The Construction Life

23-year-old tradesperson with a lot of passion and heart for the industry and he loves Frank Sinatra, hold on, this is going to be one great show. His Dad taught him only one way to be a tradesperson, the right way, he taught him how to build better, and be better. Losing his Dad at a young age was very hard for the family, really sorry for your loss Shane.

Shane has a solid base for his business and what was key, was his crew, his trio of tapers, himself, Saudi and Adam, Shane’s plan is to find more tapers, find reliable subs, and continue to grow the business on volume and keep moving forward. Incredibly refreshing to hear Shane share that he always prefills with Durabond 90, it’s a must for his quality, prefill, tape and then he covers. Game Changer alert – Shane has 2 Festool Planex Drywall sanders and from pole sanding to this amazing tool, he can’t live without it.

3 years working this new business of his, starting this brand but remember Shane had that union work and his Dad taught him as a teenager and that brought other issues, most old school trades would dismiss Shane cause of his age, shouldn’t be the case everyone, if it’s your first or last day on site, you will always have something to share, teach, leave behind. Shane is the kind of trade, when he’s completed his scope, he will walk around with the homeowner, or the GC with a check out light and inspect all areas, all corners, all details, that’s the kind of tradesperson he is and that’s the kind of business and brand he is building.

Shane is looking for volume of work, he’s looking for those sub division job sites, he and his crews can handle the work, give the man a chance, he will not let you down, he will actually elevate your quality to new heights.

Shared and Discussed Links

https://ifstc.com

https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en_CA_east.html

https://csrbuilding.com

https://www.instagram.com/box_drywalldesign/

https://www.instagram.com/eq_construction/

https://www.instagram.com/easydrywall/

https://www.instagram.com/jm_insul/?hl=en

https://www.tapetech.com

What an amazing show and thank you so much Shane for sharing so much on drywall, steel framing, insulation, mudding and more information, educating our listeners on everything to do with your trade, Thank you. Find Shane on IG @plastermasters and contact Shane on his email at [email protected]

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Open the show with a great Irish work song and we get chatting about Ireland, the beautiful country and people, the great food and work ethic. What a pleasure to have Kevin on the show and everyone knows Manny will always have a special place for the masonry trades.

On with the show.

Arriving in Canada in January, five years ago got into autoparts first, and after a number of odd jobs including the rickshaws by the Skydome aka Rogers Centre, yes he did that for a little while to build up his endurance but construction was quickly calling him. Beginning with all sorts of block, underpinning, brick work that all led to restoration work and why Canada has so much damaged brick work and why being a mason is in very high demand.

The conversation shifts into the next generation of masons and why most of them have a hard time with an honest hard days work. Most tradespeople will always focus on the problem and not thrive on finding the solution to all sorts of construction problems, this is construction, there will always be problems.

Kevin brings up yoga and how yoga has helped him deal with aches and pains from the construction life. Kevin shares that he can find knowledge in every crack and corner and aske the other trades, even the cranky trades, rub their belly and get them to share. Kevin started like most masons, mixing the mortar, carrying the brick, feeding the mason to keep the production going. Kevin is interested in building a great atmosphere of masons on every site.

We end the show with an interesting story on the name of his business and how it came about while he was on holidays. Kevin has a lot to say about the industry, the cast of odd balls that get into construction and how much he loves them for it. It’s really about coming into work with the right attitude, so simple.

Shared and Discussed Link

https://www.selfbuildcanada.ca

https://kreitmaker.com

https://ontariomasonrytrainingcentre.com

https://www.wettinc.ca

What an amazing show and thank you so much Kevin for sharing so much must needed mason information, educating our listeners on everything to do with stone and brick, Irish and life, Thank you. Find Kevin on IG @thefriendlymason_ and contact Kevin on his email at [email protected]

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 44 different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

We are @speducci recording the show on the patio, Rosie and company are always amazing for letting the show record there, it’s quickly becoming the Speducci Studios for the TCL Podcast, thanks guys.

Open the show with a few shout outs.

Tim from BC @poundforpoundframers Tim from Akron Ohio sent me an email. @southcoaststudio rocking some great Schluter projects. Rob from @galaxyplumbinginc had a pic to share. John from @greekbuilder asking me to do a show on “approved” programs. Marco from @electricallocal69 not a real union shared some insight regarding ESA and Heated floor cables. @andcura Master Electrician and Certified Fire Alarm Electrician wanted to connect while I was in Cambridge. Jarrett from @pacificwildgeneralcontracting had a few stories to share. Framers that are planning on being on the show in the near future, Alonzo @cluelessframer and @alchemist_carpenter and we also will have Ziggy and old school soul been framing for decades and plenty of dry Polish humour, great shows coming soon. Patrick from @blders.ca talking bikes with me via DM’s.

On with the show.

Mike has been in construction for most of his life, he is very familiar with the construction life and now he adds cigar aficionado to his life, for the last 12 years. Why cigars? We get into the many reasons why and how it connects to construction and even if you have always wanted to but weren’t sure how to, Mike shares so many great tips. We even discuss the heath concerns so please understand we are not trying to suggest you take up cigar smoking, we are simply sharing a lifestyle and TCL has always been about sharing information, laughs, inspiration, and more, once again this podcast episode or show in general might not be for you, if not, I am totally fine with that, the thousands of listeners that listen and support this amazing construction show want more and I will always share more. Thank you.

Mike begins by discussing the construction of each cigar. Cigars are made up of 5 components. Combination of 3 leaves that make up the blend, the binder which is the inner and outer of the cigar and then the wrapper which is the look of the cigar. Mike walks the listener through how to judge a cigar on firmness, or high humidity, how to cut the end with a guillotine cutter, avoid the amateur cut and achieve the perfect cut, how to properly light it and never use propane as Manny has before in social media posts, and how to draw for the first time and every time.

Shared and Discussed links

https://www.canadiancigar.com/shop/Montecristo.html

https://www.neptunecigar.com/cigars/gurkha-san-miguel-petite-corona

@scollocigars

What an amazing show and thank you so much Mike for sharing so much information, and educating our listeners on cigars. Thank you. Mike’s email at [email protected] and find him on social @torontohabanos on IG

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Larry and Brian are back on the show and Jim is joining us to talk loads and load calculations, hold on to your tool belts, the math is going to be massive on this episode of The Construction life. The last time the Waddell guys were on the show was May of 2021 with a two-part show, #77 and #78 and now they are back to educate us a lot more on the wonderful world of engineering.

We begin discussing upgrades to active factory set ups and how they engineer new ways to move in new machinery, from Honda’s Aliston’s plant to many others. We discuss a passion of Waddell, timber framing, using wood charts based one species, based mostly on SPF, Spruce, Pine and Fir, not the other SPF, Sun Protection Factor.

Jim shares a recent story on a current project of his where there has been a little engineering friction, must listen and you judge for yourself. The Waddell guys weigh in on how and why this other engineer is requesting such a massive beam and install method. Bringing us to discuss deflection with the common formula of L (Length) divided by 360 to determine the deflection in MM. The topic of KPA comes up and What is Kilopascal used for? Kilopascal Uses The pascal, kilopascal, and gigapascal (GPa) are used to express tensile strength, compressive strength, Young's modulus, and stiffness of materials.

We discuss building barns and how structures in that segment have changed and grown to the size of 140 by 900 feet with trusses spanning over one maybe two beams, massive structure for the farming industry, with 108 foot long trusses being transported on site with a little more than a red flag. We discuss the Ontario Farm Code, a total of 28 pages and it covers everything you need to know to build barns.

With 200 projects a month it is fair to say Waddell Engineering is doing something right. Keep up the awesomeness guys and all the best. Jim and Manny will do a site visit one day before the winter arrives.

Discussed and Shared Links

https://risa.com

https://www.caledontimberframes.com

https://www.wolflaketimberworks.ca

https://trusscore.com

https://monoslabezform.com

What an amazing show and thank you so much Larry and Brian for sharing so much needed information, and educating our listeners on building and engineering. Thank you. Larry’s email at [email protected] and his web site www.waddelleng.com and find them on social @waddellengltd on Twitter and @waddell_engineering on IG

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 60 plus different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Matt opens the show with Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel”, great way to open the show. Operating this business for 13 years, coming from a family of tradespeople with his Dad being an old school carpenter, Matt always had a hunger for construction but he never wanted to be that “guy” that just gave in and gave up and stopped caring.

Matt works with realtors to secure lots, he brings in other builders, friends in the industry and they share the lots, they work together to build each other’s business, the way it really should be when it comes to The Construction life. A 2003 Conestoga graduate, Matt felt he didn’t have the book smarts, he loved working with his hands. Covid changed everything for Matt and his business, what he thought was primed to close his business down, pushed his business to new levels, more homes, more employees, loads more business. Matt’s working with a 5-6 month building window from excavation to delivery and with delays in material as long as 4-5 months at a time, it can me challenging to finish these homes on time.

Matt and the brand he has built has always been and will always be about customer service and his team has the same mindset, his suppliers have the same mindset, his building team has always been about customer service and he believes he can never change that, just for an extra buck or two on the bottom line. Matt shares his greatest fear in building a construction business and we can all relate.

Discussed and Shared links

https://www.conestogac.on.ca

https://www.strassburger.net

https://www.cardinalcorp.com

https://arriscraft.com

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/store/15796

http://www.ms2.ca

What an amazing show and thank you so much Matt for sharing so much must needed information, and educating our listeners on building so many homes. Thank you. Matt’s email at [email protected] and his web site www.feeneydesignbuild.com find him on social @feeneydesignbuild

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 60 plus different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Thank you to Larry and Brian from @waddell_engineering for letting us use the office space to record these 3 shows.

We open the show by letting our listeners know Mr. Jim Caruk is back on the show and it’s great to have him back on the mic sharing so much valuable information about The Construction Life, thanks Jim.

On with the show, this show is all about the team, working together for the greater good of the building industry. Glen has a lot to say about the building code and how things have changed over the last 4 decades. You don’t want to miss this show and this one show will be one that is listened to over and over for all of the great insight Glen shares with us. Glen is a college professor at Conestoga College, probably the best trade school in Ontario, Glen is an Architectural, Construction, Engineering, Technology Program where Glen not only teaches but is a graduate of the program. Hold on to your tool belts, there is a lot on this nearly 2-hour long show.

First thing Glen shares, building officials need to understand they are part of a team and not police officers. Glen was taught early on the COB Principle, it stands for Condition Of The Bowel, depending how your body is that week that will dictate how you represent yourself to others. It really is about getting to know the tradesperson, begin with a few compliments, share some good before your share some bad. In his early days Glen learned you gained peoples respect by respecting them.

We answer a few questions from a couple of listeners that watched my story leading up to the show, shout out to @elliottstrustedtrades and @pepeandty thanks for the questions.

Here are some Discussed and Shared links

https://www.ohba.ca

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/certifications-evaluations-standards/codes-canada

https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=16962&language=en

https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/

https://worksitesafety.ca

Glen ends the show with quite a story from his early days and dealing with a contractor who never applied for a permit and Glen was driving by and the rest is history.

What an amazing show and thank you so much Glen for sharing so much must needed information and educating our listeners Building Code and the side of the industry most tradespeople don’t know much about, Thank you. Glen’s email at [email protected] and he is more than willing to answer any questions you might have.

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 60 plus different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Thank you to Larry and Brian from @waddell_engineering for letting us use the office space to record these 3 shows.

We love having guests return to the most listened to construction podcast and we love continuing the great conversations that move this amazing industry forward. Adnan was on the show way back in March of 2020, episode #56, please check out that show.

On today’s show we further discuss C Cans, building with Shipping Containers, Modular Building and more, I even come up with an interesting idea for designing shipping container dog houses for our furry friends.

Let’s get talking everything to do with shipping container building and let’s begin by saying, during Covid the price of a C Can has tripled. Adnan shares how his first time on the show he had a client reach out because they heard about Adnan on the show, we are after all the Construction Tinder. His first meeting with this new client began at the Stack Market in Toronto, check out the link https://stacktmarket.com

We discuss costs of containers, drawings, designs, options, zoning, codes, permitting, fabrication, building. Inspections throughout, CSA approvals and more. Adnan is working with contractors across Ontario and one of them is https://levelcontracting.ca

Tallest shipping container building in London England, check it out, https://www.dezeen.com/2019/07/02/worlds-tallest-shipping-container-building-london

Also check out https://dentistconcierge.ca Adnan discusses the path to make this mobile dental unit.

Don’t forget Adnan’s key hashtag - #ourmodularmovementisgrowing

What an amazing show and thank you so much Adnan for sharing so much must needed information, educating our listeners on modular design, fabrication and building, Thank you. Find Adnan on IG and Facebook @acad_modular and @adnanzabian and contact Adnan on his email at [email protected]and 647 248-9117 and web site www.acadmodular.com for your next project.

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 44 different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

Something a little different but not, today’s show is extremely relevant to the construction life, so many tradespeople ride motorcycles. Bikes are a huge part of our downtime, keeping us sane, inspiring us and our renovations, dealing with clients and more. Carmine has been my service tech for a while now and has taken care of my 1999 Ducati Monster Dark 750 which has evolved into a different kind of Monster over the 22 years of owning it.

Have a listen to this special show as Carmine shares his insight in getting into the trades, working his way through the industry to setting up his own shop, nearly two decades ago with two young apprentices on his staff. Carmine has worked on every bike imaginable, and he has a lot of great insight to share. Wait till you hear about the moto triangle, I never knew about this, and I chatted with Jim afterwards and he never knew about it either, for you older tradespeople, you want to look into the moto triangle.

The mental health benefits of riding a motorcycle are well needed when one works in the construction industry and Carmine discusses all of the connections made when you schedule a trip and make the time to improve yourself. Carmine runs us through all the types of bikes he has worked on, rode, and he gives up some great intell on Italian, British, Japanese, and American bike, old and new.

What an amazing show and thank you so much Carmine for sharing so much must needed moto information, educating our listeners on riding, moto tech and life, Thank you. Find Carmine on IG and Facebook @dukesofcycle and contact Carmine on his email at [email protected] and the web site www.thedukesofcycle.com for your next service or bike project.

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 44 different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

Stephen currently is a project manager with Black and MacDonald but got his start in sheet metal fabrication, he has his Red Seal and is also working on achieving 3 more Red Seals, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical. He’s not trying to be greedy; he wants to educate others and build this amazing industry even further. For the past 8 years he has been teaching sheet metal at a high school in Toronto in his spare time, educating the new generation of tradespeople, preparing them for real life construction.

We discuss so much on the show, from education, approved programs, the sheet metal trade, other trades and it all begins with the math, loads and loads of math and science. It’s the difference between a good trade and a great trade, understanding the how and why we build. Stephen shares so much on this show from metal techniques, artistic metal skills competitions where he has made a violin, hat, beer stein and more all out of metal.

Easiest way to remember your metals and how metals react to each, Stephen shares the Galvanic Chart of Metals - All Zebras SIN To Look Cool, which breaks down to Aluminum, Zinc, Steel, Iron, Nickel, Tin, Lead Copper. If you put aluminum and copper together, the copper oxide will eat the aluminum.

What an amazing show and thank you so much Stephen for sharing so much much needed metal and construction information, educating us and our listeners on loving what you do for a living, proud, ambitious, hungry and real, Thank you. Find Stephen on IG @sheetmetalsteve and contact on his email at [email protected] for your next project.

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 44 different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

We have one hell of a show today, our 2nd longest show to date and for very good reason, Taha, Sal and Z from Crew Men Group are here and ready to share so many construction lives experiences. Prepare to be inspired, the gentlemen from Crew Men Group will get you to remember why you got into construction. From the hood to demo to building, these guys will never hold back how passionate they are. It all began in their early teens and demo with a friend’s father, the old man wanted the boys to stay off the streets. Taha will be giving loads of people from his life, big ups, this man loves his family and friends and will never forget where he came from.

Taha went to college, didn’t really want to, studied multimedia and ended up graduating as a drug dealer. School wasn’t for him and by chance he got a job as a labourer on a landscaping project, that was his very first and he impressed the owners with his attitude. Then we meet Joe, Joe had a huge influence on Taha’s construction life, don’t want to miss this story that carries throughout the whole podcast with an ending that will resonate with many tradespeople.

This is an epic podcast and you don’t want to miss a single minute of everything the Crew Men Group have to share. Nobody on the show had anything to do with the dead bunnies, they were already dead long before any trade showed up. The next time Taha and the Crew Men Group return to the show, we have to begin with the $400,000.00 fuck up that T says was his fault but wasn’t his fault. We all learn from our fuck ups and for good reason.

What an amazing show and thank you so much Taha (T), Sal and Z, for sharing so much must needed information, educating us and our listeners on loving what you do for a living, proud, ambitious, hungry and so funny and real, Thank you. Find Crew Men Group on IG @crewmengroup and contact Taha on his email at [email protected] for your next project.

Find Manny @hardcorerenos [email protected] [email protected]

Don’t forget TCL M.A.P. Skills Competition Contest is still going on, submit your project that you did this year, send pics or video and a write up on your skills and passion to [email protected] for a chance to win $1,500.00 in cold hard Canadian Cash and the contest is open to every tradesperson from around the world since The Construction Life is listened to in 44 different countries and find it on one of the 11 podcast platforms online.

The Contest winner will be revealed September 6th 2021, Labour Day.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]