Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Memory Lane

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Memory Lane

    A (longish) background history.
    My Dad was a builder, carpenter, mason, roofer, concreter, tiler, plasterer and on occasion draughtsman.
    He could calculate how to build a house, down to calculating the pitch (steepness)and timbers of a roof. No roof trusses, calculating the entire thing.
    He grew up in a rural community, which at that time had no electricity. His parents both worked during the day, and travelled to town once a month for supplies. He and his sister both went to the same school, or they did untill he was about 13/14.
    When the report cards came out one year, instead of his report card, his parents got a letter stating that he wouldnt be getting one, as he hadn't attended school. Unbenowenst to them, he had been working on a farm for about a year.
    He was told, ok, you can work, but you need to learn a trade.
    He got a job (I am not sure in what trade he began) and by the time he was 18, he would maybe only see his boss every couple of months, and was responsible for laying out the foundations etc by himself.
    He learned a lot of different trades by, when the work was slow, of being lent out to other trades.
    Ever since I can remember, he had worked for himself, no telephone, no advertising, basically only getting work by word of mouth.
    He did a variety of jobs, new builds, renovation work, and was flat out all the time.

    Now, the CS part.
    Being self employed, there is the usual suck that goes along with that. A lot of unpaid time readying materials for jobs, people not paying etc.

    There are a few standout ones that I can remember him telling me.
    He was working on a quoted job that a mate had won at a buisness outlet. He was working on what he was told to do, and the manager of that establishment came ad told him that he also had to build and install cupboards over here. He finished his work for the day, and when he ran ito his mate that night he mentioned the additional work that he had been told to do. His mate's response was that that wasnt included in the quote, and that the manager was trying to rip him off. When he arrived back at work the next day, he told the manager that the work wasnt included, and that they would hae to pay extra if they wanted it done. The managers response was, "Well, it was worth a try". So basically he had told Dad that is was all authorised, knowing fully that if Dad had done that work that he would have personally been out of pocket for the materials, let alone the time. The kicker - the manager was a pastor at a local church.

    When Dad was younger, he was working with this old bloke, they were building a chimmney. Now, the bloke that they were doing the job for as renowned for not paying for work done, or paying extremely late. They were building this chimmney near the end of summer (this is important )
    So, the job was done, they packed up there tools and left. Didnt hear anything from this bloke, didn't get paid either. A couple of months later when the weather got cooler, and the fireplace was a necessity, the old bloke got a call - My fireplace, all the smoke is coming into the room, is not working, I cant see anything wrong- whats happening. Well, that's no good said the old bloke, I reckon that that fireplace will draw (smoke) when I get the draw (paid). So, the old bloke and Dad went back to the fireplace, and got paid.
    That is when the old bloke "fixed" the chimmney. He broke the pane of glass that he had built in at the top of the chimmney.

    Now, Dad could draw up plans and calculate materials etc. He had some people come to him ant tell him that they wanted him to draw up the plans for a shed, and give them a quote, they really wanted him to build this for them. So, Dad did this, gave it to them, and didnt hear anything back at all. Oh well, win some, loose some.
    6 months later, they came back same story.............
    6 months later, same story...........
    6 months later, same...... different ending. See, what these people didnt realise was that Dad had noticed that just after they came to him, he noticed people building the shed. Always the same people building it just after he gave them the plans and quote.
    This time, the people came back really upset. The plans that Dad had given them the last time, the ones with all the measurements on them for all the quantities, the bricks, the lengths of timber for the roof. Every single timber for the roof had been exactly 1 foot short. They had cut up all this timber, and now it was all unusable for the roof.
    My Dads response "Wow, it was lucky that I didn't win that quote then - I would have lost money"
    When he had drawn up the plans, he had done it correctly, then subtracted 1 foot from the measurements. He said to me later that he didn't mind drawing up the plans for them, but to be lied to constantly about not winning the qoute, and to have his time wasted like that with nothing to show for it. If they had of just asked him for the plans, said that they were going to build it themselves, and paid him for his time for drawing them up, there wouldn't have been any problems

  • #2
    "Wow, it was lucky that I didn't win that quote then - I would have lost money."

    I like your dad.

    What did he do to the chimney?

    Comment


    • #3
      Quoth sms001 View Post
      What did he do to the chimney?
      Shannarah's dad's mentor installed a glass ceiling, beyond which nothing could rise...
      I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
      Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
      Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth Shannarah View Post
        That is when the old bloke "fixed" the chimmney. He broke the pane of glass that he had built in at the top of the chimmney.
        That's just ruttin' hilarious.
        I never lost my faith in humanity. Can't lose what you never had right?

        Comment


        • #5
          I like the cut of your Dad's jib ^_^ (may he Rest in Peace)

          The glass in the chimney was brilliant, even tho people probably could not get away with it these days -- the bit with the plans, however, was utter *genius*! The fact that the builders failed to notice the issue before cutting all of the wood suggests to me that they weren't all that skilled, themselves. Good riddance to SC's like "Mr. 6 Months"!
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

          Comment


          • #6
            I love tradespeople. Welcome to CS, awesome story, awesome dad.

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth dalesys View Post
              Shannarah's dad's mentor installed a glass ceiling, beyond which nothing could rise...
              Have absolutely NO idea how I missed that last sentence. ty DS.

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Shannarah View Post
                When Dad was younger, he was working with this old bloke, they were building a chimmney. Now, the bloke that they were doing the job for as renowned for not paying for work done, or paying extremely late. They were building this chimmney near the end of summer (this is important )
                So, the job was done, they packed up there tools and left. Didnt hear anything from this bloke, didn't get paid either. A couple of months later when the weather got cooler, and the fireplace was a necessity, the old bloke got a call - My fireplace, all the smoke is coming into the room, is not working, I cant see anything wrong- whats happening. Well, that's no good said the old bloke, I reckon that that fireplace will draw (smoke) when I get the draw (paid). So, the old bloke and Dad went back to the fireplace, and got paid.
                That is when the old bloke "fixed" the chimmney. He broke the pane of glass that he had built in at the top of the chimmney.
                I've heard this story from quite a few people who have done masonry/chimney work. Sounds like a couple of sea stories I've heard where the teller says they were a part of it. Of course it could have been a common practice back then as well.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I like your Dad. :-D

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The part about the glass in the chimney is a common tale. Was supposed to have been used by many mason in order to insure payment. They would build the chimney and when the person called saying it didn't work they wouldn't be able to fix it until the old bill was paid and when it was paid they dropped a brick other such item down the chimney to break the glass.

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X