The first patent, obtained in 1990, was followed later by four others. The system he invented is trademarked under the name of Diamond Pier, and comes in several sizes. The piers, which are installed without the need for excavating and often without pouring of concrete, are sold to private builders as well as federal, state and local government agencies around the country.

The piers are made of pre-cast concrete, and installed at the surface then pinned to the ground with four steel bearing pins. Installation requires simple construction tools and is as fast as 10-20 minutes per pier depending on size, according to Gagliano.

“The biggest advantage is time savings; you can frame the same day you install them,” he said. The piers are primarily used for boardwalks, decks, stairways and small outbuildings, but several systems have been also used as environmentally friendly home foundations.

For a home, using the piers eliminates the excavation process. The homes are marketed as a green product — in 2002 the company won an award for having one of the top 10 green products in the country. The award, by the writers of respected industry newsletter Environmental Building News, was presented at the annual conference of the U.S. Building Council.

Gagliano said one to four homes a year are being built using PIN Foundations’ product, but he doesn’t market the piers for that purpose because he found it a difficult niche. Builders using the system would need to be involved in the site developing process, and he said it was difficult to connect the builder and developer for that purpose. Because the system is not conventional, it also takes longer to permit — except for places like Pierce County or Olympia that are familiar with them.

Gagliano, who recalls using power tools since he was a young child, had his first job at age 16 working in a hardware store. He has worked several construction jobs, and before getting involved with the company full time, was a partner for 10 years Ratcliffe Gagliano Architects with his wife, Jeanne Ratcliffe. In 2000, Gagliano left the architecture industry to focus on PIN Foundations (www.pinfoundations.com). Ratcliffe still owns the downtown Gig Harbor firm.

Gagliano says he has many new ideas, but they take a lot of time and investment, so he only introduces new products once every few years. The most recent one, a smaller compact pier, was launched in 2002. “It’s important as a manufacturer to focus on one thing and do it well to build a strong reputation, and repeat it to do it well,” he said.

This year, the company has achieved a major step: In June, testing was completed to satisfy requirements for an evaluation report from the International Building Council for one of the pier sizes. Being accepted under international building codes will streamline the permitting process at the level of local jurisdictions.

“It’s a big deal. It’s an expensive deal. It’s a hair-pulling deal,” he said. “I call it the mother of all building permits — a building permit countrywide. Once the report is out, we’ll be approved for use in all 50 states,” he said.

This step has a huge potential for PIN Foundations’ growth, and Gagliano is preparing for a bigger company in the meantime. He is exploring financing, partnerships, added distributorships and other possibilities “to figure out the best recipe.” It’s a tricky part, because he needs to make sure the company doesn’t grow too much before the demand comes, yet it’s not too small when the demand hits.