main focus is quality. We build your project to last and do not take any shortcuts or cut corners in our craftsmanship. On each of our projects, we only use top-of-the-line materials to ensure your project will hold up for years to come. Furthermore, we directly hire and train all of our employees and instill a commitment to our high quality building standards. Dale’s Marine does not hire temporary help from other agencies, nor do we subcontract our work with the exception of metal roofs. We take great pride in our work from start to finish, which our previous customers can attest to the same. If you choose our company, we will work diligently to make your waterfront structure or shoreline protection dreams come true. Your project will be completed and you will receive exactly what you agreed to in the contract; if for some reason we are unable to obtain the correct size pilings or vinyl sheets, we will upgrade you and never downgrade.

Our primary geographic area is inclusive of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in the Florida Panhandle. Although we do hope to expand our future services to additional locations across the Gulf Coast, at this time, we are focused on projects in these two Florida counties.

Prior to beginning the actual building part of construction, there are several behind-the-scenes processes that must be completed first, which helps ensure a high quality result. For starters, the permitting process can take anywhere from 3-6 months and in some cases potentially a little longer. Once permits are received, we are able to commence work in about a month or two. Overall, the whole process from when we obtain customer approval to project completion is an average of 5-8 months.

We receive this question quite often. At Dale’s Marine, we require all PROPER permitting to be obtained prior to starting work, and this process is lengthy. Oftentimes, other contractors tend to take shortcuts in the permitting process, because it sounds better initially if they are able to commence faster. Nonetheless, we know that requiring proper permitting is actually better in the long run, not only for us, but also for your protection. These permits protect you from any neighbor feuds that may occur, as well as keep you from hefty fines or penalties from the CORP or DEP in the future. Even if you have a neutral relationship with your neighbor, we have seen situations occur countless times where a neighbor is unhappy with the work being done next door and attempts calling all of the agencies they can to stop the work. By completing the permit process in accordance with each agency’s code and regulations, your project is protected because every aspect is legal and pre-approved. Furthermore, our reputation of quality supersedes us, resulting in more people choosing to use Dale’s Marine, which potentially causes delays as we work diligently to satisfy or exceed each customer’s expectations. However, we have six crews working hard around the clock to keep our projects flowing. Choosing our company may require a little bit of patience and time flexibility, but we promise you will be happy with the end result. Personally, we think it is worth the wait to have things done correctly, so that you can rest comfortably and not worry about possibly needing to rebuild every time a storm heads this way.

It still surprises us at how often we hear this question or how many people choose not to even call for a free estimate because they heard that our prices are too expensive. Recognizing that each project is unique and customized for each of our customers, we encourage you to still contact us for an estimate that is specific to your project, which will allow you to compare all of the project details across the board. In full transparency, we most likely will not be your cheapest quote [and we do not try to be], but we may not be your most expensive either. We stand by the high quality products that we produce, the top-of-the-line materials used, and the longevity we strive for in each design. Would you rather pay a little more the first time to have greater confidence in your structure as storms approach our area or worry constantly that every storm will require a rebuild? All in all, it is your choice, but our philosophy is why not call for a quote; we might just surprise you.