The Construction Life

Preparing for the rainy days with Mark Romeo of Romeo Mechanical at CMPX 2024. Romeo tells us about working in commercial, the different rules for different industries, expanding into service, how technology is changing the industry, finding the competitive price point, and curating social media for hiring and networking on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Romeo Mechanical at Ro...

Getting all the information up front with Sam the Plumber at CMPX 2024. He tells us about the 3 important details that he asks for from clients to save him future headaches. We discuss issues with off shore products, finding upstanding manufacturers, new creature comfort tech requirements, the joy of being paid quickly and the importance of hiring the right trade on this episode of The Constructio...

Advice for new trades struggling to get a foot in the door with Elie Yaacoub of The Plumbing Expert at CMPX 2024. We talk about building skills for better employment chances, lack of government support, and missing commitment in apprentices. We also discuss the basics of customer relations, construction slowing down, lacking pushes for Canadian tech, and the disappearance of good faith on this epi...

Reconstructing Notre Dame with French carpenter Brendan Goux. Brendan shares the extent of Notre Dame's fire damage, the precision of the replication efforts, the interesting material details and the stressful installations. He also tells us about carpentry school in France, teaching new carpenters, helping people find their passion in carpentry, and travelling to learn about carpentry from differ...

Sharing listener stories on this first call-in episode of The New Tough. We discuss neurodivergence in construction, lacking empathy, self-censoring, change in different sizes companies, and the scarcity mindset. We break down the danger of construction's Faustian deals and the challenge of getting comfortable higher ups to change for the betterment of the industry on this episode of The Construct...

Collaboration in the small world of the trades with Brandon Khan of Modern Water Solutions at CMPX 2024. Brandon tells us about in-home water treatment, changes in the younger generation, understanding patience, marketing in construction, issues with influencers, and maintaining health on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Modern Water Solutions at ModernWaterSolutions.ca and @Mod...

Improving skill development in the trades with Aaron Boland of Expert Plumbing and Drains at CMPX 2024. He tells us about helping his employees with retirement, planning out profit-share RSP contributions, and dealing with uneducated trades performing poor installs. We also discuss the fail rates in trades schools, first come first serve education, and why we need more money to go into keeping peo...

Getting well rounded experience in the trade with Johnny Tobiasz of Brento Plumbing and Mechanical Inc at CMPX 2024. We talk about excitement about learning new tech, dealing with different pipe materials, managing client-bought fixtures, and finding good people in today's labour pool. We also discuss whether radiant heat is worth the cost and how we can convince young people about the benefits of...

Understanding the Ministry of Labour with ex-inspectors. John Savoia brings in Kevin Brown, Vince Lacolino and Phillip Ferreira to talk about inspector discretion, underreported injuries, vulnerable workers, balancing production and safety, and the issues with our current deterrent system. Is safety getting better? Find out on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find John Savoia of RSG...

Joel tells us about bettering his business, only doing custom work, learning from overdesign, cultivating relationships, and managing cost expectations. The market is changing on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find smpl Design Studio at smplDesignStudio.com and @smplDesignStudio. Reach out at 905-529-7675 and Contact@smplDesignStudio.com .     Stay connected with The...

Hunter tells us about learning from the online plumbing community and becoming a plumbing influencer. We also discuss tool theft, issues with "environmental" marketing schemes, dealing with shitty clients, and US vs Canadian plumbing on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find HD Plumbers at HDPlumbers.com and @HDPlumbers. Reach out at 951-545-1679 and HD.Plumbers5225@gmail.com .  ...

Weston walks us through how SynkedUP breaks down every aspect of your business to understand real expenses and profitability. We discuss tracking ignored costs, producing wish list budgets, the danger of outdated budgets, implementing software and avoiding reverting to old ways on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Try out the  SynkedUP.com  budgeting tools for free to...

Luke tells us about managing poor work ethics, training people with skills from other countries, earned patience, and the difference between a bricklayer and a mason. We discuss keeping tools from relatives, nicknames of the trades and what the hardest trade is on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Transform Masonry Group Inc at TMasonG.com and @TransformMasonryGroup. Reach...

Marcio of Redmond Distributing, Bill of Ashton Heating and Cooling, Tyler of Stott HVAC Systems and Aaron of Yes Plumbing and Heating, we discuss mentorship, rebate issues, pros and cons of heat pumps, degasification, building the best systems, maintenance, and investing in your employees. Tune in to find out what most people don't know about HVAC on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast....

Teresa tells us about being conditioned to search for external happiness and what we can do to connect with ourselves and find true happiness. We discuss learning to be present, dealing with unsupportive social circles, the loneliness pandemic, the prevalence of mental health issues, and finding happiness at the end of life on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Teresa Greco...

SynkedUP's Weston Zimmerman interviews Manny for his The Cost of Doing Business podcast. Weston asks Manny some direct construction questions about how he got started and how he handled things through his construction career.   Try out SynkedUP's budgeting tools for free today at SynkedUP.com .   Get a budgeting consultation with a SynkedUP expert looking over your shoulder to help you o...

Brayden shares what it’s like being a carpentry apprentice, maintaining historical looks on heritage buildings, dealing with unforeseen issues, and old vs new building practices. We also discuss facing unfamiliar tasks, the dirty trades stigma, preparing an exit plan, and trade school changes on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Brayden Churchill on Instagram @BraydenChurc...

We talk about being a better mentor than our mentors, rebuilding old features, destructive freeze-thaw cycles, poor repairs, and the changing industry focus on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Burke's Brick Work at BurkesBrickWork.com and @Burkes_Brick_Work. Reach out at 289-200-8290 and BurkesBrickWork@gmail.com .   Also check out Burkie's Turkeys on Facebook, helpi...

Alberto Rocha, Selena Paglia, and Jonathan Cinelli tell us about the realities of growing old in hyper-independent North America and what we can do to make aging easier. We discuss sustaining abilities, pressure on the family, how to ask for help, and handling difficult end of life conversations on this episode of TCL - The New Tough.   Find Selena Paglia at Opulife.ca and @ OpuLife.ca . Reac...

Mike tells us about changing careers, competing with commercialism, making one-off items, and working in a constantly changing environment. We also discuss issues with trades, dangerous wood treatments, and creative custom ideas on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Mike @HuberMachine on Instagram.       Stay connected with The Construction Life Podcast...

Mike and Manny talk about false information about pricing, company rebranding, and avoiding raising property tax. We also discuss transformable living spaces, modern mechanical rooms and growing awareness of healthy homes and habits on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Find Praxis Building Group at PraxisBuild.ca and @PraxisBuild. Reach out at 905-580-MIKE (6453) and Info@Praxi...

We talk about losing connection with where the family is from, understanding the struggles of our ancestors, and recognizing the opportunity to learn family stories. Tune in for a conversation everyone can relate to on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Devin at LusoLoonie.ca and @LusoLoonie. Also check out his books, The Portuguese Immigrant and Finding Madeira on Amazon.  ...

Trade school programs and connecting kids to the trades with Chris McKaskell, Heather Cummings and Sarah Blackler of Covenant Construction and Millennium Construction and Design Inc. We talk about getting kids into design and craft, finding respectful workplaces, and getting doers and thinkers to understand each other. We also discuss residential vs commercial woodworking, involving clients in the...

Robert tells us about combatting parents' biases, preparing students for apprenticeship, connecting students to industry and learning new things from young trades. Shop class never ended on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast.   Reach out to Robert at Robert. Schrader@TDSB.on.ca .   CMPX – Canada’s largest HVACR and plumbing tradeshow – is just around the corner.  It’s hap...

Kevin, Brendan and Jordan join us to talk about diverting from tropical hardwoods, introducing new products, and bringing a factory to North America. We also discuss saunas, grade standards, installation, innovation and dealing with change-resistant trades and imitators on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Check out Thermory at ThermoryUSA.com and @ThermoryUSA. Reach out at Support@Th...