The Construction Life

From woodworking school into the industry with Professor Trevor Hibbs and former students Mitch, Nathan and Saleh. They tell us about coming from different backgrounds, going through the Conestoga program, and making capstone projects. We also discuss fighting mass-produced products, learning to let go of projects, mixed material creativity, and clients not appreciating skill on this episode of Th...

We talk about the schoolyard perception of the trades, taking a chance on an apprentice, teaching why, starting at the bottom, and paying it back to the industry. Remember that knowledge goes further than money with this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Davidson's Electrical at DavidsonsElectrical.ca and @Davidsons_Electrical. Reach out at Info@DavidsonsElectrical.ca and 416-859-1159...

They tell us about building student confidence, creating hands-on learning experiences, teaching good spending practices, and getting the best out of every student. Find out what they're doing to help with the labour and affordable housing shortage on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Community Builders at CommunityBuilders.co and @ CommunityBuilders.co . Reach out at info@Commun...

Paul tells us about creating without planning, turning mistakes into art, finding variety in wood, and being unable to let some pieces go. We also discuss shou sugi ban, epoxy, the construction community, anti-social Toronto, and finding the person that likes your art on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Paul Lentinello on Instagram @the_keen_woodworker. Reach out PaulLentinello@...

We discuss century homes being torn down and why it's better to build homes that serve people than force them to accept the old. We also talk about learning from inspections, framing vs concrete, repairing tools, escaping the labor shortage, and dealing with overengineering on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find D&A GTA Custom Framing at @DAGTA_Framing. Reach out at DAGTAFramin...

The panel discuss fixed mindsets killing creativity, being forced into a survival mindset, learning to be disciplined, and how to operate with a growth mindset. Find your why with this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Jonathan Cinelli of People First Leadership at JonathanCinelli.com and @JonathanCinelli. Reach out at JC@JonathanCinelli.com and 416-717-4139. Find Marc Fraser of Craig...

We talk about misleading plumbing stigmas, grey water reuse, the importance of a water softener, advice for maintaining pipes, and understanding why clogs happen. We also discuss repetitive jobs in unions, the value of being well rounded, the small world of the trades, and the drive to learn as much as possible on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find David Cedrone on Instagram @Dave...

We talk about building on lakes, dealing with poor power situations, auction trucks, product price increases, and wood vs composite decking on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Anchor Construction at AnchorConstruction.ca and @AnchorConstruction. Reach out at 289-826-3044 and Info@AnchorConstruction.ca . Stay connected with The Construction Life Podcast by texting Manny at 416 43...

“You can’t control real tradespeople.” Manny and Bob tear apart social media influencers pretending to be tradespeople, selling out and lying to their audience. Learn to be a real influencer on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Baker Plumbing at BakerPlumbing.ca and @BakerPLBG. Reach out at 403-800-3007 and BakerPLBG@gmail.com . Stay connected with The Construction Life Podcast b...

Ryan shares lots of information on the why, when and how of the labour shortage, along with why construction isn't attractive and what we can do about it. We talk about tools and tips that increases efficiency to reduce the burden of the shrinking labour pool on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find The Exterior Specialist at TheExteriorSpecialist.ca and @TheExteriorSpecialist. Reach...

Chris and Carlos tell us about slowing down and learning the skills to work faster. We talk about dealing with poor workers, gauging the vetting period, learning new underpinning techniques, managing difficult jobs and weeding out bad apples as a homeowner on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Pinante Construction at PinanteConstruction.com and @PinanteConstruction. GTA. Reach out...

They tell us about water tanks, air returns, misunderstanding preventative maintenance, mechanical room issues, heated driveways, and filter differences. Learn about the path of least resistance on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Stott HVAC Systems at StottHVACSystems.ca and @Stott_HVAC_Systems. Reach out to JR at JR@StottHVACSystems.ca and SupremeAirflowHC@hotmail.com . Reach...

Mike and Manny talk about avoiding losses, construction influencers, modern tools undervaluing skill, accent lighting overkill, retirement, and taking care of your health on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Mike DiMartino of Veracity Group at @Mike_DiMartino1978, @VGroupInc, and VeracityGroup.ca . Reach out at M.DiMartino@VeracityGroup.ca . Stay connected with The Construction L...

Stay connected with The Construction Life Podcast by texting Manny at 416 433-5737 or emailing him at manny@theconstructionlife.com . If you have something to contribute to the podcast, email info@theconstructionlife.com to schedule a time to join us in studio. Are you interested in the latest trends in building, renovation, home improvement, real estate, architecture, design, engineering, contrac...

Stay connected with The Construction Life Podcast by texting Manny at 416 433-5737 or emailing him at manny@theconstructionlife.com . If you have something to contribute to the podcast, email info@theconstructionlife.com to schedule a time to join us in studio. Are you interested in the latest trends in building, renovation, home improvement, real estate, architecture, design, engineering, contrac...

Find Tyler Stott of Stott HVAC Systems at StottHVACSystems.ca and @Stott_HVAC_Systems. Reach out at Tyler@StottHVACSystems.ca .

“The rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of leakage”. Martin walks us through the big players of the pre-2000s, and the technological advancements that we have made and should make below grade. We discuss Eglinton crosstown issues, overengineering, Toronto terrain, Martin's patents, rebar issues and reducing the waterproofing footprint on this episode of The Construction Life Podcast. Find Footpr...

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...