Carpentry (Santa Rosa: houses, construction, school)

[cvanripe10]

Wow andybuildz very impressive home. That is what i want to do for a living. I am already a journyman painter and i am in school right now for carpentry(home building, some furniture). I wanted to take a 1 year class on yacht building to advance my carpentry skills, but it doesn't start until september and i need money and experience before then. I was thinking about trying my luck in San Fran.

Right now i live outside of NYC in north Bergen county, NJ. Where in NY are you?

[cvanripe10]

How easy/difficult would it be to get into the Carpenters Union in San Fran anyway??

One of my friends said there are lots of illegal immigrants that work for no money and steal all the work. Is this true?

I get out of school in late January. Would it be possible/likely that i could just show up at the union hall in San Fran and immediatly start work?? Is there a commitment(If i wanted to leave after my lease).

I would like to spend some time in my life living/working/playing in San Fran, even if it's only for two years and then come back east. I love NYC, but it's soooooooooo crowded. The entire tri-state area is shoulder to shoulder.

[sonarrat]

I've gotta tell you one thing, San Francisco isn't any less crowded. The only difference is that we don't have as many high-rise condos and apartments, but everyone is still packed like sardines.

[DMenscha]

Taxes in CA are allowed to INCREASE at an annual rate of 2%, that's not necessarily the initial tax rate. My county is about 1% of the sales price.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

Wow andybuildz very impressive home. That is what i want to do for a living. I am already a journyman painter and i am in school right now for carpentry(home building, some furniture). I wanted to take a 1 year class on yacht building to advance my carpentry skills, but it doesn't start until september and i need money and experience before then. I was thinking about trying my luck in San Fran.

Right now i live outside of NYC in north Bergen county, NJ. Where in NY are you?

I'm on Long Island..about 45 minutes from NYC in Cold Spring Harbor. Sounds to me like you're on the right path. I've been a carp for over 32 years now full time.
In my own renovations biz most all of that time. I kept a small company,,,one thats manageable and enjoyable(to a degree...lol). Where I can do my craft and still do the business. To me there's a fine line between the craft and running a business. I've always tried to maintain the part I love...the craft.
If I had to do it all over again I'd probably have done some schools like The College of the Redwoods where James Krenov taught. Maybe if you're lucky and persistant you can get yourself in. Krenov is getting old like all of us. To be able to study under him would be an honor but unfortunatly his eyes aren't the way they used to be so..... Check it out.
College of the Redwoods fineFURNITURE It'd just be another tool in your toolbox.
Learning boat building is another way too. Building on the west coast has to be a lot better than here in the east. Weather to us carps means a lot so if you have the choice why not west? Go do it!!!
Hurry up..whatcha waiting for? Its right before winter here...can't think of a better time to pack up your tools and hit the road. Kinda kidding...finish up the school youre in...unless you can get into the school I left you a link for.
One other thing. As boring as it may sound do yourself a HUGE favor and take classes in business. Do it on your own if you have to. all that you learn will be nothing if you can't effectivly sell it...either that or always be a slave to a boss. If you get a good tude' about it you'll get through it. I really wish someone would have told me that 35 years ago!!!!!

[cvanripe10]

Eh, i don't know if i believe the bay area is as crowded as the tri-state area. By guessing i'd say the tri-state area is at least 5 times more dense, if not more.

The tri-state area is literally city after city after smaller city after town after town after town after town after small town after small town after semi rural and then finally after driving forever, you'll reach countryside, starting from the center point of Manhatten. There are about a million and one highways here, all packed with cars. I remember taking a bus from manhatten to boston once. Every highway we were on from NYC to Hartford was dead stop traffic.

Judging from what people say and pictures, it's a lot easier to get out of the neighborhood and stretch in the bay area. But i don't know, never been there.

Thanks for the great info tho. Andybuilds, what type of business classes do you mean?? do you mean 4-year bachelors or just a few semester classes?

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

Is it possible to earn enough money working as a carpenter to live in san fran or just outside in santa rosa?

I think it is, but you have to be good. The reason I say that is there seems to be a lot of people out here that can swing a hammer, so starting out you may have to work cheap, but if you're good at what you do, you can eventually work your way up and get your general contractor's licence.

I have a contractor that's worked on my house a few times for small re-do's that I watched totally remake my friend's house. He LISTENED to her -- a mere miracle in the contracting world -- and when he worked on my house he listened to me. And the cleanup was fantastic. (being a janitor at a condo complex, I see how well contractors clean up after themselves.... most do a barely acceptable job, and some are truly horrible, but very few are really good at that)

Almost every person that he's worked for no longer gets bids -- they just call him.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

Thanks for the great info tho. Andybuilds, what type of business classes do you mean?? do you mean 4-year bachelors or just a few semester classes?

Had someone made that suggestion to me decades ago I'd be able to answer that question for you so all I can say is the more you know the further ahead of the game you'll be. Most people in the trades hardly know the first thing about business. They think all you need to know is how to swing a hammer.
There's certain things that should be obvious in selling a job and keeping accurate records but its all those things that aren't so obvious that will make your life a whole lot better.
A great product isn't worth much if you don't know how to manage it.
there's lots of good books you can read to take you in the right direction. One that I particularly like is Amazon.com: Running a Successful Construction Company (For Pros by Pros): Books: David Gerstel

then there's Amazon.com: Markup & Profit: A Contractor's Guide: Books: Michael C. Stone

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Construction Business Management: What Every Construction Contractor, Builder & Subcontractor Needs to Know
see where I'm going?
Besides knowing how to build you need to know how to keep books, assests and liabilities, estimating programs...etc etc...otherwise you'll just have to be happy working for other people which isn't horrible either I guess....echhh
PS...read some of the reviews for those books by Amazon customers...I think it will say alot about what you need to know.

[cvanripe10]

How easy is it to start work??? If i showed up at the carpenters union hall would i be able to find immediate hire, being i have experience.

[DMenscha]

I'm sure the hiring hall works the same way it used to. You sign up on the list and contractors call for bodies and they work their way down from the top. I knew carpenters who only got called once and they worked for that contractor for years. I preferred to work on one project and then "retire" to the hall to see what came next. I liked the variety of work that way. Depending on what experience you have and can prove, you might start as an apprentice at a percentage of the Journey wage. If I had to do it over, I think I would have liked to be an 80% apprentice, I would have gotten more jobs. I also would have learned a few things about the "union way" of doing things as well, which I had to pick up in the field. I have no idea how busy bay area construction is now. Give one of the hall's a call and check out whats going on.