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Lets see if I can remember back that far. Some where in the 1960s when I was a young wippersnapper I knew I wanted to build homes. I used to ride my bike for what seemed like miles just to sit and watch new homes being built. Yes I played hookie many many days just so I can watch homes being built.
When I was a teenager I was already building furniture in the basement and selling my goods at the open air flee markets. I graduated from cheap junky pine wood to oak then hickory then cherry and then into the very rare exotic woods like purple heart and cocobolo and zebra wood. I used to rent a table for $7.00 and made from a hundred on a slow day to much more on a busy day. I was only about 15.
Fast foward a decade or 2 and the world changed. People no longer will pay for quality craftsmanship. They want cheap Chinese made junk from Walmart. (didn't some guy from CNN just get in trouble for saying that?) Why would any sane person pay me $5000 for a TV entertainment center made of cherry when they can buy one from Walmart made out of corrugated cardboard for $59.99??? Some people can not even tell the difference.
It is a dying trade my friend. No longer can I sell some one a new kitchen when they can buy a can of paint and paint them. They dont care how bad it looks by painting them nor do they even realize it. Everyone is broke, the economy is going from a recession to a depression so this type of business suffers first.
Today I have many very very famous people who I build for. Movie stars, NFL players, Comedians, Boxer, Golfer, Rock stars and so on. All people you all know, see and hear on a daily basis. If the National Enquirer only knew what I knew.....
My advice is fine craftsmanship carpentry is not something one can learn from any school. Either one is born with it or not. If you just want to build homes then learn framing. We call them rough carpenters. A rough carpenter can not do fine carpentry but a fine carpenter can do any but will refuse to frame no matter how good the pay.
You can try getting a job as a punch out man. It is there you can watch and learn the entire home building process. Some states call this a point up man. You will be responsible for doing all the nit picking things before the walkthrough and after when the new homeowner makes his punch list. This is the best job to get exposed to every single trade that goes into a home.
You are picking a bad time as few homes are being built anywhere now. What few are being built are being built with the old timers who been with the companies for a long long time. All the new hires have long since been layed off and turned to crime to feed their families.
You can do the trade school thing but schools can not teach experience. If you were not cut from the mold to be a fine carpenter then you can only be taught to do the job just ok. You will never excell above everyone unless you were born with that burning desire.
If you don't push to be perfect in every thing you do then you will always be just average.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
He has a piece of land he wants to turn into a rental building
He is getting old however, and right now I handle the sales side
I just wanna make myself more useful to him, and eventually become a developer myself
Knowing how to actually build will actually be very useful
I am tired of general contractors screwing us, so I would rather just cut them out, and do it myself
I just need to learn the process, and the basic stuff, so I will be able to hire the right subcontractors for specific jobs, and know how to protect myself from any of their shady practices
Like basic construction principles, what is needed so the building does not fall down, what steps to be taken to ensure proper construction, etc
you know everything one needs to know to build his own home or building
I am excluding going back to college and doing civil engineering, or architecture, or construction management
Try adult education. They have plumbing, electricity and general construction at the city that I leave near. I have taken courses there and they are pretty good.
If time allows, joining a crew as a general laborer is also a great way. Especially if the professionals are willing to take some time and show you what they are doing.
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