dryslot Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 8 minutes ago, PhineasC said: Something needs to change culturally with the trades to get kids back involved. I have noticed the skilled guys are getting older and older and slowing down. There is so much work there. Yes, it is hard at first, but if you are organized you can quickly grow to having a crew and stepping back a bit. I often think about gathering up some of these local tradesmen up here and forming them into a single company with back-office and billing support. Make them all wear company branded polo shirts and khakis to the on-time free estimates too. LOL We just talked about this topic not to long ago, All these tradesman are older and approaching retirement and not enough young people to reload the pipeline, People looking for skilled craftsman to do work are waiting months not weeks and are paying top dollar as the ones that are still working can demand a higher price and are getting payed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 12 minutes ago, powderfreak said: I’m already like “what’s the phone number of this company and will it service NVT too?” I have toyed with trying it. I have the capital to stand up the business end of it and get these guys working and sending invoices properly. I just am not sure I want to deal with the drama I know sometimes comes with these guys, and especially the "helpers" who are often one step above drugged-out homeless transients. I would need someone who knows construction to be the GM and control the zoo. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klw Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 9 minutes ago, PhineasC said: I have toyed with trying it. I have the capital to stand up the business end of it and get these guys working and sending invoices properly. I just am not sure I want to deal with the drama I know sometimes comes with these guys, and especially the "helpers" who are often one step above drugged-out homeless transients. I would need someone who knows construction to be the GM and control the zoo. We ran into many problems with consistency when we were in the St J area. People would show up once but not again. We had one guy who came and said he would be back on Tuesday to finish the project. He no showed and then called a year later to say he would be out on that upcoming Tuesday. In fairness he hadn't said the year before which Tuesday he would be back. We had another guy who was also doing a job next door. We got pretty sure he was billing us for time he was next door. We later found out (years later) from another handyman in town that he came in and helped the guy add supports in the basement when the first guy removed too much of a retaining wall and our upstairs was on the verge of collapse. We later found a vodka bottle and some emptys in a crawl space in the basement- I have no idea if the two things were connected. One day the guy billed us for 8 hours- he had put up one piece of trim around an opening. That night I rehung it properly and we let him go. I have learned to do much of the work myself as a result of these adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 hours ago, PhineasC said: The skilled contractor I have overseeing the work at my house says he has more jobs than he can handle, but his two issues are shortages of materials and shortages of helpers. It seems the work is there but the usual younger helper types don't want to do the work, or they can't for some reason (work ethic, personal issues such as drugs, etc.). It's concerning if construction numbers are already down in the summer, as that is when business is usually booming for these guys. Winters tend to be the lean time. I think a big piece of the puzzle this guy and many others are probably leaving out is these “helpers” are low wage, non benefited, often times under the table gigs. The honest answer would be. I can’t find any helpers right now that I could pay a shit wage to do absolute dog work all day and offer them no health benefits or vacation or sick time. most of those helper jobs are you show up and get paid (usually under the table) and if you don’t work, whatever the reason, you don’t get paid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNNAWAYICEBERG Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 ‘Helpers’ are usually hard working immgrants (legal or illegal) around here. We’ve had no issues with recieving quality trade work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I’m 26 and have dabbled a few times looking into getting into electrical work. Being married, having a home, etc.... not sure how feasible it would be at this point.... by the time you go through the process you’re probably talking 32-33 years old, at least in my case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 20 minutes ago, klw said: We ran into many problems with consistency when we were in the St J area. People would show up once but not again. We had one guy who came and said he would be back on Tuesday to finish the project. He no showed and then called a year later to say he would be out on that upcoming Tuesday. In fairness he hadn't said the year before which Tuesday he would be back. We had another guy who was also doing a job next door. We got pretty sure he was billing us for time he was next door. We later found out (years later) from another handyman in town that he came in and helped the guy add supports in the basement when the first guy removed too much of a retaining wall and our upstairs was on the verge of collapse. We later found a vodka bottle and some emptys in a crawl space in the basement- I have no idea if the two things were connected. One day the guy billed us for 8 hours- he had put up one piece of trim around an opening. That night I rehung it properly and we let him go. I have learned to do much of the work myself as a result of these adventures. LOL those are some good ones. One of my best was when we were having an addition put on the house in MD. It was framed and under roof but not enclosed yet. My wife poked her head in to look around one morning and found one of the "helpers" passed out drunk and high on the floor. He was the cousin of the lead guy on the job too. It's always a f*cking "cousin" with these guys... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 21 minutes ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said: ‘Helpers’ are usually hard working immgrants (legal or illegal) around here. We’ve had no issues with recieving quality trade work. Depends on the crew. I will say that we have had much better luck overall with the Hispanic crews. We have one we use in DE that shows up in 2-3 big conversion vans (like the A-Team) with 15+ guys (and some young kids sometimes) and knocks out every job in 2-3 days and then departs. Love those guys. They are messy, though. Never clean up properly. These guys are not available in Coos County, NH... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 24 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said: I think a big piece of the puzzle this guy and many others are probably leaving out is these “helpers” are low wage, non benefited, often times under the table gigs. The honest answer would be. I can’t find any helpers right now that I could pay a shit wage to do absolute dog work all day and offer them no health benefits or vacation or sick time. most of those helper jobs are you show up and get paid (usually under the table) and if you don’t work, whatever the reason, you don’t get paid. I agree it's not glamourous. It's terrible work. But when you start in a trade you always get the shit assignments (sometimes literally as a plumber). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 38 minutes ago, PhineasC said: I have toyed with trying it. I have the capital to stand up the business end of it and get these guys working and sending invoices properly. I just am not sure I want to deal with the drama I know sometimes comes with these guys, and especially the "helpers" who are often one step above drugged-out homeless transients. I would need someone who knows construction to be the GM and control the zoo. 10 years ago. I would have gone up there and done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 21 minutes ago, PhineasC said: Depends on the crew. I will say that we have had much better luck overall with the Hispanic crews. We have one we use in DE that shows up in 2-3 big conversion vans (like the A-Team) with 15+ guys (and some young kids sometimes) and knocks out every job in 2-3 days and then departs. Love those guys. They are messy, though. Never clean up properly. These guys are not available in Coos County, NH... Funny you say that, a friend of mine in Salt Lake City had an incident like what you and KLW seem to allude to... he found a used needle in his bathroom after a crew putting in tile floors left one day. He now has a family of Hispanics who roll up all together in a van, they’ll do literally anything as each person in the family has a specialty (lol) and they absolutely bust a**. He said the only time they stop is when the mom shows up at lunch and sets up a table of cooked food for them (which is awesome, folding table, crock pots, etc). They waste no time and if they only have two hours work left they will just stay and do it, instead of leaving to come back the next day. He just makes it sound like the work ethic is out of this world. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Very hard to get into the vocational (trade) school here. It is by lottery after you clear the requirements. Place is packed and they get new equipment all the time. The teachers make good coin too. Welding and electrical are prob their top two groups, their health stuff is in high demand as well. Our son did well via the carpentry program. Way ahead of his peers at his university 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 10 minutes ago, powderfreak said: Funny you say that, a friend of mine in Salt Lake City had an incident like what you and KLW seem to allude to... he found a used needle in his bathroom after a crew putting in tile floors left one day. He now has a family of Hispanics who roll up all together in a van, they’ll do literally anything as each person in the family has a specialty (lol) and they absolutely bust a**. He said the only time they stop is when the mom shows up at lunch and sets up a table of cooked food for them (which is awesome, folding table, crock pots, etc). They waste no time and if they only have two hours work left they will just stay and do it, instead of leaving to come back the next day. He just makes it sound like the work ethic is out of this world. I can attest, some my very best workers were South Americans. Haitians were great too. My older Americans also had a great work ethic. Lost some how here by many over the years. I don’t understand why though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 44 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said: I can attest, some my very best workers were South Americans. Haitians were great too. My older Americans also had a great work ethic. Lost some how here by many over the years. I don’t understand why though. At the ski area, my best employees have been the J1 students and US college kids who know it isn’t a career and is only a temporary stepping stone. There’s a change once you get slightly older Americans working entry levels jobs in terms of work ethic and time they are willing to work. It certainly starts to get rougher around the edges the more disenfranchised a person is, and unfortunately working entry level in your later 20s and 30s in America does that really quickly to a person. Like this feeling that they are behind in society and will never catch up just seems to eat them alive. I’ve noticed that same thing working in hotels and restaurants, probably why drug use is so high in those industries among entry level positions. This disenfranchised attitude that “the system” is keeping them down, wages are too low, and the grass is always greener elsewhere etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klw Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Another story, this time with pavers. Last year we wanted to get estimates for repair/repave our driveway (110 yards long and steep). 3 companies were going to come out. 1 sent a low level employee who muttered out some loose range of numbers 20 to 30k and that they would send us a written estimate. They never did. The other two companies never showed. I am gradually doing it myself. Joys of home ownership. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 hours ago, dryslot said: You can go out to eat, To the bars, And all the stores, You can go to the polls, Its a poor excuse being portrayed. With the new town hall just beginning to be built and no sizable place in town to vote, a social-distanced queue of more than 10 people will have most standing outside. November can be messy, even during the 1st week. Because of that and our ages, my wife and I will vote absentee but hand-deliver our ballots before the crowds arrive on election day. Killington folks gone wild And it may be just beginning. Less than 30 of the 65 guests at the infamous Millinocket wedding early last month got the virus, but with secondary/tertiary infections the total related positives is probably approaching 140, with 66 in the York County jail alone. When it was 54 the cases included 19 staff and 35 prisoners. Yikes! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunafish Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 The Pastor from that wedding is making sure he does his part to help the spread in the Sanford community. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunafish Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 As is his congregations choir...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 3 hours ago, dryslot said: You can go out to eat, To the bars, And all the stores, You can go to the polls, Its a poor excuse being portrayed. I just voted in person. I almost did the mail in ballot to be deposited at my town hall but figured I had time. We never have too many people at our sole polling place. For those who need (elderly, frail) it I feel mail in done the right way is useful and low risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 6 hours ago, NorEastermass128 said: Just got notification from my employer that we will be participating in Trump’s payroll tax DEFERRAL. I understand the 6.2% withheld for OASDI will be deferred for now and then collected next year. So, we get a net pay bump now, get used to it, and then a big net pay wallop to start off 2021. Brilliant policymaking if I do say so myself. Of course, if we re-elect Trump, we’re good and don’t have to pay the deferred OASDI contributions back, right? Sure. But all that $ you paid in for SS all your life....Kiss it all of it goodbye. Your not getting anything and your parents/grandparents.....they are moving in with you because their checks stop next year. For good. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 minutes ago, Skivt2 said: Sure. But all that $ you paid in for SS all your life....Kiss it all of it goodbye. Your not getting anything and your parents/grandparents.....they are moving in with you because their checks stop next year. For good. Cmon stop this hype. Do some research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 4 hours ago, powderfreak said: Ha, I think it was mentioned in the ski thread... but not what the ski industry needs heading into the fall. Even in COVID times Killington fulfills it’s reputation as a party spot . It’s locals and they are all trying to figure out how to blame someone. But I predicted that would happen months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 4 hours ago, PhineasC said: No, she needs that to read what they are saying about her on the closed Facebook groups. No one talks about me on those groups and I don’t talk on them either. Like I said community pages are a source of useful information. Duh......Things like a town meeting on a zoning change that effects you. New hours at the dump. What new business is moving into XYZ store front or which one is going out of business. Where/when are the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts selling Xmas trees/cookies this year. What town elder just passed away. When’s the grange turkey dinner this year? Someone is selling just the elliptical you use at the gym only for really cheap, yay. How many more examples do I need to give you so you understand why reading community pages makes sense? Unfortunately these pages often reveal the attitudes of the people in town to political/controversial topics. I can say many people at Killington think anyone not from there are scum. It is what it is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNNAWAYICEBERG Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 1 hour ago, HoarfrostHubb said: I just voted in person. I almost did the mail in ballot to be deposited at my town hall but figured I had time. We never have too many people at our sole polling place. For those who need (elderly, frail) it I feel mail in done the right way is useful and low risk. Great to have options. Not everyone is the same boat. Democracy is a beautiful thing so why would anyone want to discourage it... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 40 minutes ago, Skivt2 said: I can say many people at Killington think anyone not from there are scum. It is what it is. Fun community it sounds like....yikes. Either that or sounds like a high school clique online that is trying to make it sound like they sit at the cool kids table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 Didn’t vote. I’m unenrolled and didn’t see anyone that I felt I needed to vote for. We’re on to November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klw Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 5 hours ago, dryslot said: You can go out to eat, To the bars, And all the stores, You can go to the polls, Its a poor excuse being portrayed. I think the biggest concern about in-person voting should not be about the voters but rather the poll volunteers. They are in that space for hours risking exposure and almost all seem to be in their retirement years. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 Radiator night. 59F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryslot Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 5 minutes ago, klw said: I think the biggest concern about in-person voting should not be about the voters but rather the poll volunteers. They are in that space for hours risking exposure and almost all seem to be in their retirement years. If all are wearing a mask and social distancing in the polling areas, What's the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 5 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said: Radiator night. 59F. Nice, still 70/55 up here! South wind and cloud cover not letting us decouple at all and keeping a well-mixed atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now