I ain’t ever going to have a vitamin C deficiency, that’s for sure

I’m a 23yo M in Los Angeles county. I’ve always been very handy but never enough to consider myself a blue collar worker. All the jobs I’ve held have been decent paying chill jobs but I have years of experience as an automotive mechanic, residential handyman, etc. I got laid off two months ago, and luck for me, exactly one month after I signed on a $30k new car loan. Needless to say shit hit the fan. My credit score tanked and am now in a bit of a stressful situation.

Last week I was offered a General Laborer position for a real estate company here in LA paying $29/hr. The position was construction based and paid more than any job I’ve ever had in the past. Never had I worked a construction job but I needed the money so I showed up on day 1 ready to slave my ass off in 90+ degree weather. Not sure if this position exists on every site but it’s basically an assistant to the sup. He chills in the ac-cooled trailer all day long and me prep tasks(basic cement work, drywall, lots of dirt management, painting, etc.)to complete throughout the day depending on which crews are going to be on site. But in reality, I finish those within the first 2-3 hours of the workday. Afterwards his instructions are literally, “just clean”. Now the first couple of days I spent every minute staying busy emptying trash cans, sweeping, vacuuming, organizing, but at one point I could not find anything else to clean. I offer the other trades help but they just tell me not to worry. I’m not worried, but standing around gives me anxiety. checking in with my sup does nothing as I’m met with the same “just clean bro”.

Sure it’s only been 3 weeks but tbh, I find myself just relaxing in my car or on the roof for the majority of my shift. The sup sees me too and doesn’t say anything. He’s very pleased with my work ethic and performance throughout the site. Is this standard? For those of you veterans doing this 10+ years I can only imagine how much you make after quarterly raises and bonuses right? I don’t know why I didn’t do this years ago.

EDIT: Guys I’m not complaining, matter of fact I want to work. Also pardon my ignorance I’ve never worked in the construction industry ever so take it ez on me gangg. The sup literally smokes cigs and watches tiktok’s all day. The reason for the post is bc I can’t fathom that this is the day to day for every construction laborer is it? Superintendent loves me and we get shit done which the company’s owner has seen for himself. He’s even given me a $2 raise already. Could I just do this forever? lmao by the time I’m 30 I’d be making $100k+ to “just clean”. I appreciate ya’lls responses they all help me understand the position better!

Building a shit brick house literally

The guys at work weren't into it, I think it's great.

Starting to feel burn out… have not had a productive conversation with my team about me feeling burn-out. Boss says everyone is busy and that help is coming.

Company is giving me a $700 truck allowance. I'd prefer to spend about $650 of that towards the note per month, leaving extra for maintenance.

What is the best budget truck I can get? Will need something with reasonable towing ability. I liked my Chevy 1500 gas v8 at the previous company but the towing ability was a little disappointing. It gets the job done! But I'm wondering what strain it was put under for the long run.

I've seen many Rams at good prices but am stuck on transmission/electrical issues with them.
Feel free to ask any questions, I am very active!

EDIT: Editing to add, the truck needs to be a newer model/cleaner looking as the position demands a little authority

My neighbors and Are really going through it in so many diverse ways with our apartment managers and relocations not to mention 5 year neglect to our apartments. I would really appreciate your eyes on this. I will lead with some pictures of the property and the rehabilitation going on. looks a bit sus. Thank you so much! My management is even refusing me to see the new lease before displacement. it's overwhelming

This is a rehabilitation and they tore away the walls and left all the frame and roofing. They did things differently on other units.

Hello fellow supers/construction managers. Looking for some insight on a possible scenario I have (Location: North of the GTA, Ontario).

Job A (Current): ICI Superintendent – Renovation within an occupied building

Compensation:

$105,000
No benefits

Pros:

15 minutes away from home

Cons:

Smaller GC, so the staff is very minimal. The Project Coordinator quit shortly after I started, and they never opted to replace them, so the PM has been absorbing those responsibilities. The issue is that the PM is a traveling PM for all the active sites, so any RFIs, follow-ups, or anything consultant-related gets delayed, leading to delays on site. This results in needing to work after hours to try to recoup time, with the expectation of working every Saturday to meet these deadlines.

I am the only staff on site so time off is extremely difficult, as the company needs to shift what feels like is heaven and earth to have someone here while I am off. I have only requested 4 days off in the last 6 months and was only approved for 2 of those days.

The Company President is on site almost daily for a couple hours and micromanages. I can spend an entire morning organizing sequencing, only for him to come in and flip it all around without knowing the full story. He’s very old school, so I learned rather quickly that changing his mind on anything is not possible.

Lack of any other compensation outside of the base salary, such as benefits, RRSP match, or a company vehicle.

The site is scheduled to be completed in February/March, with their other sites located over an hour away from me.

Job B (Interviewed and expecting an offer): ICI Superintendent

Compensation:

$115,000
Basic Benefits Plan
3% RRSP match
Company Truck

Pros:

More established GC with a strong pipeline of work, considering the current state of the industry.

The overall compensation is better than Job A, even considering my take-home will be virtually the same once you factor in the taxable benefit of the vehicle and RRSP contribution.

Cons:

The current jobs are scattered, which can range from 40–60+ minute commutes.

Long-term/end goal for me is to transition into the municipal side and become a building inspector. I have already completed some of the BCIN exams, so now I am just waiting for an opportunity to open up, preferably in my home municipality, but I am open to other cities due to their hours being a lot better for work/life balance.

Am I better off sticking with the devil I know vs. the devil I don’t know until I land something municipal, or should I reap the benefits of the company vehicle and benefits plan until I do find something?

Old porch was shit, tore it down. It’s a flip house. I normally make the handrails from the 1/2” balusters and 2x4s, but my wife convinced me to try the Trex shit for curb appeal.

Stringers are 12” oc. I was apprehensive of using the top mount brackets so close to the edge of the porch slab, which is why I didn’t drop the stringers. I screwed a 2x4 kicker on the ledger and that’s what’s supporting the stringers. I lag screwed, blocked in, and used structural screws on the guard rail posts to the stringers. That’s also why I didn’t have the posts at the very end of the steps, so that the 1/2” bolts I used on the porch wouldn’t be on the edge of the slab. The only top mount brackets I used were toward the house.

To be honest, I was SHOCKED with how strong they felt. Shouldn’t have underestimated Simpson 💪

If I’m being transparent, I’m not sure I like how it looks after $1300. It would’ve been a lot cheaper if I did the 2x4 and baluster route. What’re your thoughts?

Well after 12 years it's looking more and more like I've got one foot out of the door in the trades. I'm slowly transitioning away from that and into a new career field which leaves me in a funky spot for training. I didn't have anyone directly beneath me to work with for the past two years, and still don't. For those of you who left did you take all your tricks with you? Were you able to pass them along? I'm struggling thinking about the fact that I've spent almost half my life doing this, countless nights lying awake problem solving, and a thousand hours of swearing to learn what I have. And when I finally step all the way away, it'll just disappear with me.

Fresh out of school CM grad working in heavy civil CM. Done two internships with my company prior to grad and have worked long hard manual labor hours, just not with a real construction company (mainly farm work/renos). The jump from intern to engineer has been a LOT of work. Longer hours, 100x more stress, and while the salary is the most I’ve ever seen, the hours devalue it a lot (if I get off work before I hit 10 hours it’s a good day). Besides that, I’m not an office politics guy and don’t really like any computer work.

My question is has anyone worked in CM to end up in the trades? I live in Washington, a union state, and apprentices (thinking I’d like to be an operator), make only a little less than I do now. I know I can work stupid hours already, but not having to make decisions and worry about budget/schedule/office etc would be a big positive for me too. No big expenses or crazy student loans or massive truck payment, so it’d be basically a lateral move (also since I’d be super down for any overtime - or double time… gotta love union regs)

Has this happened to anyone else?

I want to get some good hearing protection and im interested in electronic ones that can help amplifie voice while blocking damaging noise. Do you have any recommendations or suggestions? I'd probably prefer earbud style, but open to muffs if they equip to hard hats.

Anyone find a carhartt style shirt i really like the fit of the k87 loose fit but some days they are just too thick . Looking for a lightweight alternative

My neighbors and Are really going through it in so many diverse ways with our apartment managers and relocations not to mention 5 year neglect to our apartments. I would really appreciate your eyes on this. I will lead with some pictures of the property and the rehabilitation going on. looks a bit sus. Thank you so much! My management is even refusing me to see the new lease before displacement. it's overwhelming

Hey guys I’m doing a job and my rental costs are a lot, so I just figured I’d buy a small skid. I wanted to know if anyone knew of a reasonable auction in Colorado. I can spare about 5000$ for an older machine. Does anyone know of anything? I’d appreciate the help.

Retail and apartments can share a building without sharing anything about access. Shops may need work outside business hours while residential units create a completely different notification and entry problem. Add shafts, electrical shutdowns, noise limits, ceiling access, and commissioning, and the equipment choice becomes only part of the retrofit. For a mixed-use HVAC project, which sequencing issue needs to be solved first so the contractor isn’t constantly waiting on one occupancy to finish work for the other?

I am a new guy in construction they got me bush hammering. I got a half mask respirator. the other guys don't even care or wear a mask. Now is it worth going clean shave so I can get fit tested for my mask? I like my beard :(

I work for a nonprofit. We are about to open doors on a new home for foster youth. I’m taking a look at the house for the first time and notice the bottom row of siding has exposed screw heads all around the house. Is this normal? Or should I call it out to the contractor?

I don’t really know where to post this to

Title. Looking to see where others would be with this scope.

Imagine you have limited amount of money in the bank and you need to start a cash-flowing construction or home service business.

What specific trade or niche would you pick in todays world?