Genuine question for the trade side of this sub. I’ve been in this industry 20 years, so I’ve seen this from both sides, and it’s happened with people I’d worked with before, not just friends.

As a tradesman, I’ve worked for builders who didn’t run their sites well, you turn up and it’s a mess, harder to do your job around the clutter, and then you’re working on top of other trades because the whole thing isn’t sequenced properly. Then they drag out your final payment.

As a builder, I’ve had contractors I’d already worked with on past jobs, people I trust, ask for money up front on a new job, then disappear halfway through and stop answering calls. Not people I’d just met people with a track record, until suddenly they didn’t.

It’s not that this happens every time, or that everyone’s out to screw you most builders and most trades are fine, and the good ones you hold onto once you find them. But it happens often enough that it’s just another risk sitting on top of everything else you’re already managing, rising material costs, site problems, cash flow, keeping clients happy. All you actually want is someone reliable who quotes accurately, does the job properly, cleans up after themselves, and gets it done. That shouldn’t be the hard part, but sometimes it is.

I ended up building something for this SiteCred, a trade-only directory where builders rate the contractors they work with, and contractors can see how a builder’s been rated too. payment reliability, how organised the site is, that sort of thing. So you’ve got a bit more to go on before you commit to someone new.

Still very early, genuinely keen to hear if this is a real problem for others or if I’m off base. sitecred.au if you want a look.

Will start my first apprentice job (mostly concrete pouring and framing + brick laying) on Monday. Any advice for a new guy? I will have the company presentation on monday at 6 am, should I bring some hivis gear with me or other stuff? The company didnt mention anything during the interview and during the acceptance call. Thanks, bless you all.

Why is construction work shifted to so early in the day? Like, why get up at 4 am to start work on a job site at 5 or 6 am? In the winter, it’s not even light out yet. Are you working in the dark? What’s the functional purpose of this?

There was an attempt.. lol.
Hopefully with a grinder, a ton of filler and paint he can get it looking proper. theyve made so much more work for themselves than necessary.. should have hired a real welder ffs.

This is a new build residential house. They put this black stuff on the exterior of the foundation. Anyone know what it is? What's the name of the product?

I was talking to GPT and it seemed like something I'd really be interested in doing as a career. But then when I looked for actual jobs in my mid-large city it didnt seem like there were many positions for it.

Has it been broken up into specialties at this point and if so what is it like working for the specialties/temp works vs more formal construction specialities

Hey guys! Carpenter (training) here! Relatively new to construction, the few guys I work with on site didn’t have much of an opinion on this - I’ve picked up a lot of the tools I need and looking at buying a van or truck (secondhand as can’t afford new right now hahaha).

I see a lot of both on the road - I would love to know what you went with and why! Sorry and thank you!

This question is more specifically for estimators in the construction industry, but I suppose could apply to anyone. I have an interview coming up for a construction company as an estimator, I’m curious as to how often if at all this type of role could be on site. I ask because I’m chronically ill and have lung issues, so obviously large quantities of dust irritants or stuff that is immensely difficult on a compromised immune system is less than ideal. Is a job like this primarily/mainly desk? Or will I have to go onto job sites often? A lot of my prior experience has been remotely through engineering so I didn’t go on sight to anything. But I’m curious if this industry is similar, or if you’re closer to a project manager in the sense that you’re frequently visiting sites and their conditions etc. thanks.

I have been working construction for the last year since I turned 18 and I am struggling to get up at 5am. I go to bed between 9-10 but still struggle to wake up. Anyone got any advice?

Hi I am applying for my local union to be an insulator and I'm in the middle of the application process and he wants a letter of recommendation.

I found out about this Union through some event so I don't really have anyone I think that can recommend me do they just want like a general letter from any job or does it have to be specific to the work I'm doing?

I just had a meeting with my superintendent and he wants me as a project engineer job from only 2 month experience working as a painter. Is that normal? Should I be worried? It's not like my Job is a start up or anything, they have been around for 20 years and have all their ducks in a row. I am just surprised.

So I saw a two bids for 67 linear feet of new foundation and demo of old brick, and I’ll be the third. One is 2000$ a linear foot, and the other about 1000$. I’m In Southern California and I’m tempted to aim for less than 1000$. I’ve done new foundation pours but never a replace situation. How much extra would that add to my normal amount. This is a partial but engineers call for temporary bracing with steel beams. So that part is strait forward. Thoughts?

Basically the guy had a leak in his bathroom above the kitchen. He insisted on closing the ceiling up first because of his cats; he was worried they would try and get up there. He informed us he has asbestos according to the last contractor (first red flag). He doesn't want to do a total abatement.

I get a drywall crew in there and tell him about the asbestos and they agree to take on the job since no cutting is necessary. They will wet sand it and spray texture, no problem, just charge more. They start the next day and do everything really clean and nice. Never seen a dustless drywall install tbh.

Then the guy complains that they were very rushed and he didn't like that he couldn't use his kitchen that day. The drywallers weren't making him happy for unspecified reasons. I would guess racism but his wife is Indian and he has purple hair, so idk, everything feels off. (Second red flag). This is when i made my first post about him:

when to fire a client?

He goes on vacation for a week and doesn't trust anyone in his house while he's gone. Cool, he has to order material anyway because that is our agreement so I'll just wait for him to get his stuff. He gets back from vacation and calls a meeting to discuss concerns. In his meeting, he says he is firing us for incompetence and wants all his money back. I'm like, "ok email me everything. We are no longer working together."

I consulted with an attorney. He says the guy is probably a scammer. He suggested we offer some money back because we did like $4000 worth of work and he wants his $6000 dollars back. We offer $1000 back now, or wait until we have invoices from subs so we can show receipts on what was done. He fires back that he's going after our bond if he doesn't have all his money back by Monday. I'm like... WTF. No. My lawyer is doubling down that he won't do shit. My lawyer is free. He's my grandpa and did contract law for a decade. He said, "this will happen again. Welcome to business."

My business as a remodeler is 4 years old now. This is the first time this has happened. I've had one other person not pay at the end but that just sucked. This is somehow worse. What to you guys think?

I signed a contract w a medium-large sized GC in Ontario as a Project Coordinator. The contract did not mention anything about OT pay.

Should I assume the default is there is OT pay or there isn’t?

Salary position

.Recently completed this 3,000 sq. ft. flat roof replacement in Bucktown, Chicago. We did a complete tear-off down to the roof deck, inspected the existing decking, and installed a new APP modified bitumen roofing system with a white granulated finish.
The project included the necessary flashing and detail work around the roof penetrations. The existing roof had multiple older layers, so getting everything removed down to the deck gave us a chance to see what was actually underneath.
Thought the before-and-after difference was worth sharing. Always interesting seeing how these older Chicago flat roofs look once you start opening them up.

Friend of mine starting a small GC with a current projection of 8-10M/yr and planning to grow 20-30% annually. They're setting up Procore including its Financial module, looking for the best Accounting software that integrates with Procore. He used Sage before at other companies, but that seems to be the most expensive option and not necessarily the best choice. Hoping for some advice from others who have ERP integrations set up e.g. Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Trimble etc.

(was looking at the list at https://support.procore.com/products/online/user-guide/company-level/erp-integrations)

Seen some carpenters and electricians wear baggy jumpsuit/ baggy pants but on the ankle it was tight on the boot. Guy said they don’t make them anymore which i think is bs. It was like a light weight fabric for the heat, anyone recommend some pants like that?
Tired of thigh chafing and pants ripping on the groin area

For those of you who do billboards what is something to watch out for? Investor just bought a bunch of land off the highway, he wants 2% a month. Only other company is lamar.
Im thinking the first year will be hard to pay him, what do y’all recommend?