What I’ve Learned from 20 Years as a Builder

I turned 60 last birthday and there is one thing I would share with my younger self above everything else: while the days are long, the years are short. So enjoy the day, there won't be another quite like it.

Regarding travel, in Germany it's tradition to go traveling as soon as you completed your apprenticeship. you are banned from your home town for 3 years and one day. it's called Wandergeselle, those who practice this tradition are in traditional black clothing and carry only a small bag.

I met a successful Irish builder here in NZ and he told me the secret to success as a tradie in NZ was "turn up on time and do the job you said you were going to do", which seems like a low bar but unfortunately far too many don't even do that and so according to this Irish builder just doing these basic things made him look better than the competition.

The Chef Paerau segments were a welcome blast from the past!

Have a plan, sketch...don't go after a vision without a sketch..try a temp layout ...get a feel for the layout/sketch. Then follow the drawings

More 🔥 Skate videos please. I'm a 58 year old building contractor, still skating vert half pipes 😮 Content idea, build a quarter pipe in the driveway. ❤ your videos.

I always smiled at other builders and tradies that didn't look tidy or keep a clean worksite, the amount of work they missed out on and I got by simply looking presentable and respecting my clients homes or work sites was massive.

In my first year of building right now and i must say, your tip "don't be discouraged by the first year" is really what I needed.

A builder is a carpenter who's running their own business and doing their own jobs. The builder coordinates the sub trades on a job, deals with the client, architect and the council and basically takes overall responsibility. A builder also has to be able to run a small business.. There's a lot to it and it requires a different skill set and temperament from carpentry. I've met some excellent carpenters over the years who can't run jobs. I've also met some pretty average carpenters who are excellent builders.

A tip I have as a builders is: Give the trades you employ a Quality Control Checklist for their part of the job. I give it to them before they arrive onsite. It gives them clear direction of your expectations and it helps them not to forget parts of the scope. I'll have different QCC for each trade, it does take a while to make them initially, but once you've done them, they just need tweaking from time to time. When I create them, I'll ask the different trades, what they require for their job to be done efficiently, so I can put in other trades QCC their needs. It really helps everyone learn to be better traddies.

It's crazy how much you can learn from just watching YT. I'm renovating my laundry at the moment and I'm doing it all myself. The lights/electricals, the plumbing, putting in a birch ply ceiling (like Scott did at the client), making the cabinets and tiling the splashback. My garage looks almost like a commercial workshop with full-size cabinet table saw, band saw, jointer, thicknesser and pretty much any tool you might need. And I'm a computer programmer.😆

The tip of "Your body is a tool and needs maintenance" is a great one. This goes right along with another saying I've heard. Be kind to your body when you're young, you will miss it when you are old.

When you were talking about safety, I instantly thought of Jamie from Perkins Builder Bros! Not that his accident has stopped him carrying on. Good lessons in the video. I thought the one about asking how to price things was a good lesson. It means the apprentice knows what its costing the boss if they spent 1/2hr on their phone instead of working! 🙂

We need a Scott Brown Carpentry - Perkins Builder Brothers crossover! I would gladly watch Jaime and Scott exchange and discuss experience and techniques for hours

Was a great tip about cotton, I used to work in the outdoor education industry and we called cotton death wool as wet cotton is a fast track way to getting properly hypothermic, I actually found when I was working on building sites to wear merino instead of cotton based products, so much more comfortable and less smelly too!

As someone of similar age who's also coming up to my 20th year as a carpenter, I'd say you nailed those tips Scott. Heres to the next 20 years

I am a builder and My family and I have just moved to Nelson from the US and we’ve been following your channel for about 3 years. my kids are 3 & 5 and when we got here they said “when are we going to see Scott brown here”. We love it here and hope to run into you at some point. Keep up the good work

That guy's visceral reaction to a Ryobi circular saw was hilarious.

Ok, the advice is priceless, but Jess’s website comment was so perfectly timed.

This guy is wise, and understands patience. This is my first year as a builder. This is encouraging because I do great work but don’t always have jobs lined up. Your message is helping me remember, patience and persistence are with people who enjoy be successful and love their work!