The Construction Life

We open the show with a massive Beastie Boys track, thanks Bram. Bram got started in construction because he owned a frat house and his friend/partner was moving out and Bram was getting married and they needed to fix the place and sell in. Picked up a hammer and that was about 15/16 years ago. Before construction and before tending bar Bram was a licensed auto mechanic. Then life kick in hard for...

We open the show with a few shout outs to @marescarpentry @galeforcemasonry @oliverlumber Ian reached out, needed to have a couple of custom planter boxes made out of Ipe, I reached out to Gary Mares, picked up the lumber from Oliver Lumber and things are being built, the power and positivity of Social Media. Thanks guys and looking forward to seeing them. A fan mail and question, Darrel Kwan from...

What an amazing show we have today, Gabe is an Architect Technologist and Engineer and Building Consultant all rolled into one person. It all began with his Father who a Building Consultant from Italy but never certified as an Architect. Find Gabe at GPF Design Services Inc. gpfdesign@hotmail.com 416 656-0134 This show is all about the structural planning and design of most residential structures,...

Jim and Manny and no guests and no wine as we sneak this show in before the long weekend, Canadian Victoria Day and the US Memorial Weekend. Shout outs!!! Zoe reached out to us, her boyfriend/tradesman Jeremy is a huge fan and loves listening to the show, find him @jeremydoiron Jamal, AKA to his friends as J loves the show and wanted to say hello, find him @agdrywallandtaping Taylor, another fan a...

The show opens with a little tease about a BBQ and “non alcoholic” beverages on the table at the make shift concrete studio in the DGR shop and what is and was the concrete industry all about, Jorge has some great insight into this question and how it all connects to track building and sub division work and scope. With a crew of 15 from as young as 22 and as old as 63 and everyone has something to...

We open the show with no song, we have David Cairns the VP of Business Development at Ridley Windows and Doors and he was caught off guard…wink wink Jim. Then we really open the show with some terribly sad insider info about the lumber industry and what’s really going on, Jim and Manny have to share this with the listeners and the industry. You must listen to what we discovered and prepare your bu...

Let’s begin. Jason from @property max development_corp discusses the pandemic and how there isn’t more support from so called “influencers” on social media. Jarrett from @pacificwildgeneralcontracting from Winnipeg brings up a new bullshit bylaw the city will be presenting to go after homeowners who didn’t get a permit. Andrew Maida from Georgian Renovations loves the show, would love to find the...

We open the show with a Portuguese classic Fabio belts out, thank you sir for such an amazing opening number. We are at the Mare’s Carpentry and Construction Inc. Workshop and Jim and Manny are very impressed. Gary is back on the show, @marescarpentry the one and only email him at marescarpentry@gmail.com and this time Gary has brought Fabio Andrerde from FNA Custom Woodworking @fabio.andrede51 an...

We are at the Skilled Trades College of Canada where Ralph started a hands on school for pre apprentice electricians, pre apprentice plumbers and he even started a introductory home reno course. With 65-70 student in each of the three school in the Toronto area, Ralph is adding to the industry. A little bit of background atmosphere as the classes are still going on when Jim and I arrive there to r...

A minor technical glitch at the start of the show, 2 mins and then we get back to normal. Must be Manny with way too much on his plate these days. We discuss the rising costs of material, from lumber to metals, to everything is seeing increases and we begin with the why. We begin the show with stats on how high lumber prices have gone from the 80’s to as recent as 2020 and how the USA is Canada’s...

We are back at the R Club recording another great podcast with my guest co-host John from Craft and Clerk and Stones Throw Construction, we open the show with a few shout outs and a special shout out to the wine that John brings, thank you Sir. Find Joe from Napa Valley Developments at www.napavalleycontracting.com and joe@napavalleycontracting.com and he is not on social media and Manny is very h...

Our first guests from outside of the Greater Toronto Area. We chat with two builders from Calgary, and we discuss how they build and what motivated them to begin Builders and Brews. Here is the contact info. Adrian: @uniqueprojectsyyc https://www.uniqueprojects.ca/ Byron; @brookwright_construction http://brookwright.ca/ Both involved in @buildersandbrews https://www.buildersandbrews.ca/ and @home_...

Another great Question & Answer show with Jim and Manny. A jam-packed show with another long list of questions, comments, inquiries and more all about The Construction Life. We open the show with Jim mentioning @renosforheroes and how the pandemic has made it tough to get donations to help our wounded soldiers. Jim and Manny as asking for tradespeople to go to the web site www.renosforheroes.org a...

Let’s get dirty, we are talking about those heavy big boy toys full of all kinds of dirt, and concrete materials, we are going to dive into this world and the world that Laurie has been a part of for 22 years, and Parkview has been in business since 1995 and she doesn’t take any crap from anyone. We open the show by talking about her Dad, the person who built the business because nobody was doing...

Joel, like Noel, is Laneway Custom Builds, a red seal framer from North Bay came to Toronto nearly a decade ago and jumped into urban construction. Joel has come across almost every type of “urban” scenario, neighbors, deliveries, inspections, tradespeople, working in very tight lots and spots, did we mention neighbors? Getting started with garage building, with his own being the first due to the...

We have a great show for our listeners, let’s talk about buying that second property for yourself or to rent out, a place to getaway, a place to experience, a place to fixer upper. Steve is an expert in purchasing these types of properties and he has a lot of great information to share. Find Steve @steve.haid on IG his website www.stevehaid.com his email stevenphaid@gmail.com and his phone number...

We open the show with a phone call to Adrian in Calgary Alberta chatting with him from @uniqueprojectsyyc giving our listeners a brief glimpse into what the great folks out west are doing with @buildersandbrews along with @brookwright_construction stay tuned for a whole show with them. There is a lot more to share on the great construction and contractors going on across Canada. After the call wit...

Mike opens up the show with a funny onsite story that involves this opening song, the avocado!!! We have Mike and Jessica from Belley Renovations, find them on IG @belleyrenovations and www.belleyrenovations.com Navigating the wonderful world of dream kitchen and bathrooms. There is a lot of thought put into the design and functionality of bathrooms and women dictate the start and finish line on t...

We have an amazing show today, we have a very special guest, Matthew Bradley from OYAP. Matt works for the TDSB for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program Department. Before OYAP he was a carpentry teacher, before that he was carpenter, before that he was a cabinet maker, and from leaving high school Matt went to study philosophy in university and not really knowing why he did that. LOL. Matt be...

Very explicit conversations in this show and a few jabs at DeWalt and Milwaukee. Let’s open the show with some Shabba and some reggae from Carlos and this is how as all construction podcasts should open. LOVE IT!! We have a special Co Host to join Manny, John from Craft And Clerk proposed the idea of joining the show and here we are. Manny is interested in doing more Co-Hosting, so anyone interest...

The show opens with a mic check and a bottle of wine, Pinot Grigio this round. Back at the evening podcast recording session and Jim and Manny are answering a lot of listener questions. We have a great show for everyone, talking about all details of construction and Mr. Smith returns with more information from the wonderful world of the Ontario Building Code. Let’s open the show with a classic sce...

What a great show we have today, Edward talks to us about being taught all the wrong lessons and he will be the first to admit the stereotype behind Asians and construction, how it’s always fast and cheap is the best and only way to renovate. Edward talks about going to post school, leaving in his 2nd year, he didn’t think school was right for him, but he did end up finding a network of likeminded...

We turn the topics over to our listeners and they have sent in great questions for Jim and Manny to answer and they don’t hold back. From dealing with Building Inspectors to how to price low to high end jobs, to what can trade schools do better when educating for RED Seal, to losing out on the job, to shadowing other contractors, to how to set your pricing and is pricing a constant evolving thing,...

Something a little different on today’s show, Jim and Manny just rapid fire the topics and discuss a variety pack of construction hits and misses. We open the show with a little DATA on our followers and how much we have grown since launching the show back in 2019, over 150,000 total downloads with an average of 17,000 downloads per month, with May of 2020 being our biggest month ever, over 30,000...

We open the show with a few construction terms and the origins of these terms, from Journeyman, the imperial measurements to plumb. Let’s get talking about your next construction office space, the Oakville location has 18, 746 square feet with 63 private offices, 3 boardrooms, a café, a lounge, and a flexible workspace. There are currently 5 locations in the GTA, this Oakville location, 3 in Missi...