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Getting experience

North Dakota

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Oct 31, 2019
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26
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North Dakota
As the title implies I have no construction experience at all. I think I've built a bird house before, but that was over 15 years ago.. That being said. Does anyone know if its a possibility to call a contractor and ask if I can volunteer my time and lend a hand to gain knowledge and experience with whatever it is they do (concrete work/framing)?

Thanks for your help!
 
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Bogie1632

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Feb 18, 2018
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Southeastern Wisconsin
Not sure about a contractor doing that. Liability, insurance, unions... If your not hired the list of why they won't or can't use you could be a long one.

Have you looked at your local Habitat for Humanity organization, or similar, in your area? They always need volunteers, and from my experience, the work done on a given day has skilled trades folks in charge. Great way to learn new skills and give back to your communities at the same time.

Good luck.

V/R
Bogie
 

Leaflessshadetree

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Aug 1, 2013
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Don't ask.
Habitat is a good way to learn. If you have friends, family, neighbors doing sizeable projects (garden shed, deck, roof) offer to help and be helpful. Sweeping up, carrying stuff to the dumpster, shleping tools/materials is all part of the work.

Plenty of plans, how to articles and videos on line as well.
Think of small projects around your house. Bird houses, shelves, bench, dog house, trellis, maybe a concrete pad. Home maintenance, take on the jobs as they need to be done.
Measure twice, cut once.
Learn to use hand tools. Hand tools tend to slow you down and pay attention to what you are doing.
 

Kaizen

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Jan 9, 2015
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New England
Yea liability will be an issue. If you are hired then you are under them. Offer both routes.
Need a shed? Start there. Small enough to correct mistakes and not get buried financially. Honestly even a dog house can follow the basic construction guidelines. I built my own garage but no way I could keep up with a pro framing crew.


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driftpin

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Dec 22, 2016
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Miami-Dade/Broward Co. Florida
One thing you need to avoid is working with power tools, at least until you get more experience. A poorly-operated power tool can change your life, and not for the better. "How-hard could it be?" Think about going the rest of your life with only one eye, or minus several fingers, etc.

One of the best things you can do, is to be humble-enough to tell someone, "I don't know how to use a ____ (insert tool name here), safely." Unless you are working with a psychotic ******* (it happens) they should be able to help you to get the experience. Don't be miffed if someone tells you, "OK, I'll do it, watch." Don't expect a 10 minute explanation about how to use a sidewinder Skil saw, there's work to-do. Ask questions at breaks, but always be unafraid to inform a co-worker, "I don't know how to use/do that safely."

As a firefighter for 45 years, now retired, and a paramedic, I saw plenty of stupid behavior on jobsites, some unfortunate circumstances, and all painful. I have an X-ray I saved of a guy with a tapcon smack-dab between his eyes, it looked like a blue caste mark at-first, then I saw the phillips X. The x-ray lateral view of the cranium shows it's about 1-5/8" long, and its head is nearly flush with his forehead. He was conscious. He screwed-up.

Powered nailers are great labor-saving devices, but they can be dangerous, especially when carelessly-used. Never put your hand behind and in-line with something you're trying to nail with one of those. Even having your hand close-to where you're nailing can result in trauma, if you hit a knot.

Your local community college or trade school of the school district probably has some novice classes you could take to gain safe experience.
 
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Gotcha640

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Jan 27, 2015
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Houston TX
Rockler and woodcraft have classes, probably not at the moment with social distancing, but to consider when the world opens back up.

Paul Sellers on YouTube does most of his stuff by hand and has a bunch of good easy to follow projects. Might be a bit more tools and different style than you're looking for right off.

Maybe start with one of the $100 work benches made from dimensional lumber, if that's your style, or a shed or a bookshelf.

Another (expensive) option would be to call a handyman and see if you could pay them to build you a thing with the express understanding that you want to be hands on. The guy my in laws use is $100/hour, but for that he'll replace your toilet or build a new house, and I have spent a fair amount of time talking and working with him.
 

mark#3

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Feb 2, 2014
Messages
404
Some of the most dangerous worker is the experienced one who gets complacent with his work so he ignores safety rules/practices.
I always walked the new guy thru the routine til I was satisfied, but OJT is the best way of learning something.The empathisis is think, always be thinking in whatever you do.
 
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PugetDude

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Mar 13, 2013
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Superstition Mountains, AZ
"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted"

The only way to get hands-on experience is to get hands-on. As other have suggested, HfH is a good start. If you are able to work full or part time, most contractors always need grunt level labor- as ssdave related, offer to start at the bottom, do the grunt work, be willing to help out and do whatever is necessary to gain experience. You'll need a strong back, a good pair of boots and gloves, and a great attitude. And, remember- SHOW UP WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO! Do that and you'll move up quickly as your skills improve.
Good Luck.
 

pmiranda

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Jul 15, 2008
Messages
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Location
Austin, TX
I have an X-ray I saved of a guy with a tapcon smack-dab between his eyes, it looked like a blue caste mark at-first, then I saw the phillips X. The x-ray lateral view of the cranium shows it's about 1-5/8" long, and its head is nearly flush with his forehead. He was conscious. He screwed-up.

That is awesome.

Yeah, the old saying "the only stupid question is the one you don't ask" is extra true with anything sharp or powered.

I'm a big fan of Habitat. Hopefully you can start there.
 
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