What do you look for in a carpenter?

[jimbouk]

Punctuality. Communication. Quality of work. Politeness.

As a tradesman if you hit all of those it makes life alot easier in my experience.

cheers
   

 

[Linbro]

I was just backing up demographic. He was trying to be helpful, by the look of his post.

 

[Holmz]

If we are choosing side, then I am backing up [member=37561]#Tee[/member] .

 

[rizzoa13]

As an employer id say im looking for youtu not smell like cigarettes, not be all tweaked out on energy drinks, always be moving and happy to be there. Man I've got lower expectations than most  [eek]

 

[PreferrablyWood]

Quite like Garry Martins post, I'll keep it for future reference. Thanks

 

[leakyroof]

As an employer id say im looking for youtu not smell like cigarettes, not be all tweaked out on energy drinks, always be moving and happy to be there. Man I've got lower expectations than most  [eek]

You forgot ' holding tools in hand versus cell phone/smart phone updating your Facebook page and taking a selfie at the job site'..... [wink]

 

[Wooden Lungs]

One time many moons ago I was Carpenter Foreman on a very nice Job in the centre of Dublin. I needed help with all the work and asked for extra Carpenters so I called the head office. I was told by the contracts manager the following day that they had found me a time served carpenter who was "very good!!". any way I got a call from one of the young carpenters saying he was bringing this new wonder to site that morning.
Ping went the lift as I was walking past it and the doors opened to reveal the young carpenter and this new wonder! Straight off he was carrying a plastic shopping bag with his tools in it. I visibly sighed and said for him to follow me. I set him up boxing in some simple pipe work and left him to it. About an hour or so later I went to check on him and it was a sight to behold. It was truly awful. All out of shape and saw scars all over it not to mention screws poking out of it. So naturally I gave it to him in the neck. Which means I got very very angry and let him know this with some very colourful language. He was very indignant and was insisted he was fully qualified and experienced. The slant of this story is ever since that experience I have looked to a trade mans tools to indicate his skill level. (I had guessed this already but here was the proof) Even how they are transported and their appearance matters.
This has held up over the years.
Unfortunately I have to say that really top quality trades men seem to be rare nowadays. It is both the preformed building components and the training that has undermined it very badly.
An apprentice of mine recently told me that the chisels they use in the college workshop are blunt because even the tutors can't sharpen them properly!!! I couldn't believe it.
I have had a very hard time with carpenters skill level over the last few years of doing large contracts etc. Carpentry alone is one of the trades that requires physical fitness, skill and an artistic/design capability. It is a very difficult trade but one of the most rewarding. In fact I personally see it as a lifestyle choice and not a job at all!!! but thats just my opinion of course.
It is also true that when you are dealing with individuals in a work environment that do not possess tools and equipment a different rule applies, for example apprentices and carpenters mates etc.
In essence what I want in any trade who works for me or with me is good intent. By that I mean someone who at the very least will try and do a good job. Good intent shows me that the individual has ethics. That guy who turned up with his tools in a shopping bag also told the office that he had crashed his van a few days previous and had no transport (hence the young carpenter driving him to my job) so the office leant him a couple of grand to get another van. He left my job never to seen again....very much richer.

 

[Bigchasbroon]

There's been a number of changes that have caused a lack of skills. When I started out at 16 I got £26.30 a week paid by the government. I was free to my employer for the first year (other than the timber I destroyed) Nowadays kids are paid more and therefore there's an economic pressure for them to be producing right away.

When I was 16 I was basically bullied into doing things right, I didn't see it at the time but looking back to 1986 through the lens of 2016 that's exactly what it'd be called today. Today's 16 year old would run home crying or take their employer to a tribunal. ( I was actually struck with a piece of timber once).

Power tools and nail guns make it so easy. What is the point in teaching a kid to mitre a facing (architrave, door trim) with a hand saw and fit with a plane when you can get it perfect from a chopsaw every time?

I think the increased economic pressures and modern attitudes (and I don't blame the youth of today it's our fault we raised them!!) have a lot to do with decking standards.
There's also a trend to move towards specialisation. It's harder for a little village workshop like the one I started in to do everything. Going right back 100 years or so that little shop did undertaking, cart building, doors, windows, stairs and all the onsite works, roofs etc. But gradually these services have become obsolete or taken over by a specialist. Window making is now almost only done by specialist window manufacturers. Doors stairs etc are heading that way too.

Anyway you're right if I guy comes onsite with a carrier bag of tools or B and Q chisel set and parkside drill you know right away.

 

[six-point socket II]

Well, I can show you what I'm fed up with when I hire a pro, pictures from Friday, heavily altered to make sure the workers can't be identified - but it gets the message across, anyway. And yes, that's a Mafell he's using......... And of course he wasn't wearing any PPE...

And no, these are no cheap "know it all - do it all"-for-hire-guys - it's two carpenters from a highly respected and spoken of carpenter's shop - I guess at this point it WAS highly respected and well spoken of...

'nuff said.

Just for clarification on the second picture: if someone hadn't stepped on the board, he would have tried to make the cut without any form of fixation/counter weight

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Doug S]

What was the finished job like?

Doug

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

Well, I can show you what I'm fed up with when I hire a pro, pictures from Friday, heavily altered to make sure the workers can't be identified - but it gets the message across, anyway. And yes, that's a Mafell he's using......... And of course he wasn't wearing any PPE...

And no, these are no cheap "know it all - do it all"-for-hire-guys - it's two carpenters from a highly respected and spoken of carpenter's shop - I guess at this point it WAS highly respected and well spoken of...

'nuff said.

Just for clarification on the second picture: if someone hadn't stepped on the board, he would have tried to make the cut without any form of fixation/counter weight

Kind regards,
Oliver

I take it they forgot sawhorses,  they did what they had to do.  Not sure if they did anything wrong, they improvised with what they had available.  As far as PPE, many professionals don't wear Personal Protective Equipment.  Not saying its right, but you cant judge them on their work for the gear they wear or not wear.  I have to admit I don't wear the proper PPE at all times.   

 

[six-point socket II]

What was the finished job like?

Doug

Hi,

Right now I'd say acceptable - but it's not finished yet. The good part is that the edge they cut like that is invisible, and the angled cuts from the second pictures: let's just say caulking and paint were their friends...

The finished work will be OK overall I'm pretty sure at the moment, but workmanship, overall way of execution well below what I expected from this company and also well below what they charge.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Holmz]

I am surprised you did not do it yourself.

 

[six-point socket II]

I take it they forgot sawhorses,  they did what they had to do.  Not sure if they did anything wrong, they improvised with what they had available.  As far as PPE, many professionals don't wear Personal Protective Equipment.  Not saying its right, but you cant judge them on their work for the gear they wear or not wear.  I have to admit I don't wear the proper PPE at all times. 

Hi!

I originally didn't want to go into all the boring details: when I saw what they wanted/ were about to do, I of course offered them to fetch my saw horses within a matter of minutes - they declined.

I don't judge their work by what PPE they wear or not, or how/if they improvise - it just fit the overall picture I have gotten over time.

Probably I'm much to pedantic when it comes to this type of stuff and generally expect to much. Maybe my/a mistake.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

I am surprised you did not do it yourself.

Hi!

Not this time, time is running to fast for me at the moment, I sadly have other stuff I need to take care of.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[jimbo51]

How about  storm door install where a 4 1/2 inch grinder is used to trim the door flanges and to cut some wood off the door frame? I might suggest a track saw and a multi tool...

And where a paint 5 in 1 tool is used as a wood chisel?

The job ended ok because of the flange and caulk covering most issues, but I was not really impressed by the level of professionalism.

 

[duburban]

If I took the time to get setup just right, I might already be over budget for some projects.

 

[Cheese]

Wow...all of these horror stories make me realize why I take care of business myself. When that happens, no one left to blame and no one left to congratulate...it is what it is and you're responsible for it...the buck stops here.