I’ve seen a lot of great ideas people have when building or renovating a home over the years. I’ve seen more cases where we wished the original builder would have thought ahead and done something differently. I’m going to try to keep this brief but history has taught us that probably won’t be the case.... Continue Reading →
5 Big ways to treat your employees well
Right now is a rare time in the labour market, more employees have more choice than they ever have before. It’s driving wages up, people have a choice of what industry to work in and it might seem like job seekers are interviewing you. That to me is a great thing! This won’t last forever... Continue Reading →
The trades is the least sexist field I’ve worked in
I’m not saying it’s perfect and I’m sure the fact I work in that field in recent/’more woke’ years makes a difference but construction people have been overall less sexist than any other field I’ve worked in. Of course this is just my experience and others might have a totally different one. There are certain... Continue Reading →
Why renovating is so much more expensive than building from scratch
Renovations seen to be the hobby that lots of people have settled on now that they are home all the time. It makes sense really you have the time to manage the job, home values are soaring and if you’re lucky enough to have extra pandemic cash, why not? People are often flabbergasted at the... Continue Reading →
Construction Secrets: 8 Renovations that are probably not worth it
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about home renovations that are always a good idea which you can read about here. But there are some things, some pretty popular things that aren’t such a great idea. These are both for people planning to stay in their homes and planning to sell. But we’ll get... Continue Reading →
Construction Secrets: Home renovations that always make sense
These days are pretty crazy in the construction biz. Some people are home all the time to dream up and oversee projects and some even haves extra money saved. Which means there is a WHOLE LOT of renovation going on at the moment. Some of it is a pretty good investment, some is necessary for... Continue Reading →
8 ways Tradespeople are Overlooked
I never, ever thought that I would end up working in the trades like ever. But I have been for a while now and it’s actually pretty cool. I know that there is a pervasive dismissiveness among many people still that someone is “just a plumber.” We’re also treated like that a pretty good part... Continue Reading →
Construction Secrets: Builder Grade Finish Inflation
Rough estimate time, it’s pretty wide knowledge that it costs about $150 a square foot to build a house. However that’s not really true any more. Beyond some other complicating factors like slopes and floorpan most of that comes down to finish grade inflation. What was standard for a home 20 years ago just isn’t... Continue Reading →
What Happens to Used Building Materials
Not all that long ago I started hauling stuff for work to the dump. Before that we contracted someone else to do it. The first thing I learned is that it isn’t your city’s landfill it actually goes to a whole separate place, the construction and demolition place (C&D). The second thing I learned is... Continue Reading →
Construction Secrets: The Problem with Home Inspections
Home inspections aren’t worth the paper their written on. Post over, you can go pet your cat now. Well not really, nothing’s really that simple. I’ve had it happen to me, friends and family have had it happen to them and well you might have even had it happen to you. You get a home... Continue Reading →