The Construction Life

We have Jim Caruk, the man, legend, the Godfather of Construction on the show and he has nearly 50 years of experience to share with us. So much talk we had to split the show into two parts, Corleone would be so proud.

Starting his career in construction right out of high school with a major in trades, sheet metal, Jim went right into Union work, the year was 1973. He did the sheet metal work for 15 years, worked hard, learned a lot about the business and people, made an enemy or two along the way, then decided to go on his own. Began a two-man renovation business and went right into the work for the love of it. Started with small renos, then came an addition with no access to the back, so Jim suggested go underneath the home, they did. Turned out, that particular reno was for a TV producer and with a camera following Jim the hit show Real Renos was born, that was the early 2000’s and went on for 8 years. Jim had one request with the show, whatever happened, happened, it doesn’t get changed, and that went both ways, the clients can say whatever they want and so could he, and he did. That is what made it real compared to what is currently on TV today.

Jim has had his fair share of issues with the Ministry of Labour and he brings up a few of the good ones, mixed in with Inspectors arriving on site. Jim gets right into what makes a good contractor, what makes a successful renovation company, yes there are bad clients and there are great ones that have hired him several times. Of course Jim has lost money on projects, walked away from projects but he has always stayed loyal to the construction and his passion, and building.

Lastly on this first part, Jim tells us why homes are so expensive today. He shares how clients know how to screw contractors over. Why he is well respected by his crew that have been with him for 2 decades or more and by the new guys.

A massive thank you to Jim for spending the 3 plus hours with us talking construction. Really appreciate your time.

Find Jim at www.carukhall.com

@jimcaruk

@carukhallconstruction

This is The Construction Life

www.theconstructionlife.com

We’ve got a great show for you this week. We’re talking with Renoshield about building more trust in the construction industry. Payments are a big source of frustration when it comes to renovations. From scope changes to stolen deposits to homeowners refusing to pay, contractors are put in a tough position. Dave Strang and Tyler Burton join us as our special guests to talk about how Renoshield is shaking up the industry. Both have mechanical engineering backgrounds and they’ve built an app that lets you and your client securely transfer payments -- up to $50k from your phone. No more chasing cheques or multiple e-transfers. They have a special promotion for listeners when Renoshield launches their new version later this year. Join the waitlist at try.renoshield.com/TCL to get 6 months free. And if that’s not already enough, their sister company Smart Reno, the largest network of contractors across Canada, has a promotion of $200 off. Learn more at register.smartreno.com/tcl/.

This is The Construction Life.

www.renoshield.com/tcl

Jackie Schagen Design introduces us to her world of Space Planning Expert. What an amazing show about the whole truth behind Interior Design, the relationships with contractors, clients and changes. Jackie has a great outlook on the construction and design industry sharing her thoughts from school to the job site.

Jackie understands that dynamic between her client and her contractor and how everyone needs to be on the same design page. She discusses the good and bad, the low and high budgets and working with clients on creating functional spaces for years of great living no matter what the budget is.

Jackie even gets into a little talk about the reno TV show and the so called “designers” on these shows. Manny and Carilto have a great time talking shop with Jackie.

Thank You Jackie so much for your valuable time and knowledge.

Please give Jackie a follow @jackieschagendesign

Please contact her at www.jackieschagendesign.ca

This is The Construction Life.

www.theconstructionlife.com

We finally have a conversation about Geothermal heating and cooling systems and we have Roman and Orest working with Denis Campbell from Polar Bear Geo. Let’s talk about a system that has been around for over a century in Europe, even longer than that if we discuss the very early days of capturing heat from Mother Earth and using that energy to save the planet.

Let's not forget how Geothermal is actailly saving the planet in energy consumption and producing properties.

This podcast gets very technical and Orest and Roman do an amazing job dumbing it down for Manny and Carlito. We all know the good and the bad behind Geothermal but on today’s show we uncover it all and you will be amazed on the valuable information the guest share.

Please give them a follow @polarbeargeo

Please check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVWyFrMbtu0

Please contact them for any inquires https://www.polarbeargeo.com

Thank you Orest and Roman for being on the show.

This is The Construction Life

Manny and Carlito are on location at the Artistic Skylight warehouse talking with Marco and Nenzio from Artistic Skylights. We get right into the history of the skylight and how far back in history was the very first skylight ever built and installed and we also get into the 40-year history of Artistic and where it all began. Then we get into all of the benefits especially the health benefits behind natural daylight inside your home and business. We discuss the difference between glass and acrylic skylights and how large can Artistic build a skylight for your next project. Of course we discuss, do skylights leak? We get right into the myths of skylights and even talk about the days of Purple Glass. What an amazing show and thank you again Marco and Nenzio for all of the great information on Artistic Skylights. Please check them out online and on social media www.artisticskylight.com @artisticskylight This is The Construction Life.

Matthew Janeko joins us and we get right into talking about cash jobs and are they worth it. Manny was surprised to hear what Matthew had to express. We also get into operating your construction business from registering to incorporating and how it is best to keep the Canadian Tax Revenue off your hard working back. We begin the show with our new format and we share what some of the retirement stats are like, they are not good. We get into what you can and cannot write off as a part of your business and you will be surprised to hear that anyone in construction and on social media there are other writes offs to consider that will benefit your bottom line. Midway through the show we share another Ontario Building Code detail and we wrap up the show with another Green Book infraction and fine. Thank you Matthew for being on the show. This is The Construction Life.

Here's a thought...why not have actual clients on the podcast? Let's ask them what they think of us, think of contractors, think of construction, think of our pricing, think of our schedules, think of our rates and more. So many great questions here and we didn't hold back even when they really didn't want to share. These cleints tell us truth when it comes to The Construction Life.

We discuss how the clients find contractors, their first impressions, their last impressions, what they think of our estimates, what word of mouth means to them, the stress associated with construction and dealing with us. So much great talk in this one show.

We even get into the reno TV shows and what these cleints truly feel about them.

Thank you so much Cesare and Marie for your valuable time, we know our listeners will appreciate what you had to share.

This is The Construction Life

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We have the one and only Daniel Vella of Vella Contracting on the show. We get right into finish carpentry, where and how Daniel began, a self taught contractor and trim expert with a love for everything wood, especially crown moulding.

This show opens in our new format, all of you know that our guests sing a little tune as our opener, now we get into a little construction history, fact and today we find out when and where was MDF first introduced into the market. Half way through the show we share a building code detail, then we wrap up the show with a Green Book infraction and fine followed by Carlito's beatbox.

What a great chat with Daniel, his fav tool brands, glues, a few tricks of his and others, we get into social media, pros and cons. Daniel was even kind enough to arrive with a pizza, what a perfect gentleman. Thank You Sir.

@vellacontractiing www.vellareno.com

This is The Construction Life

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On the show today, we have Adnan Zabian an Architect and Engineer with a focus on building modular shipping container structures. What a facinating talk as we get into every detail of taking a shipping container and turning it into a home, office or temporary space. The pros and cons of working with these shipping containers and why. We get into all types of cladding options, design options, construction options when it comes to modular building. We loved this talk a lot. Find Adnan @acadmodular and www.acadmodular.org

This is The Construction Life.

What an amazing show we have today, we have been waiting for this one for a very long time, let's get right into Demolition, Excavation and Abatement with Michael from MagCor Demolition. We talk about the industry in general and what made Michael get into demo first, excavation quickly followed and then abatement. With only a few years in the business, Michael has been able to carve out a very solid brand. Determined to change the construction industry with every project he works on, Michael and his crew are doing exactly that, plenty of respect from Manny and Carlito for doing so. Have a listen to this show where we talk about anything and everything to do with his business and how he runs his business. Thanks Michael for being so open and honest with us. Check them out, give them a follow @magcordemolition and www.magcor.ca

This is The Construction Life