Myself and another tradesmen have started an all out war between each other. A friendly war of course but still a war. Give me your best pranks / jokes you played on your tradesmen or apprentices. The tradesmen is question is a smoker, drives an old rust bucket ford focus and is a painter at the company i work at so very small toolbox. Nothing is off limits but at the end of the day we need to remain friends. I’m willing to lose my job for this war as i have other job offers.

Hi. I'm am so stressed to the point I'm mid breakdown

I'm a muktitradesman with my own business and the customer is causing me so much stress and anxiety. They paid there deposit for materials which have all been cut up for the cabinets that atr in the process of being made. I have done work in the property already as part of the works list but they keep adding more and expecting it to be done sooner that is physically possible and I have said that I'm unable to get it done in the time frame, and its causing so much stress to the point I can't sleep and just want to cry all the time.

I cant keep working for them on this job.

I need to cancel the contract but don't k ow how to go about it. Do I chase the payment for work thats been done? Do I refund the deposit even though I can't return the materials? Do I keep the deposit but give them the materials?

Please help me. I'm so defeated

A few times, my mom tells me before that my grandmother likes going to life analyzer (I don't exactly know what it calls) my mom said that most of them in their family has been analyze by a reader of some sort. She actually doesn't know what to call it, so she just call it analyzer.

The analyzer said what business is suited for my mom to be successful, where to do business, what color they should use, etc. And all of it is quite right. My parents is quite successful now, because of that. Yeah, still, it require hard work but atleast they're successful and can give us a good life.

But me, I'm kinda feel down lately 'cause i do online business.Selling pastry, breads, cakes. But I'm not getting much customer ever since. Most of them just ask and then boom, they disappear. I see some home baker in my area that has a lot of customers. They even go to other area to sell. My baked goods is not bad. Actually it all taste good. I started learning baking when i was in grade 10 and I attended pastry academy to improve my skills, but I'm worried cause I'm not having a lot of customers.

My school mate in pastry academy said it's because I'm just starting, but no. I'm selling baked goods for 4 years now but yeah it sucks. I thought after attending pastry school i can get more customers in but the other home bakers i know has more customers. Well my relatives and my friends doesn't order from me actually. My friends always tells me they don't have money. My relatives well, they want cheap price but good taste, so I don't even thought of asking if they want to order.

I'm worried if it's because I'm just not lucky to do business here in our town. Maybe I'm more be successful if i sell somewhere else. Or maybe I'm not really for business. Maybe I'll be more successful if i just work in some pastry shops or hotel.

I've been in the subcontracting world for a few years and decided to start a side gig. I noticed a few of my trades friends have been subcontracting work for quite some time, but few of them know how to do it well. For example, not very good at finding subs, vetting them, retaining them, developing long-term relationships, creating subcontracting agreements, etc.

I want to help people like my friends improve their business and make more money through subcontracting. I was thinking of creating digital products (pdfs, videos, agreements templates, checklists, resources, etc.).

While I know this could be helpful to my friends, I'm not sure whether this could help others... Is this something you guys think would be worth creating for other tradespeople?

Any advice/feedback would help (even if you have other suggestions as to how I can help other tradespeople). Thank you!

I have a bachelor's degree in Agronomy. Honestly, I find my career very boring and underpaid in Canada, plus they are mostly outdoors and very far awar from the city. I don't have much experience and it seems in BC similar roles pay around 60k to 90k a year. The company I worked with paid me 70k a year as salary but I was working too many underpaid hours, and the owner was a**hole.

In my last position I was a manager at a processing ranch so part of my role involved basic aspects of millwright and maintenance in general. During this time I found working with my hands very interesting. Far more than my career as an agronomist.

I have two companies that would take me as an electrician apprentice in the lower mainland in BC. I also have an interest for hvac.

My question is. Which province and city would be a good place to start if I were to switch career? I was living in Langley previous and even though I loved the city, it's very expensive.

Also, do you think I'm making a mistake by switching career? I appreciate any feedback.

I'm 27 years old. And married with no kids.

Im looking to get into using stilts for ceiling tile punch out. Never done it before but my guys said dont start on tool pro stilts and to get a more expensive brand. But they look to be built exactly the same as dura-stilts (what they recommended). Whats the difference? Are the tool pro ones somewhat ok? They seem pretty nice but idk lol, i have no experience.

Hi I’m studying to be an electrician, however I have heard talks that they don’t make profit as the money they get for the job goes mostly on materials. And they are left with substantial money. Are these lies I am being told.

Thought I would come here to ask who I get intouch with in regards to water damage to my wall. Not sure if it's a plumber or a roofer, cannot see any.leaks in my attic. Wondering if it may be the guttering.

Hello!

I renovated my bathrooms two years ago and installed new white undermount ceramic basins. Recently, I've noticed the white paint around the edge of the basin plughole is starting to chip. Has anyone had a similar issue, and know what to recommend?

I'm looking for recommendations on how to touch up or repaint this area effectively, so it blends in and looks like new again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

https://preview.redd.it/fi5i9li95mfd1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfbbd5c56ce8e73505871355262a0580c0d44f11

Hello folks, I bought a flat at the start of the year and immediately began losing the mosaic tiles from the floor of my shower. I'm looking to get someone in to sort it.

Id prefer to lose the mosaic tiles and add either larger stone-esque tiles or maybe that wet room style vinyl/epoxy stuff. The poorly painted and flaking tiles on the back wall I'd like replaced with nicer tiles.

On top of this I'd like a better drain put in, one where the top can be removed when my wife's hair inevitably blocks it 😀

My question is, given the ask above, who should I be contacting!? Do I need to get a few different trades on board

Thanks so much in advance, ive been putting this off for months and terrified that im pissing shower water down into the foundations 🤣 I should add that I'm in the UK in case that makes a difference.

I'm a 21 year old living in Alberta, don't have any experience in the trades. I have been looking into the trades for a career. I need some help deciding which trade is right for me. (Easy to learn/Understand) Don't have the greatest math skills. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Looking to get started in trades, and I’m curious if anyone here has experience with applying to privately owned student residences for apartments.

I've been told by people in trades (mostly carpenters/bricklayers), and career advisors, that getting into the trades would be relatively simple. I'm in a corporate job right now and I'm completely done with this kind of work at 23, so I've been applying to local carpenter/laborer/apprenticeships etc. positions with no luck at all.

Many of these places are paying average, the listings say you don't need any experience (will train the right candidate), and appear to be welcoming to beginners - but I've only had one interview out of maybe a hundred applications. I've also tried joining a local carpenters union but they require a letter of intent-to-hire for membership.

What do I need to do differently to find a job? In person applications, take things off my (brief) resume that may make me look ""overqualified""? How do you get started in carpentry/framing if you need experience to get started?

Unfinished basement, all concrete, high water table, basement has weeping tile and a sump pump

We got COSTCO interlocking foam floor tiles to create a play area for the kids in the basement when it's way too cold to play outside during our 5 months of winter. It gets to be -40 in the coldest month or two most winters.

With the spring melt it took on a hint of mildew. I raised up the squares and BAM lots of mildew smell with just barely visible mold patterns on the bottom side.

So we tore it all up, washed the floor and both sides of the foam matting first with dish soap and water followed by bleach solution, and bought a dehumidifier, keeping the humidity at a constant 35%.

With the floor being the coldest surface in the house and the high water table there's going to be condensation between the mats and the floor so the mold will come back again.

What is my best option for preventing moisture intrusion from below but also condensation from above?

I've been looking at Liquid Rubber and other sealant products to prevent moisture from below, but the surface is still going to be cold so how do I minimize condensation from above?

Is 6 mil poly vapour barrier enough insulation or do I need some kind of foam padding layer on top before I put my foam mat layer back down for the play area?

I have several trades in ATM fitting a new bathroom. I work from home but am in meetings all day so don't have time to make them brews. I told them to help themselves to any drinks in the kitchen but it's been 2 days and no-one has. Should I make them for them? Is it bad manners not to?

Hey, I’m 25 hrs old, Navy (Machinists mate) reservist. I want to get into the trades, nothing specific but would like to be an electrician or plumber. I recently visited Lincoln tech and Apex but I can’t decide what’s the best choice or to go to the IBEW, considering the wait time for them is going to be a while. Anyone got any recommendations for what’s the best plan to get into the trades, working hopefully by the fall. I have a kid on the way and just want to make decent money in a long fulfilling career with my hands.

Hi,

I am looking to buy a house soon and in the garden of this house is an outhouse which the previous owners had used as music studio. It has a working toilet in it.

i am thinking converting this into a seperate residence/flat for hosting Airbnb or keep tradional tenants.

It doesnt have a gas boiler or gas supply going in. The outhouse is located within 10 meters of the property itself

With regards to gas, i think its probably better to have a seperate supply/meter to avoid complications.

Im posting this to see what the process would be for this? can any qualified builder qualify for this or do i have to get British gas to dig up the garden/road to lay down the supply? Will the supply split at the point of where my gas meter is? (The outhouse has electricity from the house but we would need its own meter as well)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts

Hello trades of all kinds,

This isn't quite the question I'm sure you guys were expecting on this page in particular but I need advice.

My husband (21 M) and I (21 F) just made the decision to accepted a position with a well known telecom company and he will be traveling 30 days out 10 days home. I'm super excited for him and want to support him in the choice to make this work. We are young both in age and in married years so we are still learning each other and how to navigate marriage. It's been very rough going for about a year now.

I can't go with him for personal and my own work reasons but I wish to support him in the best ways I can! What can I do for my husband before he goes? Is there something your SO's do that is meaningful/helpful to you?

My husband is very.. Unemotional and says he does not care whenever I ask him directly so I want some outside opinions.

Another question is what items are helpful while traveling for a trade? Snacks, notes, good travel bags, etc.?

Seriously any advice is welcome. This is a whole new ball park for us so I'm a deer in headlights.

Hi All, I have really good plumbers but I am stumped and I think it may be a cross trade issue. I am on well water with a pressure tank (probably 1968) that is somehow associated with the newly installed radon system with it's own pressure tank. I believe it's the newer tank that fills the system but I'm not 100% sure. We have had the water fail twice recently and when it does we also lose a bunch of outlets and some lights. Obviously I start looking for the problem at the 200 amp electrical panel or the boiler room subpanel and I find no tripped breakers. What's weirder is that in both cases, the outlets and water have restored themselves a few hours later. What kind of electrical issue resets itself?

I appreciate any insight you can offer.

I have a baxi combi boiler which for a couple of days has been cutting out with error 133. The gas mains pressure is fine, the condensate pipe isnt blocked and it sometimes runs fine for a few hours if I turn the gas supply off and back on again. Occasionally after resetting it, the heating will cause the fault to reappear, but running the hot water will kick it going with no issue. The fan sounds okay, and the pump is doing its thing. Any ideas what might be triggering the fault? Thanks all!

First of all, I have a feeling I have listening and concentration problems. Maybe ADD or ADHD. To god I hope not. I've tried, tried my hardest. Forced my self to work super hard and pay attention to all details. And when I get home I repeat the things I did at work in my mind. First month they taught me the basics. How to install wires and where all the lines and nulls go. And then I had to make pipes for where the cables go in. I fked up so much in the beginning but stopped making mistakes after 2 months. They tell me things and then I do it then they come back and Im like in my head

"When was that even said? "

so the pipes mostly always go 10 cm from the wall. And if it's on the ceiling maximum distance the braces can be is 40 cm. That I understood. But for the entire 10 cm thing I just learned after 2 months. And after that I could do it flawlessly.

I always harm myself at home because of how shit I am. But then I think to myself I should pay more attention. Then I had to make the wall sockets. And I aint even had enough practice with that. So it took me longer because using the level didnt really feel natural. It was only after a few tries I could do it well. This pissed off the journeyman and my boss because of my speed.

And I'm so confused. First they tell me I can better ask 100 times then to f it up. But when do at one point they tell me I should figure it out myself and that they are busy and can't help me all the time. Which is reasonable. But then when I try to figure it out myself and eventually finally get the hang of it, my boss comes and gets pissed because it took 2 days. (I had to place covers onto LED strips that were awkwardly placed behind a wall of a toilet stall where it was hard to reach. Someone didn't even install the profiles right which caused me a lot of fking time)

And then my journeyman finally comes and tells me and shows me this is how I do it. And I finish it faster than ever. Like in a few minutes.

IDK what to think of myself now or what to do. I don't wanna blame anyone because of course it's my fault I didn't do hard enough.

How can I overcome my alledged ADHD? It's ruining my life. No matter how hard I listen, It just goes one ear in and out. It's not that I don't wanna listen. It's just that my brain somehow doesn't process it and it makes me wanna kill myself. I get so angry I punch my head a lot.

But whatever it is, I got no excuses. How do I just get better and learn faster?????

IDK I'm just confused as to why I'm told I'm not improving? It felt like I learned a lot and managed to perfectly install things without having to redo them???

I keep hearing a very faint, intermittent beeping by my sink and I can't for the life of me figure out what's causing it. It beeps once every two seconds and randomly beeps twice sometimes. What's even weirder, is that it seems quieter when I stick my head under the sink as opposed to putting my ear to the drain in the sink, like the noise is coming out of the drain itself. I've checked the under sink water filter, the garbage disposal, the dishwasher, nothing is making the noise. Does anyone have an idea of what's causing it? It's driving me nuts!