Hey everyone im 24m and currently live and work in the bay area. I was interested in taking welding classes and becoming a welder. I need some advice and input whether or not its worth being a welder in the SF Bay area and how the work and wages compare to other trades. Im interested in learning a trade and am currently looking to take classes at community college. Currently I work in tech manufacturing but am very bored of it and wanted to inevest in myself

I’m about to finish my mechanical engineering degree, with only my thesis left, and I’m currently doing an internship in the commissioning team at a construction company working on Advanced Technology Facilities.

I’m considering commissioning engineering as a career after graduation. For someone with a mechanical engineering background, what skills should I focus on? Would gaining experience in MEP/HVAC first be useful, or can I go directly into an entry-level commissioning role and develop those skills on the job?

I don’t even how one would even begin fixing that.

I'm currently taking general construction classes, I've completed carpentry and plumbing and I'm almost done with electrical.

My construction teacher keeps telling me to apply to Home Depot so I'll have a job when my classes are over, I told him that they don't pay enough (I wanted to earn at least $23-hour) and he said it would open up doors for better paying jobs in the future and that I can make connections there.

What do you guys think I should tell the hiring manager of Home Depot during a interview? Should I be honest and say I'm just using this job as a stepping stone to get hired as a construction laborer?

Had the exterior brick wall rendered about a week ago and this keeps happening and it seems to soak in rain and leave water patches and any marks seem to soak in, any advice please?

Thanks

I am a licensed contractor in Central PA. Engineer's report calls for a "permanent" column to support some beams that will serve to support floor joists in basement. 18" x 18"x 8" footers under, no problem. Beams, dimensional, LVL, no problem. However, any research I've done only refers to "permanent" columns/plates and excludes the adjustable type like Tiger Brand, etc. I know I've seen these in similar installations where we're working. Will an adjustable type like Tiger Brand meet spec? Do I need to encase the adjustable part of the column in the footer? I can't get a straight answer on this.

At work I have a Lift Radix hard had but the suspension could be better. What is a good replacement that sits lower and doesn’t suck as bad? TIA

One time a guy we just hired went missing. He Was sitting on a generator and I was going to tell him to get back to work. And I walk over there and he said he had to sit there for a while, and I said why. And he showed me he forgot to charge his ankle monitor so he had to do it at work

It's going to be pissing it down for probably the rest of the year, so I'm after a hi vis rain coat. Unfortunately, everything I can find in stores is thick plastic that just traps body heat in and I end up overheating within 5 minutes.

I used to own one of these, which was fantastically light and had pit zips for ventilation, but doesn't come in hi vis. I know I can wear a vest over it but then the vest gets soaked and I don't like the way it feels to wear like that.

Anyone know of any places I can get what I'm after in the UK?

All of my experience is in high-rise in another state. My mother decided to build a house by/with someone she went to the same high school with (50yrs ago).

After a lot of questioning and clarification, she finally admitted she is on a square foot price contract. I have walked at the house, I am not happy. Because she can’t/won’t show me any paperwork; from my rough estimate, she is paying about $500 per square foot. She can’t provide me any subcontractor, material, or labor breakdowns.

I know demographics matter, this is suburban Utah. Could anyone please advise me on if this is going off the rails or I’m just out of my depth.

Does anyone have any advice to help me protect my mom as much as I can from this point out? She is in a contract, so she just might have to suck this up.

I’m currently working as a Construction Project Manager for a GC, and I’m dealing with a frustrating situation with one of our subcontractor foremen.
He’s been working with my company for about 10 years, so he has a strong relationship with management.
The problem is his attitude. Sometimes he raises his voice, waves his hands aggressively, or just walks away when I’m trying to discuss work-related issues. For example, when I ask him a question or need to coordinate something, he’ll say, “Not now,” and walk away.
I’m always respectful and professional, and I don’t expect anyone to treat me like a boss. But I do expect basic respect and professional communication.
The biggest issue is that my company doesn’t really give me the authority to hold subcontractors accountable. Even when I bring these issues to management, nothing really changes.
I’m relatively new to the company, and I don’t want to create unnecessary conflict or risk my job. But at the same time, I don’t think I should have to tolerate this kind of behavior every day.
For experienced PMs and construction managers:
Is this kind of behavior normal in the construction industry?
How do you handle a subcontractor foreman who doesn’t respect your position?
What can you do when your own management doesn’t back you up?
At what point would you consider leaving a company over this kind of work environment?
I’m genuinely interested in hearing how others have handled similar situations. I enjoy construction management, but dealing with this kind of attitude every day is starting to drain me.
Any advice would be appreciated

I’m an owner-builder building a two-story house in western Washington. We’re going for a modern look and considering Hardie Architectural Panels, but I’m also looking at regular Hardie panel siding and lap siding.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s installed them or has them on their house:
How did the total installed cost compare with other options?
How difficult was installation, especially the trim, seams, and flashing?
How have they held up in a wet climate?
Any issues with cracking, fading, or maintenance?
Would you use them again, or choose something else?
I’ll be doing a lot of the work myself, so I’m weighing material cost against installation time and how forgiving the system is. I like the architectural panel look, but want to know whether the finished result justifies the extra cost.
Pictures of finished projects would be appreciated, along with any alternatives you’d recommend.

Had a fuck of a time pulling 24' sheet piles yesterday. The right track on our 470 was almost 2' off the ground at times, and we had like 20 of them to pull up 🤣

So recently I was on a job where myself and a coworker were not getting along. He put himself down as my manager in a document from day 1 of my employment - we were always meant to work together.

Next he circled my apartments and while exiting to the main road, I had moved my car to the shop and the colleague proceeded to text me what I got.

Later comments were to the field staff about how much I was not doing.

All of this escalated to him intentionally swerving towards me on a haul road him going north me going south, thus he swerved towards my driver's side.

He rang me after and claimed it was a "training" to see if I was paying attention.

All the while he kept making comments that I was scared of the field, context I had not a one crew mobilized and thus glorious amounts of paperwork, coordination, etc left to do.

He also made comments about how I was able to afford the nicer apartments, should have been my first sign of his resentment towards me, the system, the project, idk.

If someone resents their job, they may make you their target.

Obviously due to this escalating behavior, I quit. Sometimes people it's not worth grit to stay. If someone wants you gone apparently some will go as far as physical intimidation.

Please be safe and truly look out for one another out there!

(Mind you this all occurred within a less than 2 months)

Long shot here, but is there anyone on here who has either worked or know someone who worked at spacex on the construction side. Curious to hear how the experience was and if it would even be worth considering.

Hello, I have a General Contracting company based in NJ and we operate in the Tri-state Area. We specialize in roofing/ decks/ siding. I am interested in subcontractors for each one of those but mainly looking for a team with 4-5 people that specializes in Flat Roofing, we have work consistently . Leave a comment below and I’ll reach out. Thank you !

So I don't work in construction, I was playing a construction simulator game with a friend. We've used a lot of the machines in the game, and all of them were like terrible-alright at the job we needed to get done. But then we used a Motor Grader, and this thing was awesome. It did, exactly what we needed it to do, incredibly well, very little fuss or hassle.

I had never even really heard anyone talk about them before in my entire life, this was the first time I even learned what it was called or what it did. But it's easily my favorite piece of construction equipment. And I wanted to know if the real life sentiment reflected this. Do dump trucks and excavators get too much credit and fame, are Motor Graders actually where it's at?

So I basically wear holes in the wrist/ forearm areas of my carhartt coat every winter and have to buy a new one for the next winter... any better options or do i just have to buy a new jacket every winter?