Would you recommend construction as a career? Most of the people i talk to irl say its not worth it
Do you value not being worn out and crippled?
>>2947686So thats just inevitable even if you take care of yourself, eat healthy, arent an alcoholic, arent a drug addict etc ?
>>2947687>Career construction worker>Not alcoholic/drug addict
>>2947688So what you seem to be implying is that if i stay away from alcohol and booze, its actually possible to work construction and not destroy my body
You can make great money in construction and the skills are needed world wide if you ever wanted to change country. But you have to narrow it down OP which industry are you interested in?>t. qualified carpenter, who changed to a construction profession which required a degree
>>2947694I want to learn how to build houses. The entire process though. From the concrete forms to the framing or masonry if its a brick house to the roof and everythingin between. So i guess general carpentry with masonry
>>2947695It can be quite hard to find a carpenter which does it all these days, during my time I thoroughly learnt how to do concrete and general framing etc. But honestly by the time you are a competant carpenter you know enough about all the trades to do a little bit, certainly if you wanted to build your own house you would know enough to get by. As a career? I was a carpenter for 7 years (did my trade) I never really wanted to be one from the start so I was always looking for something else but it taught me great life skills and I am not disappointed I did it. I was mid 20's when I quit and started going to university for a construction related degree in which I currently love my job.tl;dr?if you are young just do your trade it only takes 4 years and you will learn a lot, you can always change career if you don't like it thats not an issue people look highly on trade qualified people changing careers because tradesman are hard workers. In regards to making decent money as a carpenter you have two options>option 1start your own company and put on workers, this route you will be doing like 15 hour days, free quotes half of them don't pay off, extreme stress, and you have to be extremely skilled, don't expect it to take off financially for years>option 2go into commercial construction and become a site manager, this route you are working huge hours and probably every weekend, and you haver to answer to cunt project managers, you may get a vehicle from your employer though, financial pay off will be decent but probably not as much as you want
>>2947687Cramming yourself into weird angles and yanking and slamming shit every single day will wear anyone out.
>>2947704Do carpenters cram themselves into weird angles often? I thought that was more of a plumber/ hvac guy in an attic thing
>>2947706Idk im not a carpenter, maybe
>>2947707Ok so you have no idea what you're talking about. Thanks!
>>2947696>Option 3 join the ubc in a union friendly state.
>>2947710I guess that is also an option, but once you start working union jobs it will be hard to go back to non-union jobs. Usually the work cope in union jobs is not as mentally stimulating as non-union jobs also. Residential construction is where you learn the most, work the most, and earn the least money unfortunately.The union where I am from is insanely corrupt so I have no intentions of working for them, I do see the benefits though
>>2947685No. You should maybe listen to those people.
>>2947695Sounds like you should volunteer at habitat for humanity
>>2947685It pays. Would you rather work at dunkin donuts?
>>2947685Most people in real life says that construction isn't worth it. Should I listen to them? Nah let's ask some strangers on Mongolian bricks laying forum.Jokes aside construction isn't easy, a lot of time you will bust your mutts from physical labor, unloading or moving materials. There are a lot of dangerous materials, breathing in cement, dust, drywall, saw dust you name it will fuck up your lungs in the long term. When doing construction you will have to work during day, so during summer you will risk heat stroke, if you do roofing you risk falling down, if you do concreting say goodbye to resting since you have to work hard and fast. So all in all construction will fuck up your body, you might make some money since there are less and less people willing to do it. If this is worth it in you mind go for it.
Just retired after 45 yrs of construction.I like hard dirty work. The cold, heat sun didn’t bother me I liked being outside. I did it all from concrete to roofs. Here’s what sucked. In the beginning you bust your ass for a greedy dickhead.Eventually if you’re good you go on your own.Now you work for numerous greedy dickheads ( homeowners) the job is never good enough, fast enough or cheap enough. Dealing with some entitled cunt know it all. I sold most of my tools to ensure I never do this shit again
>>29476962nding carpentry as the best way to learn as much as possible about the whole house build. I am a finish carpenter and I also do project management because I have so much interaction with the other trades that I am good at finding solutions to everyone else's problems. If you want to learn the whole house, be a rough carpenter for 4 years, then do finish carpentry for 4 years. I would say start off being a finish carpenter because you will learn sloppy habits doing rough carpentry, but the tool investment is too steep for someone just starting out, also, not much construction is doing big finish packages now, you have to get into high end residential single family homes and even then 3/4 of them are modern designs with drywall work replacing woodwork. As for starting out, find a shell contractor, preferably someone you know nepotism is incredibly beneficial. Learn form work and framing and roofing if you want but I would avoid wasting much time with roofing since it's all setting trusses and then just nailing down plywood. If you can find a crew that will hand truss or rafter a roof, fucking take that job because it is a dying skill and will be worth something in the future. Also, live with your parents and buy tools and either a small pickup truck or a van. After you are pretty good at the rough carpentry and have all your tools and know how to use them, find a finish carpentry crew that knows what they are doing and start working with them. Learn geometry, trig, and how to make accurate cuts, learn how to do wall layout for wainscotting, learn how to deal with making good joints on bad walls/ceilings/corners. Once you are a good finish carpenter you can start having design input, I highly recommend drawing, practice at it and be able to diagram what you want to build. if you want to build houses and make lots of money get a civil engineering degree and then get a GC license, lots of responsibility though.
>>2947740>So all in all construction will fuck up your body>electrical>plumbing>mechanical (hvac)>finish carpentrythere are trades that are less physically demanding than laying block and pumping concrete and slinging 4x8x.75" plywood around on a roof
>>2947759>roofsThis scares the shit out of me.How do you manage not to fall onto the pavement?
>>2947795you get better at balancing and being more comfortable up there with time
>>294779515 years of that were hanging over the edge installing seamless gutters. We walked 85% of the roofs. You overcome fear of heights eventually I drive by some houses and wonder how the fuck I walked that. Roofing in the 80s was mostly wood. Only thing between us and death was a roofing seat made with riser cutouts and bottle openers
>>2947708No, im an electrician. I know exactly how demanding that is. But i don't know what EVERY SINGLE trade is like.
>>2947795if you can tolerate working outside and on roofs, it's the quickest way to become a millionaire, zero experience to filthy rich in a few years.simply apply for a job with any roofing company. do it for 1-2 years until you're confident that you can handle any aspect of any roofing job on your own.after becoming proficient, quit. you may then confidently bid on jobs yourself. hire a few helpers. Once you have a decent team together, advertise on faceshit.snow problem to pull in $5-$10k a day running 5-6 guys, and you'll spend most of your time just relaxin in da truck
>>2947686I just retired as a Union Carpenter, started framing but moved into easier work like doors and Stupid Intendent.Barely any physical issues, but recently fucked up elbow and knee from using laptop and mouse from awkward position half sitting on bed frequently.But no I wouldn't recommend it in this day and age.Every trade is overloaded by unlimited not just Wetbacks but ever stripe of foreigner, and Unions are happy to let them undercut wages because if they don't "Vest" the Union keeps ALL the money.>>2947695>The entire process though. Its really not that hard at all.I'd suggest you wrangle a job as a helper/gopher for a small contractor building individual custom/spec homes.Tell him you will do any jobs and just want to learn. Show up in a beat up pickup with racks and tool box across the bed. He will want you to haul lumber and bags of cement for free, like "Could you go to Home Depot and pickup 30 bags of concrete and it needs to be here when 'we' start working at 7AM sharp? The guys are counting on you". Let that happen about 2x and become a semi-valuable known OK worker before laying down the law on getting paid time and mileage for any extra trips over 5 miles. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/d/sebastopol-2002-150-lariat/7879816596.htmlStart reading blue prints, then teach yourself BlueBeam and even Autocad and Revit. All Autodesk products have FREE full "student editions" which is FULL POWER just can't download to actual CAM machines or export to Full Lic pro versions, but its the SAME PROGRAMS worth $5,000 or more. https://www.autodesk.com/education/homeYou just need to be an official "college student" which can be signing up for Weight Training at local Jr College, so you can use the gym and showers any time "class" is in session, (great place to meet chicks and they will think construction worker is sexy).
>>2947704>>>2947687>Cramming yourself into weird angles and yanking and slamming shit every single day will wear anyone out.Not really, its more like yoga. LOL.Just learn to not hold hammer with thumb extended like they taught to hold tennis racket in HS gym class, or will fuck up tendons. Lighter hammer is best for driving nails.>>2947795>>roofs>This scares the shit out of me.>How do you manage not to fall onto the pavement?IMO you either got it or you don't. If you "don't" I'd suggest you don't force it.But these days everything is much gayer, largely due to influx of Turd Worlders with no sense, so more mandatory safety shit unless its a small time individual builder.Don't compromise on personal safety. I'd walked off a couple few jobs, and one of those was BECAUSE they wanted me "tied off" and IMO the roof was too crowded and likely to be yanked by some idiot crossing lines.THERE IS NO MEANINGFUL COMPENSATION to be had if you get hurt, except in basically freak legal cases.Worker's Comp rates for losing an eye or hand etc look like they are from about 1840AD and I'm not kidding.
>>2947687It depends on the trade. I think if you do a hard trade like concrete, masonry or ironnwork it's inevitable that you'll end up pretty fucked up even if you do all the right things.>>2947685Yes if you are driven and intelligent. If you have low motivation you'll just end up as a forever laborer making shit money and busting your ass every day well into your 60s. If you're driven and intelligent you can figure out how to make money without using your body. You'll still have to put some time in doing physical work though, everyone does.>>2947706Not as often as electricians or plumbers but yes occasionally carpenters have to do fucked up retarded shit in confined spaces.As a carpenter you can really end up being a truck jack of trades. I've been a carpenter for almost a decade but I can also comfortably lay block, finish concrete, do basic electrical and plumbing, and i know my way around dirtwork. That's on top of being able to frame a house and do everything else carpentry related in regards to building houses.
>>2947879>Start reading blue printsThis is very good advice. A guy who can read the plans is very useful, even if is only average at everything else.
>>2947882>Lighter hammer is best for driving nails.this man speaks the trutht. 16oz estwing leather handle user
>>2947900I'm pretty sure he meant lighter as in a modern titanium hammer, not your grandpa's dinky little estwing
>>2947899yes. that anon is rightonce you know how to read plans you can just sit on your ass in a gc officet. moonlighting in both architecture and construction
>>2947903titanium is a meme
>>2947685Scabs just get a shitty construction management degree or skip over all the labor years by kissing ass, nepotism, or rolling the dice on themselves with some capital and an LLC. I fucking do not see how anyone actually constructing moves up if they're not in a licensed trade or union. It doesn't matter how much work you complete, if it's all perfect, if you train other people, if you learn every facet of the business, the product, and amounts of all the surrounding trades. You have to read the tea leaves of the company you're in. Where are you going to be in 10 years looking at the other 10 year guys? Does the management like you? >>2947882f=1/2mv^2Velocity is exponential, but there are times a 14 or 16 oz isn't enough impact force. The right hammer eliminates swings and improves targeting.
>>2947899>>2947904learn to draw them and you truly command a premium
>>2947908>f=1/2mv^2F=mâ‹…ayou are giving the equation for kinetic energy
>>2947907>2 combos and a tri
>>2947910It's harder to measure acceleration in the field.
>>2947909simple Blue Prints to get B-Dept stamp are pretty easy and I've done it and got Stamp on first visit.No real "rules", just make a decent semi-scale drawing and "call out" everything (say WTF it is....2x4, 3/4" 2" lag bolts, carpet and pad, 3-0x2-6 window, etc.
>>2947911>2 combos and a triever do layout on a board?
>>2947685If you aren't going to college for some sort of degree that guarantees good pay, then you should 100% do skilled labor. Its literally the only way to have good pay (enough to buy a home), health/dental and pension/retirement savings. Youre going to be very sad if you dont have any of those things by the time your 40. If you're not going to higher education its dumb not to. Even if you were going to school you should be working a manual/skilled labor job to earn some more money than working at a Walgreens or something. Don't be a pussy. I work in Maritime trade. I work on tugboats specifically which is really the best maritime job you can get. Ships are actually retarded. Some people get their licenses to go work on luxury yachts in fort Lauderdale FL. That can be a fun job for a young person but youre essentially a servant to ultra wealthy yacht owners.A lot of guy guys go to maritime academy and fast tracked to wheel house or engineer positions. in my line of work its still possible move up without a college degree but rather through license upgrades. Those people are referred to as hawespipers. The academies just gives a big headstart to young people. Its good to go to maritime academy if you can and if you want to make money.
>>2947685I work in a lab on large water cooled chillers. I noticed that all the pipefitter contractors look the sameLong face and a goatee
>>2947691No, it just means you have to find other ways to deal with the physical and mental pain. Exercise, meditation, and a good diet only costs time and energy, and a bit of money,, and you'll have plenty of all that.
>>2947936Tri is really nice for framing lead workers. I just use a speed square for everything. I wouldn't even reach for a combo unless I'm in a cabinet shop and even then, rarely.
>>2947688I work construction and I'm straight edge.
>>2948034jesus did i get teleported back in time 20 years? havent heard someone refer to themselves as straight edge since like 2006 lol
>>2948027i am a mobile cabinet shop (finish carpenter)
>>2947763Dude asked about construction I answered about construction and things that will mess him up. Also all blue collar workers have fucked bodies, you just need to find one that you can endure.
>>2948049Last construction worker, well ex-construction, I hung out with said he quit when he couldn't take his case of beer around site with him anymore.
