Lynn Ave 2

Transcript

Come here. Very good. All the way up. I work with that. My dad basically... Your dad sit there very bright. Well... Him and I are 1971, we started off together. construction, framing. Him and I were partners for a couple years, okay? So, and then all of a sudden I went on my own, but he still worked for me, and then later on, it was too hard for constructed, he get some knowledge, you know? So that's... Then, well, when I grew up, like, well, we worked a lot in the bush all the time. Okay. Of course, he was my boss. I would say he was my boss right from the beginning. But you know what? My dad never had the yell at me. Really? I do not remember it. My dad ever had to yell at me. Yeah. I had it great. I have a great weekend. Hmm. I have nothing bad to say about him. Nothing. He, uh... The only thing he always said, John, slow down. Yeah. John. Slow down. He only said, I would work it too hard. To fashion too hard. I knew that. He always calmed me down. She's growing up. He never had to tell me because I'm going through this. Wow, girl. You know, I've surprised them many times. That tells a story. But she's... He was working out, and we were bush all the way around. And sorry, what did he do for work? What did you do for her work? Well, I worked on a farm. Oh, sure. When I grew up, I was a boat. 12 years old. I had this idea, go and shop a lot of firewood in the bush, like long pieces of wood. You know, I had bush, thick trees down like this. In a couple of days, I had a couple of big loads, waggon loads full of wood. See, what you do is, you would cut it in pieces for the machine for firewood, for our stools, or with wood, right? folks are the younger folks. And I had one day he came home and I had that big surprise he could not believe what I did. In 2 days, I shot with the axe, chopped it and pulled it all other bullshits laying outside the bush, let it write her load on the waggon. Huge loads. That's how I surprised them all the time. Yeah, yeah. No, I surprised them all the time. There were about 2 years or so that him and I, every morning, we got up at 5 o'clock, we had our market quick. At 6 o'clock, 8, about 6 o'clock, we were on a bicycle store. We have to travel about... 16 kilometres of bicycle every day, you know, six days a week. 7 o'clock, we were at a place where we all start working at 7 o'clock, 12, 1130. Well, we had a half hour break between, and then from 1130 till 130, we had a break. And then we worked till 6 o'clock. Of course, we had a break in between you. 6 o'clock, we jumped on a bicycle to one home. Six days a week like that, you know? Well, it sounds like they start off in... So I was always with him. He built some houses and a little city where we were working and I helped them building houses. I was, he even teach me as a bricklayer. I wouldn't pair away a bricklayer too. Oh, really? I couldn't. Yeah, I helped them building houses. I was a big layer. I have many times thought about here going as a bricklayer, but... Nah. I looked at it. So you have to be like that there. You have to be so precisely. Right. Yeah. See, when you're a framer, right? When you're a freemer, the roofer comes behind you, and so they cover all of all, they cover up all your sins. Right, yeah, yeah. Like, the mistakes you have made, yeah, that the ordinary people, you don't have to, not like building a piano. But when you do bricks like this. That has to be very precisely at the level and the looks, you know. Of course. I would have gotten a tube. Sure. Yeah. But the training, if you make a mistake, nobody will notice. As I say, the driver comes behind you, covers up the mistakes, you have. nobody, nobody knows. So That's not when I came here to Canada, then I had a number, boss. I had one time... I got the very season was finished 66. A chicken farm, I helped them build a big chicken bar. So that was when he was my boss, there. After that, I did for a whole month, I hope, chicken every day. But the wheelbarrow open on a conveyor to the big truck and hold it away to a place. Did that for a whole month. That boss wasn't very good. Nope. I just thought I'd killed myself working all day very, honey, Kim, and I said, I think you could have done more in this. Only moly, you. Turkey, yeah. And then all of a sudden, to a friend of ours. In Vancouver, he knew, and he found had found a contractor, I mean, frame a contractor, he was looking for 2 helpers. So me and my brother. So, we started on December the 7th, 1966, we started on Vancouver and started, sort of, almost kind of out of like this. We always have so many... Oh, I hate it. What a very good box. Keep an eye open. Yeah, very nice. And you were crammed for a year. You remember, right? And he quit framing. he was going to Billy in about his cousin John Jensen. was looking for two carpenters. So we went him. It was a very nice boss too. And general... Oh, yeah, I had... Then when we came back from Paraguay, we worked in Abbotsford. I worked for, yeah, he now worked, worked for a guy, his name was Heinu Friesen, he was a... Henry Friesen. Henry Freeman. He was a joke too. Yeah, I worked for a little bit more of the month and that was too much, too long already. Like he was just mean or... Yeah, Ryan? Well, it seems like I couldn't work hard enough. It was really good. At the end of the day, he thought we could have done way more. BS, we worked a butt off, you know? Oh, did you ask? That's, yeah, that's the 2nd one that said, and... Then I said, then all of a sudden, I had a phone call from Vancouver, this Harry Jansen, who had worked with me together before on his first brother, and... He said, John, I'm looking for a carpenter. Can you be on Delta tomorrow morning? Yeah, I said, none, hold it, hold it here. Holy. I said, first of all, we have no car. I had to figure out now, how can I get a car? And lucky enough. And then we had a potluck at work. This was about the middle of March. That this was Sunday night, Monday night, we went to Vancouver. I have to check. But it was interesting. Some people, they were hard placed that Sunday afternoon. They were moved back to Paraguay. They had all the furniture they want to sell it. Very cheap for 12 bucks, everything. I mean, everything. Watch it, dry, everything. Wow, the suite was loaded with everything. This player and everything. So, we went Monday night, and they wanted us to rent our apartments week. So I looked at it? Yep. You'll take it April 1st and they'll buy all the furniture. So, then a week later I start working for these other guys, drove to April 1st, drove to Delta every day with my dad's car. Those guys, they were adding hairy learning. They were very, very good for me too. Very good. So, and I worked for them for OY, and then once we lived in Vancouver, they had a working van, to go to construction. First week or so they came and picked me up and all of a sudden those bosses said, we have an idea, John. Why don't you take the van? You pick us up every morning and drop us off, and then you have a vehicle to drive. Really? That was very nice. Wow. They said, if you want to go to Abbotsford? Go right for it. Yeah. Go whenever you want to go to Abbotsford. So, every morning, I have to go and pick them up, to two paces, and then another fellow work for us, pick them up, and do to Delta to work, you know? Cool. So that worked out very nice. Still enjoying your... Yeah, and in the meantime, that came June. This is smooth. Yeah, July. A week before Eric was born, he was born July the 8th. And the week before that, we bought a car. Okay. Brand new car. So, but still, they said, no, as long as you work for us, we want to drive the van. Then we don't have to worry about, in the morning, getting early, ready and go and pick everybody up. We want you to come back us up. Yeah. Plus, they have to go quite a bit just more west to pick me up. For me, it was sort of like coming from there, pick them up and go that way. easy. Not for them. Going all the way up, way, a couple of miles or no, three, four miles up, drop me up and come all the way back. No, it was so... Yeah, in the middle between here and... But come on. That worked out right. Cool. Yeah, after that, that came September, they start quit framing the one guy, I don't know what he was going to do, but the other one, I want to go finish Carpenter. So, of course, now I was a lot of work, but I did some small drops here and there. And then my father-in-law. He was working here for a couple guys in Abbotsford, and they needed a carpenter real bad. So they asked me to come and work, and I went to work, and they were, they treated me. Very nice, too. Mm hmm. They treated me special, very special, you know? Well, that was an experienced carpenter, you know. They knew when I came on a job, they didn't have to tell me anything. Mm. What was very interesting, what happened is, I worked for him a little while already, and Vancouver, those guys, they never allowed me to look at the blueprint. Really? Okay. And one day we were freeing a house. And I said, I went and asked the one guy. What about this here? Yeah. John, yeah, the blueprint. Go and have a look. Blangley is... What? was it? Yeah, cool. Have a look. What a look, sir. are you supposed to do there? Oh, okay. That's what I did. So they put fully trust in me, you know, that then when I came up putting up forms. Probably 20 minutes. It was about, I could beat everybody on something up forms. 44, one. But we put up forums for foundations. 3 kilometres less. There was another guy, Abe Shirley. He was a brother too, one of those guys that I was looking for. Him and I. We worked together as a team. Boy, nobody had to come close to us. We were slapping those forms up. We didn't have to say a word to each other. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Those guys, they were doing other stuff, getting things right and prepared, him and I, we were put up for him. That was our job. There was no questions asked. Yeah, yeah. And then, of course. And then it was on... I have taken a home. 1970, or was it 71? Ah, guy came up. mission, I would think. He said, John, when if you and I go on our own framing, okay? So we went, we framed one house. For 176 mission. And then we got the duplex right away, and then one day he comes up and he has a helper along. What? You never talk to me about having a helper? That pissed nub right there. Why don't you talk to me about it? So... He helped. I mean, he was a good guy, you know? It was a nice guy working for us. Then we framed the house, and also it was very, very cold, very cold. Him and I, another guy, we had to frame and he would go and finish a house, what we had framed before. And I figured that's the limit. Hmm. That's not what I had in mind. I am going work in a cold water frame, but the other guys together, and you're going to finish inside where it's warm. I quit. Hmm. Have enough. So I went back to these guys, these guys told me, gone, the door is wide open. You can come anytime you want back. So I went back and worked for them for... This was in spring. No, this was in fall, later, early fall. For not much time. None came spring, April, then... was a building contractor in Abbotsford. He was looking for a framer. My dad was working for him as a handyman. He talked men, he said, John. This Walter was looking for a framer. He has two houses lined up. Huh? I didn't want to know, but he convinced me, so let's do it. So we went, and I saw him, and... Well, I said, I have a, there's a few areas I don't know what to do, and, like, stairs. He said, do you know how to put foundation? Oh, yeah. He said, you're on your way. Put the foundation centre and I'll help you. So that's why I started off and I never looked back. Yeah. What scared me, what I was most afraid of is, yeah, we got 2 houses now lineup. But what about when we got these 2 houses? nobody knows me. And we have, we didn't even finish the 1st house. Another house came lined up. And another one. And another one. And I was always busy. I never had to look for a drum. Never advertised. Never had to look for a job. All you do is just, if you do a good job, Chris, you don't have to do it as a heritizer. Everybody knows pretty soon about you. So, hmm, no, I had the, it was one then billing inspector here. When he would come and inspect my framing, He will write down the slip. Well done, job, well done. He stapled on, everybody could see it. He said, advertising for you. Yeah, totally. He was very nice. He's very new gentleman, you know. So, I say, I... Yes, I had, there were times that was tough going, especially 1974. At the end of summer, all was on the market collapsed. A lot of guys are out of work. But I was so blessed, a guy from Vancouver was building a six flags admission. And I got that job, and I was, we did the framing and siding, all the wood siding. So that kept me, that kept me all winter going. A lot of guys came and asked for a job, but I had two guys worked it for me and my brother in law and my brother, so... That pulled us too. And from there, after that, things got, oh, yeah, and in the meantime, I had bought a backhoe business, and all of a sudden, oh, yeah, and that's another thing. I had just bought a Bacco business that summer in 1974, and all of a sudden, the company who my machine was working for. I had an operator around there. It went bankrupt. Monday Tuesday, Wednesday. Now, my machine sips on a yard, 500 bucks a month payment. And no work for it. The machine set from October till March, April, set of my yard. are going to go up. That was tough. Make a $500 a month payment on a machine that sets us. So, and then all of a sudden I had phone calls and of course I didn't know much hook operator machine. Yeah. And I think we're going to see on... The 1st job I had was a very complicated subject. Very complicated. The worst subject I can ever did in my life. But I did it. No, no, in the meantime, I had a framing crew going too. My brother-in-law was running a framing crew. Then came summertime. Yeah, summer, then all of a sudden, I was getting fairly busy with my backhoe business, and so I said to my brother-in-law, here, you could take over, you take all my customers for framing, you know, so he took over. He went framing. Then I did for a total of 3 years. I had a backhoe business. And then I sold it, and it was the worst thing I ever did in my life. selling it. I have, when I bought that machine, I bought every penny, including to buy insurance. You can see wherever. That's the bank board, every penny. That was $27,000. It was a lot of money. And then 3 years, I had everything paid off. Okay, maybe you do. And I had enough money to go and buy a new machine. Then they had a brother-in-law. He was cunched me on my back. Well, I think it's just a matter of to sell the outset to him. So I sold it and... I regret up to these days that I sold it because I made nothing but money. Yeah, but I think you can also get that. I felt so stupid. And I sold it. That was another mistake I made. I sold it for him. It was worth more than sold it to him. If you sell a business. You have to sell, sell your, what do you call it, a will to, like, you have to sell, something you have to make something out with, like, a will, your business goes with it. All your customers go with it, okay? Right, right, yeah. Then that KSP is coming. I have made no a lot of money but selling it. But if you do that, but you include all the businesses, it goes with it. sell all the customers. Then you don't have to pay tax on it. So I ended up paying that year, he told no tax. Because I didn't know. But my account explained it to me. He should be sold with, I think they called with the will. Yeah. I'm not sure. I understand. If you had a company put in there, All the customers go with it. Yeah, so you said you wouldn't have to pay a penny. Really? Interesting. I learned something now. So, you know, I made a few mistakes of my life. I made a few mistakes. There's much of a price difference. I also, the 4th house I framed. those are the fourth. Yeah. Maybe the fifth. We were debating, say, okay, should we see? We had the floor on... Well, we had the Foundation Ford. And I looked on the street and I saw something is not right. I couldn't figure out what it is. Foundation don't need us high. So when we start framing and I noticed right away when you have a front wall here in a front wall there and you have a middle wall in between. they they back walls that they go 16 and a quarter away and those go 16 and a quarter back because the floor dress, this floor dress lays on a fountain in the middle. The middle wall, that stud sits all this wood, these floor dress come together. That stud has to sit in the middle, right? So both of them, half of them sit down there. So we framed the walls. Probably not on that. Not a lot of... holy mouldy. Why doesn't this line up? The front stud and this stud and middle, they should line up. There's a difference like this. Oh, no. I was starting to get uncomfortable. What the heck was going on? So, we put the floor dress up, we were ready for a, put the floor plumber on. I said to my brother. Again, now we're going there to see what's wrong, right? Because someone's out there. There's only one foot out of square. I wish I was to be your 1st and last. Wow, that's a bad mistake. This happened, this was a 2 o'clock, Chris. Cancellation policy. I said to the boys, let's pick up and go, I was sick. We would... I didn't eat that. I was sick to this dog. I also took up just ultra. We cannot. It's not because we're trying to cancel. Yeah, I made a few mistakes for my business. No doubt about it, but well, that's how you learn to make mistakes. It helps more of somebody else tell you. Right, yeah. So what you said is, well, the recent policy that, but the guy, I mean, now, of course, it was the last house for that contract, I guess maybe he found, they probably found out. We do not. The only thing what I did do now, what I made sure. Let's say this is your back wall, you know, and your kitchen is a dining room, you have a wall going here. And you have your kitchen, there's another wall going here, another one. Where cabinets go on? I made sure that these these particular walls were square with that, okay? Because for your cameras. The only thing where you will see a little when you do, especially when you do a linoleum floor, you'll see it, the floor is out of square. Yeah, totally fine. So like the bathroom. So the only place where you would have been able to see it, that was auto square, would be in the dining room. See, this is the end wall there. And there comes the dining wall because this wall was now at this end closer. Yeah. See, I love was going like this. See, I made sure this was square, and even in the square, and the next wall, that one. It was all square. So if you would put lanoli, you would see it. Only those days they all just put carpets in here. And then you wouldn't be able to see it that easy. So I tried to make it so that that was not noticeable. I mean, eventually they would have noticed it. It was on the square. But they probably never found out where? How? January 1st or January. I was glad that they... I was so... See, I think... You know, in that same house too. But I had inspection. Yeah, for like the resort section. Yeah, there again, I learned you have a house, the roof, it's lower. Lord and 4 called 4 pitch. It has to do... if you put chingles on it. It has to be four, 12 pit or higher, right? And somehow I didn't admit because if you don't learn any math and all that. I end up... It was under 412, the pin. Inspector looked there, and he said, there really is, it's not so. He said that will... So Nanak, he explained to me also. So that's... I think there's a small chance. Oh, that one time, we may not be able to go. I had built, we had like a set of stairs coming on, you have what it called winding stairs, couple on the bottom. You probably see them. See, these stairs on the bottom here, there's supposed to be 20 degrees. Okay. Oh, you know what? I didn't have a clue. I'm just roughly. The building, and I had trained it, and a bell inspector comes on, he says, John, you don't have those... I said, what do you mean, different? He tried to explain it to me. He said, John, I tell you what. I have to go and do another inspection. Why don't you rip the whole thing quick up and I'll come back and show you. Just what it is. I mean, I had only one, two, three, you know. Took it off quickly. And he showed me. Yeah, how to do it. You see, you laying your square. This is your 1st one here now? Yeah. She says, we're planning on coming ourselves. That's it. Do stairs come down here like this now? Yep, yep. This year, I hear yourself. And this one here? This from here, this from here. Now you put your square down here? Yeah. And you go up to 20 inches. Oh okay. And I can you have the short the short end here. Okay, this is the long one short end. And you go 20 inches from this point to there, 20 inches. Okay. And then from here with the square end, you mark yourself. Okay? Now you make a line here. That's 20 degrees. Okay, yeah. So in the same thing with this other one. You put your square here, up the words 20? And then at the end of the square, you mark it. You draw a line. That is 20 degrees. I had no idea. So he showed, man. See, most of the time, no different place. Still inspectors were very nice. I had a few, they were a little bit rude, but... Well, one thing is what you do is when you deal with inspectors all the time. You never pretend that you know everything. Right. You only snap them, no. You're the one that knows everything. Don't, don't, don't think. I never thought of I knew it. And that's how I learned the code. I never read a codebook in my life, but I knew the codebook 100%. Just from talking other builders. This is code, that's code. Inspectors would tell me this is code and this is code, this is code. A few times, I knew better about the code within inspectors did. One time, we were there, Mike and I, we were doing hope. had a foundation. Because I just got my renewal. And they... I had this idea that the tie holds, you know, when you use ties, it has a little hold on the outside. Most people think you have to fill them with the cocking. And I knew you didn't. Spector comes up and you said, I think it was sprayed with the damn proof and he said, you didn't fill the tiles. And I said, I don't I don't have to. Yeah. I said, no. You have the code book up. Earthquake. It says in the code book. I don't understand why. The only thing you have to cook with putty is if you have a honeycomb and a foundation that you can see through. Right. That's the only time it shows that you have to do filling. Other than that, doesn't talk anything about it. I said, you know what, Lauren? went online, Eric. I will not film anything because the cold book does not come in and he didn't make me do it. So he was inspector and he didn't know what the code was. No, but when we built this house... I went one note, see, a deck. See, a deck like that. I don't have to have any railings. There's only 2 guitar. have any ratings. But like the back of the back. It used to be up till 2006. The code was, if you had found the finished ground, up to the deck, 5 feet. You only have to have 36 inch trillion top. Okay? But I know the code had changed in 2006, but I didn't know what that had changed to what? So I go in to the city hall. Talk to the managers, the Peter. Can you tell me what the code is? And you had no idea. Really? He said, come with me. And to my office, we'll have a look. So we looked on it up to that point, I didn't even know him what the code book was, but I know it had changed. There we read in code book. If you have 6 feet, 72 inches, from the finished ground to the top of deck. You have to have a, you have to have a 42 in training. Oh, 42? Wow. Yeah, okay. After 6 feet. From finish to the top of the deck. Then you have to have 4200 that's for falling down, okay? Yeah, sure. But up till then, you're really only have to make 30 cent syndras. So that's, that's how you learn, learn the code on your deal with inspectors all the time, you know? You don't have to read a code book. I knew the code book very well. I mean, no, not no. They things have changed so much on a code book, you know? When I did, when we hadn't finished inspection, the final inspection on my top upstairs, they so could come. I never knew that the coach says you have to have 12 inch tiles around. And I had only 6 inch. cooperate. So the inspectress is... Don't you know no? I said, to be honest, I didn't know that. And it was all finished and he looked at me and I knew right away. wouldn't do it. He looked at me and he said, I have the feeling you're not going to do anything about it. I said, you got the right feeling. I won't do nothing. I had known that wouldn't be like that. But I said, I am honest. I did not know. No, it's fine. Hell, pass it. But he didn't. He didn't have to. Yeah, because, you know, so... He was, are do you make any toys? Yeah, there were, there was sometimes a few things, some things that I didn't know. what you're getting at or what he's interested. Now one time, somebody told us, the code said, yeah, soon as you have a header above there. If it was, after 5 feet, you have to have, like, what they call cripples? Like say this is, let's say this is your header now. And one stud goes right past the header. And then you have what they call right up to the head. to call a cripple. Oh, sure, yeah. Could it hurt somebody? Could it fall or something? Somebody a builder killed me. You have to have double to a double cripple. If it's more than 5 feet header. Some people are at your house. Every one time we were framing there and there wasn't hope there. Okay. And the building inspector stands and looked at it, like there, I had... to cripple headers. Shelves. He said, John. Why are you doing that? small tables. Well, somebody told me the coders says no. Okay, okay, that's good, yeah. He said, I don't find it anywhere on code. He said, only. See, that's cola header. But the minute it's called a beam, okay? Like what's outside there, you know, what you see? That's a beam. Once it's called a beam. have double headers. Okay. And the longer caps the more you have. Sure. Of course. Okay. I understand. We used to go up to there, but beans. Just for single single cripples, okay? But then later on, if you at these days, if you have something from that malted that wall, you have to have 3 carpets of each hand. Oh, really? Yep, okay. and everything. That's how things change, you know? Crazy. No, I'm sure if I would frame houses now, I would... I would have to figure out quite a few things. It changes so quick. Yeah. Oh, I'm glad I don't. I'm not afraid of it. One of your claims is not as resistful. I can't guarantee that. If I would have to go out and do something like this weather, I would thread it. Oh, it's miserable. Yeah. It's like a slowing down. It does. I was just thinking that.