This is great stuff. Especially there at the end. Have you read Nickolas Butler's novel GODSPEED from a few years' back? I think you might really dig it.
I had a friend that worked as a carpenter tender. She was barely five foot but a hard worker. She pulled out the muscles around her shoulder doing the work. Said she noticed her bicep kept getting bigger while the upper muscles shrank. She also pulled green chain at the lumber mill. Had her first kid at fifteen and went for whatever the local job market had to offer. She was an exception.
Not surprised this has gotten so many comments. I resonate with every sentence. It's a great glimpse into at least one instance of the essence of manhood. There is a purity and a romance to construction work and you capture it brilliantly. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thank you so very much! And yes, there are more chapters to come, though I’m now at a point in which I need to intersperse them with other things. I’m very glad the experience I describe is something you can confirm. That fidelity is the whole point. Thanks again.
As a framer in my twenties and thirties, I was guilty of abusing my body beyond any reasonable measure. Piece work on the soCal tracts paid well and even better if you worked hard and efficiently. By the time I was closing in on 40, I knew I had to transition to project management as I wasn’t going to last much longer beating the crap outta myself like I was. I have aches pains scars and everything hurts. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved the physicality of it. And I just couldn’t see myself working under fluorescent lighting. Great article.
This is so interesting to me. I have been married to the same man for 36 years. 24 of them we were running our own farm. I also worked on the farm but also looked after the household and family too. I was never able to understand his total commitment and dedication. The sheer ability to keep going in the worst of weather when absolutely dog tired, beset by problems, always short of adequate rest, and then still get up the next day and repeat for years on end. This work totally has totally defined him and quite ruined his body. The total dedication also meant that many life problems went unaddressed as they were buried under the demanding workload. Since retirement he rapidly declined mentally and physically and could not find meaning in life. This led to him attempting to end his own life this past year. Fortunately we found him in time and he has had help to rebuild and fund purpose in his life. This article has for me explained what it is to be a man.
Thank you. In trying to write something true, I only had my own experience to guide me. But since posting this, I’ve seen how others have also been affected. I wish you and your husband the very best new year.
My husband had to require a beautiful young redhead neighbor to stay in her house during a construction project, at least while heavy equipment was on-site.
He made the difficult decision to approach her dad after observing the crane operator’s head on a swivel as she walked around her yard. He told her dad somebody was going to get killed; dad responded with “right, sorry” and back in the house she went.
Custom cabinet shop opener here. My daughter, 16, after 2 years of welding class in high school is convinced it’s what she wants to do. Our local community college has an outstanding welding program but I’m torn between supporting what she (thinks she) wants to do and the reality of the vigors of the job. Welding is another one of those trades that is not for the faint of heart. I guess we’ll see how it goes.
I will say she is a much better welder than her old man. I bought her a small rig and she’s fixed every little thing I’ve asked around the house and shop like a pro 🤷
Thanks very much for reading! Of course, I don't know you or your daughter, but I believe women have a history of being excellent welders. I've done a little of it, and I didn't particularly like it—I'd much rather build cabinets, which is another job women might be more suited to. Thanks again!
My husband is a carpenter and stubborn as they come. I see the abuse of his body first hand and the sometimes demoralized mindset that comes with it. We live in the PNW and it’s raining sideways most days he works in the winter. I appreciate his efforts dearly. I appreciate that he could build us a house (or anything really). I appreciate this aspect of men at their best - what they give and the practical knowledge they’ve acquired.
I could never have married a man with soft hands. Not my type.
Thank you very much for reading! I'm seventy-one, and the last five years I've worked to rebuild a forest service cabin that had to be gutted down to bare studs. It was the first "house" I ever built for myself—I hope you get your chance a lot sooner. Thanks again!
I’m gonna have to disagree with this article. Maybe it’s a geographical thing but I am in construction and I often see multiple women on job sites. Our commercial construction has a female boss who works in the field. She’s a tough lady I would not want to be on the bad side of. She works circles around her guys and takes no bullshit from anyone. Also a lot of the job site injuries can be prevented by PPE. Wear a mask for demo. Wear gloves when tying wire. Wear safety glasses when cutting wood. Yeah sure there’s a physical toll but everyone should be safety conscious on a job site. We don’t need people killed because they didn’t have a harness on while doing roof work or a brick fell on their head while not wearing a hard hat.
I was on housebuilding crews for 35 years, which are different in many ways from commercial construction. Smaller budgets and crews, no forklifts. I once built a small shopping center, but didn’t especially enjoy it. Certainly you can work the way you do, but it’s not the trade of carpentry that I loved.
Thank you very much for reading! I understand what you mean and I appreciate it, but I don’t think I am disposed to defend the construction site as a single sex space. I think men are more likely to do it well, but if you want to learn framing badly enough and are willing to do what it takes to earn your place, you should not hesitate. There are always exceptionally determined people who make their own rules. Thanks again!
My mother was a union carpenter doing commercial work for ten years. I think she would have an absolute pissing match with this article if she ever read it.
I do not think I am refuting anything, just making a statement; because the article merely reminded me of all the hard times my mother had trying to do the work she loved in an environment where some men don’t want her there. I work in the tree care industry and I can relate to the article from that perspective.
Thanks for reading! I only write according my own experience, but I admire anyone who decides what they want to do and then does it. Union commercial carpentry can be very different from the work a housebuilding carpenter does.
She did some residential at the start. The pay grade was much lower than commercial and the commercial jobs lasted longer. Agree that residential is much different, possibly more brutal, plus you hardly touch a piece of wood doing commercial. She is 65 now and still doing work on old house restorations.
My first day on the job, my boss at the time told me, "There is no real hierarchy here except workload. Everyone knows who does what work and how hard it is. Rank and title have nothing to do with respect. The respect you earn is equal to work done which is equal to effort times competence."
How right he was! We have highly experienced and qualified slackers who get assigned simple tasks and a willing incompetent who does almost no work. Meanwhile some of the new guys get swamped as soon as they prove they're not mouthbreathing airhead. It can look like "hookups for fuckups" but everyone knows long hours are a badge of honor.
This is great stuff. Especially there at the end. Have you read Nickolas Butler's novel GODSPEED from a few years' back? I think you might really dig it.
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
I had a friend that worked as a carpenter tender. She was barely five foot but a hard worker. She pulled out the muscles around her shoulder doing the work. Said she noticed her bicep kept getting bigger while the upper muscles shrank. She also pulled green chain at the lumber mill. Had her first kid at fifteen and went for whatever the local job market had to offer. She was an exception.
Yeah, she sounds like a story to me. Thanks very much for reading!
Not surprised this has gotten so many comments. I resonate with every sentence. It's a great glimpse into at least one instance of the essence of manhood. There is a purity and a romance to construction work and you capture it brilliantly. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thank you so very much! And yes, there are more chapters to come, though I’m now at a point in which I need to intersperse them with other things. I’m very glad the experience I describe is something you can confirm. That fidelity is the whole point. Thanks again.
Very good writing, this. Liked & subscribed. I'll go back and start at the beginning.
Thank you very much!
As a framer in my twenties and thirties, I was guilty of abusing my body beyond any reasonable measure. Piece work on the soCal tracts paid well and even better if you worked hard and efficiently. By the time I was closing in on 40, I knew I had to transition to project management as I wasn’t going to last much longer beating the crap outta myself like I was. I have aches pains scars and everything hurts. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved the physicality of it. And I just couldn’t see myself working under fluorescent lighting. Great article.
Thanks very much for reading. Those are my feelings too.
Excellent bit of writing, and it all rings true with my work experience
Thank you very much for reading!
This is so interesting to me. I have been married to the same man for 36 years. 24 of them we were running our own farm. I also worked on the farm but also looked after the household and family too. I was never able to understand his total commitment and dedication. The sheer ability to keep going in the worst of weather when absolutely dog tired, beset by problems, always short of adequate rest, and then still get up the next day and repeat for years on end. This work totally has totally defined him and quite ruined his body. The total dedication also meant that many life problems went unaddressed as they were buried under the demanding workload. Since retirement he rapidly declined mentally and physically and could not find meaning in life. This led to him attempting to end his own life this past year. Fortunately we found him in time and he has had help to rebuild and fund purpose in his life. This article has for me explained what it is to be a man.
Thank you. In trying to write something true, I only had my own experience to guide me. But since posting this, I’ve seen how others have also been affected. I wish you and your husband the very best new year.
My husband had to require a beautiful young redhead neighbor to stay in her house during a construction project, at least while heavy equipment was on-site.
He made the difficult decision to approach her dad after observing the crane operator’s head on a swivel as she walked around her yard. He told her dad somebody was going to get killed; dad responded with “right, sorry” and back in the house she went.
Great honest piece WorkingMan!
If you know you know.
Thanks very much for reading!
Custom cabinet shop opener here. My daughter, 16, after 2 years of welding class in high school is convinced it’s what she wants to do. Our local community college has an outstanding welding program but I’m torn between supporting what she (thinks she) wants to do and the reality of the vigors of the job. Welding is another one of those trades that is not for the faint of heart. I guess we’ll see how it goes.
I will say she is a much better welder than her old man. I bought her a small rig and she’s fixed every little thing I’ve asked around the house and shop like a pro 🤷
Thanks very much for reading! Of course, I don't know you or your daughter, but I believe women have a history of being excellent welders. I've done a little of it, and I didn't particularly like it—I'd much rather build cabinets, which is another job women might be more suited to. Thanks again!
My husband is a carpenter and stubborn as they come. I see the abuse of his body first hand and the sometimes demoralized mindset that comes with it. We live in the PNW and it’s raining sideways most days he works in the winter. I appreciate his efforts dearly. I appreciate that he could build us a house (or anything really). I appreciate this aspect of men at their best - what they give and the practical knowledge they’ve acquired.
I could never have married a man with soft hands. Not my type.
Thank you very much for reading! I'm seventy-one, and the last five years I've worked to rebuild a forest service cabin that had to be gutted down to bare studs. It was the first "house" I ever built for myself—I hope you get your chance a lot sooner. Thanks again!
I’m gonna have to disagree with this article. Maybe it’s a geographical thing but I am in construction and I often see multiple women on job sites. Our commercial construction has a female boss who works in the field. She’s a tough lady I would not want to be on the bad side of. She works circles around her guys and takes no bullshit from anyone. Also a lot of the job site injuries can be prevented by PPE. Wear a mask for demo. Wear gloves when tying wire. Wear safety glasses when cutting wood. Yeah sure there’s a physical toll but everyone should be safety conscious on a job site. We don’t need people killed because they didn’t have a harness on while doing roof work or a brick fell on their head while not wearing a hard hat.
I was on housebuilding crews for 35 years, which are different in many ways from commercial construction. Smaller budgets and crews, no forklifts. I once built a small shopping center, but didn’t especially enjoy it. Certainly you can work the way you do, but it’s not the trade of carpentry that I loved.
I always wanted to learn to frame houses, and yet I do feel that there’s something sacred to single sex spaces that must be respected.
Thank you very much for reading! I understand what you mean and I appreciate it, but I don’t think I am disposed to defend the construction site as a single sex space. I think men are more likely to do it well, but if you want to learn framing badly enough and are willing to do what it takes to earn your place, you should not hesitate. There are always exceptionally determined people who make their own rules. Thanks again!
Thanks for reading! I only write according my experience. But I admire anyone who decides what they want to do and then does it.
My mother was a union carpenter doing commercial work for ten years. I think she would have an absolute pissing match with this article if she ever read it.
"Outlier example refutes article that says X group is an outlier in Y field"
I do not think I am refuting anything, just making a statement; because the article merely reminded me of all the hard times my mother had trying to do the work she loved in an environment where some men don’t want her there. I work in the tree care industry and I can relate to the article from that perspective.
Thanks very much for reading!
Thanks for reading! I only write according my own experience, but I admire anyone who decides what they want to do and then does it. Union commercial carpentry can be very different from the work a housebuilding carpenter does.
She did some residential at the start. The pay grade was much lower than commercial and the commercial jobs lasted longer. Agree that residential is much different, possibly more brutal, plus you hardly touch a piece of wood doing commercial. She is 65 now and still doing work on old house restorations.
My first day on the job, my boss at the time told me, "There is no real hierarchy here except workload. Everyone knows who does what work and how hard it is. Rank and title have nothing to do with respect. The respect you earn is equal to work done which is equal to effort times competence."
How right he was! We have highly experienced and qualified slackers who get assigned simple tasks and a willing incompetent who does almost no work. Meanwhile some of the new guys get swamped as soon as they prove they're not mouthbreathing airhead. It can look like "hookups for fuckups" but everyone knows long hours are a badge of honor.
Thank you very much for reading. “Effort times competence.” That works for me.