This episode gets poetic, then it gets funny, and then it's all over. Thanks for listening everybody. I know that you were entertained, and I hope that you have gained insight into life in the trades. I suppose that is why I took the time to wr

Episode Thirteen - Bloody Hell

Apr 6th, 2018 22m 50s

Suddenly I saw blood spurting over the table saw, and then I felt the pain. Everybody at the hospital kept saying, 'a man your age'. My best before date had arrived.

Episode Twelve - Missing the Turn

Apr 3rd, 2018 25m 35s

Now that I had a great crew, I had to keep them working, or they would leave me. But with this particular client, keeping us together at all costs was too expensive. I ignored the warning voices in my head, and now it was either get gone, or ge

Episode Eleven - The Addition of Discovery

Apr 3rd, 2018 37m 41s

A big ground floor addition. My first time running the whole show. My excellent crew were decades younger than me, and on this fast paced build, it became clear to me that my age had become a liability.

Episode Ten - The Addition of Life

Apr 3rd, 2018 23m 40s

Another second storey addition with Stan. Only floods this time ... and cops. Nothing we couldn't handle. Except for the dirty talking women.

Episode Nine - The Entitled

Mar 30th, 2018 25m 4s

Dealing with the impossible demands of millennials forced me into unnecessary confrontation, and made me rethink my attitude towards this new group of inexperienced homeowners.

Episode Eight - The Help

Mar 30th, 2018 24m 12s

I was taking on bigger jobs so the time has come to find a crew of my own. Trial and error, hiring and firing the most astonishing collection of characters ... and getting nowhere fast.

Episode Seven - The Addition of Death

Mar 30th, 2018 25m 48s

I worked with Stan on a second storey addition right out of the old testament - flood, fire, swarming bees, betrayal, rivalry, rage, death defying accidents. Nothing went right on this one.

Episode Six - Finding Purpose

Mar 26th, 2018 33m 29s

My learning curve was curving nicely, and I took on clients of my own. Some were easy, some were high maintenance, and at Christmas time - they were frantic.

Episode Five - A Poor Choice

Mar 26th, 2018 28m 54s

Stan teamed me up to frame a house with Ken, an illiterate genius carpenter with serious anger management issues. The work was high up and dangerous, and we were not prepared for the heat wave and the heat stroke that drove us off the roof.

Episode Four - Homework

Mar 12th, 2018 29m 1s

My mentor, Stan, hired me to work with him gutting a three storey house and putting it back together again. He told me about his alcoholic parents, and I told him about being abandoned at birth.

Episode Three - The New World

Mar 12th, 2018 22m 19s

I got my first real job as a construction worker, joining a real construction crew building a recording studio complex. New tools, new people, and a new sense of belonging.

Episode Two - Stiffed

Mar 12th, 2018 26m 23s

My skills and my tool collection grew until I was known in the neighbourhood as 'handy'. When the neighbourhood crazy lady offered to pay me to build her a fence, I jumped at the chance. Of course I should have known better ... she didn't pay m

Episode One - Coming Out

Mar 7th, 2018 27m 3s

My first attempt at home reno was when I decided to install a bathtub all by myself. I had no tools and less experience, just an inexplicable drive to do the work myself. The installation was a disaster, but I learned a lot about plumbing - and