ABOUT GARY COCHRANE:

From a very young age, Gary worked for his father who was a general contractor during summer and whenever he could.  For extra money, on the weekends, he played the guitar and the bass at small nightclubs.  After graduating High School, he joined the Air Force in 1968 at the height of Vietnam.

After being honorably discharged from the Air Force, Gary made his way to DFW for work.  He quickly found work as a Patent Draftsman.  In 1977, even though he enjoyed being a Patent Draftsman, a friend suggested he start his own construction business utilizing his construction and drafting skills.

Up until the late 1990s, as a general contractor, Gary performing almost all the construction on his jobs including pouring foundations, framing, roofing, sheetrock, building custom cabinets, trim carpentry, and even painting with the help of his crew.  Gary’s company (Irving Trend Builders and Trend Security Screens) still does the same work but utilizes more subcontractors than in the past.

What led Gary to develop the Manifold Guard?

When a foundation is poured for an addition or a new home the plumbing lines can be damaged or moved out of place especially when the concrete crew is using a power trowel.  When this happens, the job is slowed down to repair or move the plumbing lines into the proper place.

Gary came up with a way to prevent this from happening and it is called a Manifold Guard.  Not only does it prevent the plumbing lines from being damaged or moved during the concrete pour, but the steel tubes encasing the plumbing lines double as a nail-guard would be made of the same gauge steel that a nail-guard would be made thus, protecting the plumbing lines from sheetrock nails, trim carpenter nails and even siding nails.

Additional uses for the Manifold Guard:

The manifold guard can also be used to protect wiring and/or water lines when installing a heated floor.

GARY’S GOAL:

Gary’s goal is to license the manufacturing rights for this product.  Feel free to contact him with any questions.