Welcome to the wonderful world of HVAC, Tyler is back to discuss his business, the HVAC business and more. Working for an established HVAC brand Tyler was making suggestions on where to take the business how to grow with the times and his ideas, the powers at be didn’t want to go in that direction so after many ups and downs and Tyler watching his sales go up but revenue go down, Tyler decided to take the leap and go on his own. He partnered with someone, plus a helper, one van they were off int...
Nov 28, 2021•1 hr 27 min
This is one show Carlito and Manny have wanted to do since the very beginning. We are going to upset some, we are going to bring up some issues that most don’t discuss, we will discuss addictions, anxiety, suicide, depression and more. This show might not be for everyobe but it’s a conversation we must have and at TCL we will never hide from speaking the truth. Taylor is here to discuss mental health on the jobsite and how to handle yourself, your trades and the construction industry. She is a R...
Nov 25, 2021•1 hr 27 min
Running two businesses, at times 3 or even 4 or more, Giancarlo is snow removal, contracting, landscaping, property maintenance and electrician. We begin the show discussing the winter wonderful world of snow removal. Servicing from Toronto to Huntsville, Giancarlo has figured out how to run his business for the season and avoiding all the issues most new guys fall victim too. The conversation quickly turns to trucks and maintaining those work trucks and Giancarlo shares some amazing insight int...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 30 min
We have Alonso from Casa Nueva Contracting Inc and Kase from Alchemist Carpentry discussing framing, union, non union and all kinds of framing. Alonso is a George Brown graduate, would he do it the same way? He says no, he says he would have gone the appprentice route and jumped into framing. He's been framing for 8 years now. Then with Kase he is no longer a part of the union and working the custom homes. With a background in hospitality then school for animation then fell into carpentry and jo...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 40 min
77 years of educating and changing the Terrazzo Tile and Marble industry for the better, we have an amazing show to share today where Tod will not be sugar coating anything and sharing so much valuable information when it comes to this part of the construction industry. First up substrates, we discuss the proper ways subfloors were built, were engineered and these days clients are asking for far more out of the structure of the home and every tile installer and GC must understand this informatio...
Nov 20, 2021•1 hr 54 min
Marc was having a conversation with Manny and 5 mins in, this show idea came up, we have to share this. Marc recently had a Zoom call with our Minister of Labour and he’s going to share that talk. We are going to talk about getting into trades and why teenagers should consider consruction as a career, we are going to talk about wages and rates, running your business, working for someone, we are going to compares construction to other career options, we are going to talk about Guidance Counselors...
Nov 12, 2021•2 hr 3 min
We stir the pot and begin the show discussing rates and how trades should be working towards billing $1000.00 per day, once that has been stirred we hear from Stu and Justin and how they got started, interesting stories as Stu if 50 and Justin is 26. Stu does share the way the UK handles aprrenticeships versus how it is handled here in Canada. It’s refreshing to hear from the 3 different perspectives of a seasoned tradesperson like Jason, an immigrant who built a successful business like Stu and...
Nov 10, 2021•2 hr 7 min
It’s great to have Carlito back on the mic, he needed to take the year long break and focus on important details in his life. We have all missed him. On today’s show Manny and Carlito discuss a variety of construction topics from wages, rates and worth, bad clients, where will the indystry be in 10 years, failed products, construction scenarios and how to handle them, client and contractor releationships, listener DM’s, emails, questions, shout outs, and more, plenty more, there is always more w...
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 44 min
We have a great show today, Jon Witt from Deck Protect Inc discuss his humble beginnings from trade schooling with horticulture technician, hardscaping, followed by a few different trade jobs ultimately falling into decking and fencing just as the recession and family were growing adding to so much stress, isn’t that always the case, hard times makes hard trades. Let’s get talking all kinds of decking products, maintaining those decking products and understanding you truly are making an extensio...
Nov 03, 2021•1 hr 28 min
Sit back and enjoy this special show where we will be discussing family, old school, new school, all kinds of bricklaying, building in Montreal, more family, food, history and more, Danny has a lot to share and of course, we will upset a few, it’s The Construction Life. Danny begins his journey almost 40 years ago when his Dad immigrated to Canada, the family followed, sisters married two brothers and they became a crew of hardworking old school bricklayers and they always helped each other out ...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 42 min
Carlito is back on the mic, it’s been over a year since he was last heard on the show, nice to have him back and sharing so much about The Construction Life. Carlito will be on future shows, and he will be part of an event happening in November, stay tuned to learn more. On with the show, Michael from Rose Gold Homes & Design, 29 years old, a custom home builder since he was 22. He set out a plan to make his business a successful brand and it’s working. We open the show discussing delays, sc...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 37 min
Thank you Mat for being on the show and opening the show with a little ACDC. Mat works for a large rental corporation and due to some legal logistics, we must keep the name out of the show. There are times where I want to interview certain big-name brands, but it’s takes months if not years to get approvals and instead of waiting and jumping through hoops, we record a show and still share valuable information. We also discuss a bunch of other construction details on this show, such as working in...
Oct 30, 2021•1 hr 14 min
We have a great show, talking about insulation, all types of insulation, batts, cellulose, closed cell, open cell and sound proofing. James walks us through his first year running his own business and the last 9 years working with his dad who has been insulating for 35 plus years, how the batts have changed. James discusses different types of insulations and applications, and he knows his building code. We go from old 2x4 walls of the 80’s and 90’s to R24 of today to spray foam, proper spray foa...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 16 min
What an amazing show we have today, we are going to talk about solid wood furniture making with Oliver the current Business Manager and owner and Mark the original owner who recently retired and has passed on the business over to the digital age. Sit back and enjoy what these gentlemen have to share because Woodcraft began by someone who really didn’t know about furniture making but he had a passion for it, then it was passed onto another person who also didn’t have the skills for furniture desi...
Oct 23, 2021•1 hr 20 min
10 years in the business currently working as Supervisor Sales of Operations, Marco actually went to school, worked at a bank, that didn’t last and went right back into construction, specifically concrete where his uncles taught him so much, he has concrete in his blood so a year into the banking industry he was back to learning the ropes, being yelled at, understanding different mixes, scheduling and so much more, in no time he was part of the concrete family. With 5 plants and over 100 trucks ...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Roland Skuce and Dan Ray partners in Caledon Timber Frames for nearly a decade with 5 employees and still growing. They have known each other since grade 2, worked as stick framers for Roland’s Dad, a custom builder, and his dad was a plumber so the guys were familiar with the trades. They both attended Fanshawe College and studied Construction Engineering, with a focus in Carpentry Techniques, from there they took an intense 3-month timber framing course at College of the Rockies and all this e...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Scott is a mortgage broker and entrepreneur; he has a lot to share regarding the misunderstood industry of lending. We begin the show discussing building business relationships the old school way, a phone call, a meeting, speaking in person and getting a better understanding of the client’s needs. Scott is here to discuss how to finance a recreational property, a cottage, a piece of land, construction, development, luxury real estate, and more, his team loves the challenge, and they will make it...
Oct 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min
We have quite the show today, Andrew Padre Cura and Jalen Lam will be sharing the whole electrical truth, trades, and the industry, might want to buckle in for this one. Two Conestoga graduates under the Electrical Technician Program, nothing but praise about the school. Andrew opens the show with an interesting story with every perfect storm possible, wiring mistakes, ministry of labour arriving on site, unsafe work site and no PPE. 5 mins early, makes you 10 mins late, arrive on site and ready...
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 52 min
Aadil from WorknWear is on the show today, since 1975 they have been outfitting tradespeople and more with the proper work wear, safety wear, fire rated wear, long underwear, and more. I have a huge amount of respect for Aadil and his staff and how they treat everyone that enters the shop, buys online, the same way, with respect because Aadil knows you work hard as a tradesperson. Aadil shares his insight on which products and why are they good for your specific trade and application, he has no ...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Today’s show is all about high rise maintenance with Chris Clarry of Hardwork Canada, Chris goes where most of us will never, fixing things that should never have failed, but they do because erecting high-rise structures is all about how fast, not how good. Chris is truly a forensic contractor, sourcing out why buildings are failing, assessing things, and then making the proper repairs one time. Coming from a troubled youth and even getting into drugs, Chris was able to pull himself out that wor...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 28 min
Coming from a broken home with a single mom raising him and his brother, life was hard for his family and when he found fitness it became his escape. Training begins with body types, which of the 3 are you? Ectomorph, Mesomorph, Endomorph, focus on your body type to begin with. At 21 with the help of his wrestling coach, Dimitri was able to compete in his first show and he won. From there he worked in fitness clubs, good and bad ones, mostly bad ones, he saw where they could improve and how to i...
Oct 10, 2021•2 hr 23 min
Jeff from GL Plumbing is on the show today, commercial and residential master plumber. He understands his Italian surname but always questioned his first name, his mom wanted him to blend in, but he stands out, he’s one of the best plumbers in the industry and today he will share a lot of love for the industry, the trade, the people he works with and for. Hold on, this will be an amazing podcast and listen up all you younger trades looking for an opportunity. Jeff began his plumbing career the o...
Oct 03, 2021•1 hr 38 min
Welcome to TCL’s longest show to date, over 2 hours and for good reason. Patricio and his lovely wife, Pricilla is on the show. The focus on this show will be about safety but we will discuss electrical, a few other trades, the industry, schools, new trades, old trades and right back to safety. Patricio with 22 years of electrical experience, master electrician and fire alarms certified. At 18 years old he had a bad accident on site and a pair of safety goggles could have saved his eye from blin...
Oct 02, 2021•2 hr 13 min
We have one hell of a great show today, Sunaina, a self-taught taper with 6 years in the business, coming from university degrees to bartender, to construction, to dog grooming and more. Sunaina will not be holding back, she has a lot to say about the construction life and yes, we will discuss men and women in construction and how men treat women and why. A first for TCL we have a puppy on the show, Sir Nicholas Liam will be sharing a few of his thoughts throughout the show which brings us to a ...
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 25 min
A true stone artist, Paolo talks to us about his beginnings, his arrival to Canada, the country he loves because it has given him so much. Paolo was a peacekeeper, in the army, Special Forces as a teenager and into his 30’s, working for the government studying civil engineering in college back in Italy, originally from Viciano, on the edge of Naples. Paolo’s construction career began with him studying history, studying techniques from centuries back, studying what and how and why Michelangelo di...
Sep 19, 2021•1 hr 37 min
Before the mics get recording David’s brother drops off some amazing food from Ombretta Cucina, amazing pizzas from Pizzeria Rosso…OMG So good. Thank you so much. Check them out and trust me, you will love the food. Open the show with a listener message from Mike Dunn from Washington @m1keandike24 asking how he can start on his own and some of the things to consider when you make that move. We are going to talk about everything, how he got started, who taught him, building a business from scratc...
Sep 17, 2021•1 hr 28 min
We open the show with a recent message from @seantaggy which pretty much set the tone of today’s show. Sean had a lot to ask being a new listener to TCL and loves the show, he has since gone back to the beginning and has been listening to all the shows. Huge thanks Sean and I hope the shows and this show help you. I will say this much Sean, M.A.P will be a huge resource for all your questions and this exclusive membership will launch before the year is over, watch for it and I encourage you cons...
Sep 16, 2021•1 hr 19 min
We have Julia Rose AKA The Brick Chick on the show, 26 years young, 3 years in the business, a young and skilled mason leading the way for men and women in the industry. Julia at a young age had a lot of mental health, drug addictions issues, it was a hard time for her. She was considering post education and unlike her friends looking at universities and a mountain of student loan debt, she chose to be a mason. Never worked as a mason, never apprenticed as any trade, didn’t really know construct...
Sep 12, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Training for a triathlon Julie was biking and was hit by a car and paralysed from the breastbone down. Thrown 30 feet, split her head, broke teeth, broke her nose, broke ribs, broke her spine in two places, T4 and L1. 5 people every day sustain a spinal cord injury in Ontario. Fast forward 6 years and Julie is now an Accessibility Strategist. How do we begin having conversations with accessible clients? Just have the same conversations you would have with other clients, no reason to beat around ...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr 26 min
25-year-old Peter, working at this trade for 8 years now is going to talk about Styrofoam plaster mouldings, coffered ceilings, waffle ceilings, diamond patterns, accent walls and so much more. The reason Peter started his business and has always built to a certain standard, he was disgusted with where the construction industry was going. Peter gets very passionate about million-dollar custom homes with upgrades that have no value because the builders use the cheapest of the cheap material, such...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 29 min
