Anyone here a carpenter? My grandfather wants me to quit my job and have me start my own business as a carpenter. He wants to give me his gigantic tool collection of 60 years to get started. Of course, the drawback to all this is that I would need to learn carpentry and he is willing to teach me what he has learned. I have my doubts that a carpenter can make good money. I know those that does custom cabinetry work make really good money since a friend of mine's Dad retired from it 4 years ago at the age of 45. He did it for 30 years and did well enough to send his 4 kids to college paid in full. I would like to stay home more often since I am on the road 7 days a week from 7-5 and drive over 1000 miles a week. I currently make 75K but the job as a salesman comes with a lot of pressure. Any insights or advice involving carpentry would be appreciated.

 

I have a friend who left accounting to become a carpenter. He bought all his own tools and got a good contracter to work for, and now he's trying to become a contractor himself. I think its a good career, but you have to buy/store/protect your tools, buy your own insurance, and get good work, plus the building economy is slowing down and a lot of people are getting laid off in construction, so I don't think now is the time to get into it.

 

If I am not mistaken I think that Spoon US is also a carpenter, however I think he told me once that he was a carpenter for LA county. Maybe you could PM him and see what kind of input he could give you.

 

I would assume that this profession would be like any other construction business. The money is in custom, one of a kind work. However custom= headaches. Its up to you, if you want to do it, go for it.

 

Clients, Clients, Clients. Dont do it. No one will hire a carpetnter without good experience/references. If your grandfather has a slew of people he can send your way, great, otherwise, tools are useless. In that field, you have to work for someone established, build a reputation, then break off on your own.

Think about it, if you had a home, and needed something done...who would you hire? You would most certainly ask someone on s2ki, friend, neighbor, etc about who did job X for them.

Dont jump in the pool unless you know there is water in it.

 

For an alternative career choice, look here.

 

 

You can start out on your own but it helps if you can join your local homebuilder's association. I started my kitchen and bath remodeling company when I was 43 after leaving the hotel industry as a Director of Engineering and Maintenance. I was the onsite project manager for the hotel during a 2.5 million dollar remodel at one of the hotels I worked at. During my fifteen years in the hotel industry I did work in various areas, electrical repairs, a/c & refrigeration, carpentry etc. It gave me a good foundation for getting into the remodeling business, but it was hard getting clients at first, I think I made a total of $3000 my first year. It picked up after that and as my client list grew I got more work by asking all my clients if I could use them as references when I was done with their job. The hardest part is pricing yourself to be competitive, don't be the guy that underbids everyone, you will loose your ass. I tried to price myself in the middle of the bracket and also found a niche for myself, jobs that were too small for the bigger guys to take because of their overhead (gross under 10K). I learned this by being a member of the Home Builder's Association, and they sent me work that was too small for them to do as well as used me as a subcontractor on some of their jobs when I could fit them into my schedule. My biggest job was about $100K for a client over 2 years, 2baths @ 40k and their kitchen for $60k, not bad for a one man operation. I worked for them while they were gone during the winter months the bathrooms one winter and the kitchen the next year. I had to stop due to health conditions in January of 2004.

BTW our builder's assoc. requires that you be licensed and insured and in business for at least two years before you can become a member. During my membership I was also elected to the Board of Directors for the Remodelor's council for 2 years.

 

My brother in law is a carpenter and he works for himself. Thats the upside.

Downside.....Your driving might not drop a whole lot, you go where the homes are being built. General contractors can be sleazy. He has been hired to do jobs, done them and then had the contractor not pay up and givce lots of excuses. It helped that my dad is a lawyer. It can also be hard labor. Sheets of plywood and kitchen cabinets are not always light. He is developing arthritis in his knees and hips at an early age and it does not run in his family.

In my state if you get into the union, pay you dues for a few years you can make decent money and benefits working on major building projects, but the home sector in generally non-union and lower pay. He works very steadily for himself and has made a top salary of $60k here and he has 15 yrs experience.

The is not a lot of pressure, and he likes what he does, but there is a reason lots of people go to school for other things, better pay, and labor takes a toll on your body. I built decks during the summer for a couple years in college and the feeling of exhaustion in your body after a hard week of work is something I wont forget. Multiply that over a lifetime and you can see what will happen in old age. Alot of people look down at people with no skills that roof or put up drywall, I have nothing but respect. They put in a hard days work and pay a price for it.

 

yes i am and proud of it. i got into carpentry work in the mid 70s and have built mine own home from the ground up and i'm doing it again. i've traveled and when ever i needed money i got a carpentry job if it was seattle, honolulu,woodstock wherever. if your good at it, reliable, efficent and fair you'll find work. if you do decide on being in the trades, learn as many different ones as possible. i've taught myself rough framing, finish work, tile setting, plastering and stucco, plumbing, electrical whatever it took to get the job done. i learn from the good subs/friends whom i hired for many contracting projects around the country that i was fortunate to work on. bottom line is if you get into the higher end of the work your skills are of value and the work you do can only be done here, meaning at the location of the task at hand. if i do it its made in AMERICA. i work hard and i love it.