Willing to work for free... | GTAMotorcycle.com

Willing to work for free...

black_CG2

Well-known member
If you are in home renovation/home maintenance and are looking for help, I am your guy. I can work in the weekends and maybe some weeknights.

What's in it for you?
- Free labour
- Pride of teaching

I have no experience. But I am willing to learn by working for free. I work out and in decent shape. Serious inquiries only.
 
Now that's motivation!

But misguided. You don't need to work for free. Go to construction sites and work your way in as a non skilled labourer. Get paid to learn.

Get boots and a hard hat. Go from site office to site office, talk to supers and foremen. You'll find work.
 
I like your moxie. As said above, get boots and a hard hat and you should be able to get paid. Working for free is scary as you won't be covered by comp if something goes wrong.

It looks like you are trying to fit this training around a full time job. Are you planning on transitioning to work in construction or do you just want to learn how to renovate your own house? If it's the latter, try to find a buddy that is doing their house and trade labour with each other.

What trades are you trying to learn? I hate to say it, but youtube is great for a lot of things. Just be sure to watch videos from many different people and pick out the common points. Some people talk like they know what they are doing but do everything wrong and/or focus on pushing unnecessary products provided by their sponsors.

Do you have access to a back yard? Building projects like sheds or decks close to the ground are great starter projects to get your feet wet. Build for friends and family, they pay for materials, you provide the labour. If things go horribly wrong, you haven't messed up someones million dollar house and the chance of injury in a collapse is much smaller.

EDIT:

Maybe even a better option is Habitat for Humanity. They are setup for this and you get to help people in need.
 
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Now that's motivation!

But misguided. You don't need to work for free. Go to construction sites and work your way in as a non skilled labourer. Get paid to learn.

Get boots and a hard hat. Go from site office to site office, talk to supers and foremen. You'll find work.

Thank you, yes I am very motivated. I need to learn a skill that will serve me a lifetime. I will visit new home construction sites.

I like your moxie. As said above, get boots and a hard hat and you should be able to get paid. Working for free is scary as you won't be covered by comp if something goes wrong.

It looks like you are trying to fit this training around a full time job. Are you planning on transitioning to work in construction or do you just want to learn how to renovate your own house? If it's the latter, try to find a buddy that is doing their house and trade labour with each other.

What trades are you trying to learn? I hate to say it, but youtube is great for a lot of things. Just be sure to watch videos from many different people and pick out the common points. Some people talk like they know what they are doing but do everything wrong and/or focus on pushing unnecessary products provided by their sponsors.

Do you have access to a back yard? Building projects like sheds or decks close to the ground are great starter projects to get your feet wet. Build for friends and family, they pay for materials, you provide the labour. If things go horribly wrong, you haven't messed up someones million dollar house and the chance of injury in a collapse is much smaller.

EDIT:

Maybe even a better option is Habitat for Humanity. They are setup for this and you get to help people in need.

I am going to keep my full time job. I have always been interested in house construction work. Basically, the goal is to do most of home maintenance work by myself and then probably do it for others for money. I will look into YouTube. Do you have any good channel that you would recommend?

Hmm, I will contact Habitat for Humanity.

I would still prefer to work for someone from GTAM community. I thought I would get more responses since I did say I will work for free.
 
Employers don't want free labour...there's liabilities involved, etc.

Volunteer for Habitat is a good choice.

YouTube is good if you know what specifically you want to know about.....but you also have to have a basic understanding of a particular construction segment to know what to take from each vid. Lots of time the vids have conflicting content and some stuff doesn't apply to Canada if it's US based poster, etc.
 
Employers don't want free labour...there's liabilities involved, etc.

Volunteer for Habitat is a good choice.

YouTube is good if you know what specifically you want to know about.....but you also have to have a basic understanding of a particular construction segment to know what to take from each vid. Lots of time the vids have conflicting content and some stuff doesn't apply to Canada if it's US based poster, etc.


While volunteering for habitat is good, they wont let you do any 'real' work (Even if you have experience or are a carpenter)

Painting, picking up scraps, maybe a little trim here and there....

They hire contractors to do all the real work(Framing, roofing, drywalling, concrete formwork, heck even cabinets)


Listen to mmmnaked, best advice here, you'll do some real work, build some muscle, learn and make some money at the same time




Although, im not sure how residential construction works, i hear they pay by 'piece work' instead of by the hour, and iv never done that so...
 
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While volunteering for habitat is good, they wont let you do any 'real' work (Even if you have experience or are a carpenter)

Painting, picking up scraps, maybe a little trim here and there....

They hire contractors to do all the real work(Framing, roofing, drywalling, concrete formwork, heck even cabinets)

Really? That's sad. I understand that approach, but I thought they had some teaching component.

Although, im not sure how residential construction works, i hear they pay by 'piece work' instead of by the hour, and iv never done that so...

Most new construction is piece work, but you don't normally start out that way. Nobody would stick around if they started out making so little. Typically you start as hourly (doing the crap jobs), then move on to doing the actual job, then move on to piecework.

The OP sounds like he would fit better with a reno contractor as you learn a little bit of everything, work outside of typical hours and get paid hourly. Look for houses being redone in your area and knock on the door saying you want to work for cheap.
 
I will look into YouTube. Do you have any good channel that you would recommend?

I have some that I watch, but as I said, it is an interesting game. Each one has some good ideas and some dumb ideas (as a starting point, if a furniture maker starts teaching concrete, watch for entertainment/what not to do/occasional good ideas).

It depends on what you want to learn, In most cases would rather learn from experts in each field than a jack of all trades. I would start with basic carpentry as it is the basis of everything, then add plumbing, drywall, suspended ceilings, roofing, hardwood, tile, etc. to your arsenal. Electrical isn't hard if your brain works that way, but not legal to do outside of your own house so it can be pushed far back in the list.

For framing videos check out videos with Larry Haun. He was awesome (he died a few years ago) and had decades of experience framing. His techniques work and save you a ton of time while getting the job done right. When learning from the masters, be very careful as some of their techniques work because of experience, but if you try, you will cut your hand off.
 
"Build muscle" "Go site office to site office" Lol, this isn't the 90's anymore. Find what your interested in and apply online if that's the case. Just please don't go to sites because you will get a earful from the site super. Nobody has time for you.

You said your not going to quit your day job, that's fine, but near impossible to really learn how to work with your hands. Your best bet is to learn from sites, or help friends. Start on small projects and work your way up slowly to more complex. Doing something like redoing your backsplash is very easy and you can learn quite a lot.

Edit: Look on kijiji also, there's guy needing help on there all the time. You could help Giovanni out on the weekends demoing or plumbing
 
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"Build muscle" "Go site office to site office" Lol, this isn't the 90's anymore. Find what your interested in and apply online if that's the case. Just please don't go to sites because you will get a earful from the site super. Nobody has time for you.

Strange statement. You might not get time in a downtown Tridel site office, but at subdivisions or smaller builds sure why not. Supers are generally chill. And even if they're dbags, say thanks and walk out.

Kijiji is a decent suggestion though.
 
Strange statement. You might not get time in a downtown Tridel site office, but at subdivisions or smaller builds sure why not. Supers are generally chill. And even if they're dbags, say thanks and walk out.

Kijiji is a decent suggestion though.

Because generally speaking some random walking onto site regardless if they have a hard hat and boots is a liability. If they get hurt or something happens the builder is in big trouble. I'm not saying every single site will deny you, I'm just advising against it to not waste anyone's time
 
Strange statement. You might not get time in a downtown Tridel site office, but at subdivisions or smaller builds sure why not. Supers are generally chill. And even if they're dbags, say thanks and walk out.

Something else to keep in mind is that most of the companies with their name on the site only have a couple direct employees on each site. The vast majority of the workers work for subs. It's still worth a shot though, if you strike out with the builder, ask who the drywall contractor is (or whatever trade you are interested in) and give them a call.

For the OP, new construction is probably a dead end if they want to work evenings and weekends. For the most part, sites operate during typical business hours.
 
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Really? Iv personally found work going to the site. Your not applying for an HR position, and a worthless piece of paper tells me nothing. A lot of people talk a good game but cant work

Also
+1 Larry huan.

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Something else to keep in mind is that most of the companies with their name on the site only have a couple direct employees on each site. The vast majority of the workers work for subs. It's still worth a shot though, if you strike out with the builder, ask who the drywall contractor is (or whatever trade you are interested in) and give them a call.

That's what I was alluding to, honestly. The super will usually ask the foremen if they need extra help. As for liability, get fall protection training and whmis, big deal?
 
Get your WHMS and working at heights


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WHMIS

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
Something else to keep in mind is that most of the companies with their name on the site only have a couple direct employees on each site. The vast majority of the workers work for subs.

x2. I spend a lot of time on construction sites and the site super is the one calling the shots as a whole, but in the end it's all independent contractors in there who are actually doing the work. The sparkies, tin knockers, turd herders, nail benders etc are always all different companies who bid separately on the project. IMHO a construction site isn't the place to be just walking onto either asking for a job - I know on lots of the ones I go to the super wouldn't even let you past the site trailer as you're not trained nor really legal (with regards to WSIB etc), much less tell you to wander on the site and go find a trade boss - and if you did find something this way it's almost certainly going to be just plain old fashioned casual labor - so you'll be picking up garbage, lugging crap to the trades guys, or other non-technical (IE, boring and back breaking) work.

Is that a foot in the door? Potentially. I do envy your willingness to want to try, don't get me wrong, but IMHO I'd start at the door of the trades company you're interested in getting into vs just showing up at a project already underway. Go in with a resume and a well written cover letter explaining your interest in breaking in to the trade (and that you're not afraid of hard work or starting at the bottom), shake the bosses hand, and make an impression...and see what happens.
 
@tikebike Giovanni no needa no more Mangia-Cake to ahelp ahim.
OP, my brother may need some weekend help. Electrical stuff. Pulling wires etc. For pay. Dm me your deets. I'll see what I can do. No promises though.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
Go on Kijiji or Craigslist and type in 'plumbing', 'painting', 'construction' and you'll see a few ads for help on evenings and weekends. Especially painters. They're always doing jobs in the evenings and weekends when there are offices to paint.

Outside of that talk to friends and family and see if they need help around the house. If there's nothing major (i.e. electrical or plumbing) then they may let you have a go at it.

And like others said, don't work for free. This is the type of thing that you can get paid for, and the last thing you want is for something to happen and 'he's just a guy don't know why he's here' type of situation...plus...why value your time at zero?
 
Is that a foot in the door? Potentially. I do envy your willingness to want to try, don't get me wrong, but IMHO I'd start at the door of the trades company you're interested in getting into vs just showing up at a project already underway. Go in with a resume and a well written cover letter explaining your interest in breaking in to the trade (and that you're not afraid of hard work or starting at the bottom), shake the bosses hand, and make an impression...and see what happens.


Also good advice, point is you gotta go knock on some doors, either Site trailers, or door of the trades company your interested in
 

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