Trade Background

Metrojoebarbs · 03-18-2007, 08:15 PM

When I was16 years old I gave a local bully something he deserved.

My parents had to pay his doctor bills or they were going to go civil. My mother came home from church one Sunday and said “guess what Joey… you’re going to work and you’re going to pay us back every cent

.
I started working with a local mason doing all kinds of masonry. Most of the work was block, brick, and flats. We landed a big job for the city of Schenectady ripping and replacing a huge brick façade downtown. 20 Italian masons screaming at me all day as I was one of two tenders. I wanted to get up on the scaffold so badly that the only way to achieve this was to mix the mud, fill my half of the tubs, climb the scaffold and jump on the line. The minute someone yelled wet it up or muuuudddd I was climbing back down. Seeing that my last name was Barbagallo and I could speak a little Italian they took a liking to me pretty quickly. Within 2 weeks there was a new tender in my place. I then graduated to building leads to laying out for the footings etc…. I did that until I was out of high school. Then I was drunk and stupid for a year.

I jumped in with a poured wall guy with a large crew of about 20. This was before they started using booms on a regular basis. We were building houses on spec so we were extremely busy. We used to walk the forms out of the basements via a wooden ramp and dump them in the next hole, next door or across the street I enjoyed this at the time because I was playing semi pro football at the time and it helped be knock people out

and stay in shape. In the winter when most of the crew wanted there slips I would stay working. When it got too cold to even load up the concrete with calcium I would jump inside with the salamanders, framers, electricians, plumbers, mechanical crews doing ruffs. I did this until I was about 28 years old. Lots of hands on experience from the ground up. I got into law enforcement for a while but found I couldn’t escape my real love…building houses. I went to community college for two years and earned an associates degree in Civil Engineering Technology.

I also took some framing courses so I could get a better grip on reading framing prints etc... This is where I learned how to snap lines (CAD 2000 Pro E) and turn angles and azimuths (surveying).

I bought some land on a dead end road and built to raise ranches next door to each other. I did a lot of the work myself with my brothers in law and a good friend. It took me forever to complete but we were young and eager. I had licensed friends that were signing off for me for a few bucks after they checked things out. I sold these units immediately.

And the story goes on. I’ve just kept graduating. Now I have people search for land for me and if I like a particular spot and it qualifies for the amount of units I want to build in that area (for many different reasons) I will personally start the offer and counter offer game. I am relying on the old supply and demand theory in regards to the baby boomers headed to the Sunbelt states to retire. I’m going to work 10 more years and it’s over baby. Maybe then I can afford those custom grips for my Callaway’s and a new Harley that is if my wife doesn't get all bent.

03-18-2007, 08:15 PM	#21
Metrojoebarbs View Profile Metrojoebarbs Home Builders/Contractors Send Message Follow Blogs (0) Threads (262) Photos (0) Reviews (0) Projects (0) Toolbox (0) View All Activity Home Builders/Contractors Trade: Residential Home Builder/Contractor Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 262	Re: Trade Background When I was16 years old I gave a local bully something he deserved. My parents had to pay his doctor bills or they were going to go civil. My mother came home from church one Sunday and said “guess what Joey… you’re going to work and you’re going to pay us back every cent . I started working with a local mason doing all kinds of masonry. Most of the work was block, brick, and flats. We landed a big job for the city of Schenectady ripping and replacing a huge brick façade downtown. 20 Italian masons screaming at me all day as I was one of two tenders. I wanted to get up on the scaffold so badly that the only way to achieve this was to mix the mud, fill my half of the tubs, climb the scaffold and jump on the line. The minute someone yelled wet it up or muuuudddd I was climbing back down. Seeing that my last name was Barbagallo and I could speak a little Italian they took a liking to me pretty quickly. Within 2 weeks there was a new tender in my place. I then graduated to building leads to laying out for the footings etc…. I did that until I was out of high school. Then I was drunk and stupid for a year. I jumped in with a poured wall guy with a large crew of about 20. This was before they started using booms on a regular basis. We were building houses on spec so we were extremely busy. We used to walk the forms out of the basements via a wooden ramp and dump them in the next hole, next door or across the street I enjoyed this at the time because I was playing semi pro football at the time and it helped be knock people out and stay in shape. In the winter when most of the crew wanted there slips I would stay working. When it got too cold to even load up the concrete with calcium I would jump inside with the salamanders, framers, electricians, plumbers, mechanical crews doing ruffs. I did this until I was about 28 years old. Lots of hands on experience from the ground up. I got into law enforcement for a while but found I couldn’t escape my real love…building houses. I went to community college for two years and earned an associates degree in Civil Engineering Technology. I also took some framing courses so I could get a better grip on reading framing prints etc... This is where I learned how to snap lines (CAD 2000 Pro E) and turn angles and azimuths (surveying). I bought some land on a dead end road and built to raise ranches next door to each other. I did a lot of the work myself with my brothers in law and a good friend. It took me forever to complete but we were young and eager. I had licensed friends that were signing off for me for a few bucks after they checked things out. I sold these units immediately. And the story goes on. I’ve just kept graduating. Now I have people search for land for me and if I like a particular spot and it qualifies for the amount of units I want to build in that area (for many different reasons) I will personally start the offer and counter offer game. I am relying on the old supply and demand theory in regards to the baby boomers headed to the Sunbelt states to retire. I’m going to work 10 more years and it’s over baby. Maybe then I can afford those custom grips for my Callaway’s and a new Harley that is if my wife doesn't get all bent.

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Trade Background

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