When you feel lost or stuck, who do you turn to? Public speaker J Loren Norris said, “If you cannot see where you are going, ask someone who has been there before.” Without our parents, grandparents, educators, and mentors, we wouldn't be the trade professionals we are today. We continue to learn and challenge ourselves, thanks to those who take the time to share their knowledge.
January is National Mentoring Month, and to celebrate, we looked to a few mentors within our community: Truewerk's ambassador network, otherwise known as the WerkForce. When building something from the ground up, you look at the big picture and consider the unique skills required to make each step happen. We asked for some of their favorite tips on framing, flooring, HVAC, siding, and more to share with you.
Rough Framing - Tim Uhler
Tim Uhler of @awesomeframers walks us through how to properly measure a common rafter birdsmouth layout using a speed square. Check out the full video for his explanation on measurements used!
Plumbing/HVAC - Zac DesJardins
Zac DesJardins of @qualityhvacr presses refrigerant lines using Rapid Locking System. On finding the right tools for the job, he says, "Being able to press refrigerant fittings is a game changer for the industry. Having the right tool for the job allows me to serve my customers safely and efficiently."
Siding - Desmond Tse
Desmond Tse from @thesidingguy shares a helpful tip he learned through years of siding: "This video clip shows both an inside corner and an outside corner on fascia. When I first started siding, I often forgot to leave the tab for the inside corner. A square tab needs to be left, then the next piece overlaps the tap with a mitre cut. I make a tiny cut with my snips so that when I turn the piece over and don’t see the pencil mark, I still know where to bend it and it makes bending it easier as well. I hope that short clip is useful to someone."
Flooring - Jeremy Bredig
Jeremy Bredig of @floorrescue is best known for creating unique floors using epoxy. On this technique, he says, "Here we are laying out @bulletproofresins epoxy with a flow time of 45-60 min with multiple colors of metallic epoxy. We manipulate it with a trowel and push pull to fill in the floor as equally as possible and then let it flow (melt) and do it’s magic. We are applying at a rate of 35-40 sft/ gal."
Contracting - Kyle Stumpenhorst
Kyle Stumpenhorst of @rrbuildings shows us how he deals with imperfect wood on a framing job. "In post frame, wood isn’t always perfect, but it’s your job to make it right! I prefer to run fascia long and avoid a splice joint on a single truss tail. In my opinion this makes it much stronger and straighter!"
Have a trade tip you'd like to share? Tag us in your videos on Instagram @truewerk!
