Some of you may know that, for a little over a year….actually closer to two, I have been “refinishing” the basement…..which is my euphemism for turning out basement into something other than a big concrete hole with an electrical outlet. Turns out our criminal builder (and he IS in jail, but on an unrelated matter), filed plans with the city for a house that he promptly did NOT build on our lot. As a result, when we got our first tax assessment we were astounded…..it was sky high. Imagine our surprise when we realized we were supposed to have a third bathroom and at least one more bedroom.
So, I set about the work of “refinishing” the basement. The only problem with that is that I don’t know shit. And you cannot learn all you need to know about framing, wiring and plumbing and HVAC from a Home Depot book or a You Tube video….trust me I tried that with a garage door sprig and broke my arm in two places.
So, we had a local guy, who was really a farmer, come in between planting and harvesting season and do the frame work, which was his second job. I didn’t realize it at the time, because I do not know anything, but he did a “passable” job. Others would look at his work and ask “who the hell did that?”, but as far as I knew it was grand.
Then we brought in an electrician, a real one, with his own small company, to run all of the wiring for the downstairs rooms as we had them framed out. He did a really good job, as he should have, but our vision changed a little bit when my wife got involved, so he is making a return trip to do some additions.
Then we hired a local man to put in the water lines, shower / tub, sink, toilet, etc. This sort of work would be his main work but he is a full time maintenance man at the state penitentiary for the benefits, and is also in the KSARNG. He does good work, but between schedules it has taken a long time.
And I did about 90% of the drywall, which was all new to me, but I am promised that the right mudding and taping and painting crew can hide just about any blemishes, and since I don’t know anything, there are plenty of blemishes.
So, as soon as the last round of wiring is done, we are ready to put in the ceiling, tape, mud, paint, finish the electical outlets and we are done. And this stuff ain’t cheap. Tradesmen get a fair amount of money for their work and talent, as they should, and I am going to get to that in a minute.
Once finished, this will about double the living space in the house. I don’t think we are going to stay here forever, but I would like to get out without going broke……and we do have some things we want to get done while here, like put Janets’ new certifications to work. But this will be great when we have the kids all out here at once, as we did along with their entourages, at Christmas. Plus, if we ever need to take care of a family member, this will be a big boon.
Now, on the tradesmen thing, or what I like to refer to as “real man work”, and I am going to lump a few things into that category; auto mechanic, small engine (lawn mower, chain saw, snow blower, etc. etc. repair) mechanic, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, welding, truck driving, carpentry, metal fabrication. Those jobs are jobs that, though the mechanics of them may change, the accomplishment of them will always be needed. By that I mean that, if a job previously took 10 people to accomplish, in its’ newer manifestation may only take three with the hands on know how to do the job, but another six will be involved in site survey, supply chain management and SOME needed part of the end product success. And I think that Trump knows that when he talks “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs”; that is also going to require “skills, skills, skills”. The previous administration (the outgoing administration) seemed comfortable in accepting that jobs that went to Asia or the Sub-Contintent would “not be coming back”, and the solution to that was green jobs and college. I am not sold on “green jobs” as the solution to the nations economy. My electrician said that “green” is HUGE in the energy sector, and that may be true….I’ll buy that when I see a windmill launch a space station, but that is just one sector of the economy. Medical is HUGE and I am amazed every time I see what is out there being tested and used, and what surgeons can do with an army of skilled, college educated techs and nurses behind them. But college is NOT a requirement for everything, indeed not even most things. Yes, if you want to make money out of thin air on Wall Street, you need college. If you want to screw over one party in a divorce, you need law school, the courts will insist. But my plumber does not need college. There is no evidence that the farmer that framed my basement could do much more than saw a board (measured correctly), and nail (though when he was finished I did discover that this house doesn’t have a straight line in it). I think my electrician went to college but that was AFTER he was an electrician (he is only in his mid-late 30’s, has people working for him, does his own bids, uses phrases like “right on”…..I feel like a dinosaur around him). Frankly I do not know my mechanics credentials…..he has a wall of automotive credentials that haven’t been dusted since my ceiling fan, but he has never let me down. And I include truck drivers in there just because that shit ain’t easy…..once a load is on board that driver owns it and its’ security and safety, drives it across country without incident and just KNOWS things.
All of these are things that I don’t do because I CAN’T. Oh, I could but I would waste a lot of money and material in the learning (like drywall for instance). My dad never taught me because his dad (who ironically was a car mechanic) never taught him…….we passed incompetence through our genes. And I do not mind PAYING for that competence, any more than those people mind taking my money……I just lament that I HAVE TOO. Hell, my wife only recently went to college for medical billing and coding, but before that she could build an airplane (I am not kidding….she could build an ultra light that I would feel perfectly safe in flying).
And college isn’t the answer to these jobs, these trades. Trade schools, high school shop class, THAT is the answer to jobs that people need, and people need to have done. Yet, in the past month the Department of Education pulled the authority of one of the accreditation agencies that accredits over 800 of these trade programs.
I guess we need fewer plumbers and more transgendered, African American, feminist studies degree holders, with a minor in Star Wars appreciation.
That shit should stop up your toilet.
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