In late nineties when I was starting in construction I had like a experienced carpenter 17$/hour. I come here with some experience in construction. My two friends was school bus drivers and both had 12$/hour. Today and adds are everywhere school bus driver is at 25$/hour and carpenters are at 18$ - 30$/hour. OTR truck drivers have 33$/hour and full medical. No way with this price I would start in construction and will not any sane young guy.
It is obviously because influx of illegal immigrants. Ok. Price of all trades go down except licensed, electrician plumber. Ok so far but there is huge problem. Latinos can not master any part of carpentry that involve math. Worked with them countless times. Framing stairs, roofs, spacing balusters at handrail, crown molding at odd angles it is out of touch for them. So in near future there will be none who know do it as young white in usa go do something else.
And USA in form of city inspectors, home builders and customers will just except it. It will be crappy work and it will be new normal. Worked recently for a trim company like sub just to help them for a while. It was for big home builder. Owner of company, white guy, didn't know how to calculate baluster spacing and again he did it. It was visible with ayes that spacing is off. He did start even spacing and of course last space would be off. And home builder is accepting it.
This that I wrote I see in real life. American guys that I know for years that do siding, roofing, sheetrock they all are gone do something else. At other hand my market is better and better. I would in past ask myself do I imagine things. Today it is obvious. I have 6 my own projects running right now. A trim company that do upper bracket and high end homes that I run crown for at multiple occasion contact me again to come help them. I asked how many houses, usually is 1 or 2, and they answered 40 (not mistake forty). Another guy that is GC and I said I will work for him when I get time offer me 10$ more than I asked per hour.
And with that all I ask myself why I need this f challenging job when I can be owner operator of semi and earn same money for brain dead job. And while I will live long as trucker as I do physically relatively easy job, mostly trim, many framers will go much earlier.
Conclusion, pricing in construction is not normal at moment.
It is obviously because influx of illegal immigrants. Ok. Price of all trades go down except licensed, electrician plumber. Ok so far but there is huge problem. Latinos can not master any part of carpentry that involve math. Worked with them countless times. Framing stairs, roofs, spacing balusters at handrail, crown molding at odd angles it is out of touch for them. So in near future there will be none who know do it as young white in usa go do something else.
And USA in form of city inspectors, home builders and customers will just except it. It will be crappy work and it will be new normal. Worked recently for a trim company like sub just to help them for a while. It was for big home builder. Owner of company, white guy, didn't know how to calculate baluster spacing and again he did it. It was visible with ayes that spacing is off. He did start even spacing and of course last space would be off. And home builder is accepting it.
This that I wrote I see in real life. American guys that I know for years that do siding, roofing, sheetrock they all are gone do something else. At other hand my market is better and better. I would in past ask myself do I imagine things. Today it is obvious. I have 6 my own projects running right now. A trim company that do upper bracket and high end homes that I run crown for at multiple occasion contact me again to come help them. I asked how many houses, usually is 1 or 2, and they answered 40 (not mistake forty). Another guy that is GC and I said I will work for him when I get time offer me 10$ more than I asked per hour.
And with that all I ask myself why I need this f challenging job when I can be owner operator of semi and earn same money for brain dead job. And while I will live long as trucker as I do physically relatively easy job, mostly trim, many framers will go much earlier.
Conclusion, pricing in construction is not normal at moment.
