# Hardest job in construction



## EmmCeeDee

My vote goes with hot mop roofing, especially in the summer in the south. Rebar matt / formwork is pretty tough too. Glad there are folks who do that so I don't have to.

The lamest job I ever had was to strip a smoke damaged house down to framing, but only after first cleaning everything out, including the owner's depressing possessions and food that had been in the fridge for several months without power. 

You needed a minimum of two showers every night to get the soot off and I had to toss my clothes at the end of the job -there was no way to get the smoke smell out.


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## Willy is

Doc Holliday said:


> Ever dug a 24" deep 100' trench for underground, by hand?


I'm 58 now but 2 years ago I dug around the foundation of a house so could parge it.(about 135 foot perimeter) Some areas were nearly 2 foot deep. No way I could do that all day everyday.

Hardest job I ever worked was framing; fast paced hard work. I'd get off work, drink a beer and pass out till morning some days.

Pouring concrete once ended up working for 2 days straight. Sounds unbelievable but did it once. It was below grade near a river. Lightning hit the pumps and the pit flooded the night before the big pour. We cleaned it all out, the sand and silt, in 95 degree heat in between the top and bottom mats of steel (it was a 5 foot slab). As soon as it was ready we started pouring. Good times; mid 1970's.

Every type of job has it's "hardness". 
It's *all* work, but some of it is harder work than others. IMHO.

willy


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## Doc Holliday

Willy is said:


> Every type of job has it's "hardness".
> It's *all* work, but some of it is harder work than others. IMHO.
> 
> willy


I may use this as my new signature..? 

You speak with experience which is appreciated.


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## actionman

Once worked lead abatement, had to sandblast outdoor bleachers in the summer but bleachers had to be covered with plastic tent, basically a giant greenhouse. Also Tyvek suits, full face resp., rubber gloves, etc... Those were long, hot, tough days.


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## ROCKAWAYJOHNNY

I think the hardest part is getting the client to pay...and pay on time.


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## summithomeinc

the hardest job will allways be the one YOU are doing....IMO


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## JumboJack

CT mod....End of discussion...FTW...Move on,nothing more to see here.


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## larryb

Dealing with all the the know nothing busy-body do-gooder bureaucrats and their rules and regulations that make earning an honest living in construction a challenge.


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## Hubcity

Gentleman I fully understand this thread. Were building a building for the feds and the arch and eng are so scared of the owners rep were catching a difficult time. Anyone else having these problems?


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## JumboJack

Hubcity said:


> Gentleman I fully understand this thread. Were building a building for the feds and the arch and eng are so scared of the owners rep were catching a difficult time. Anyone else having these problems?


:blink::blink::blink:


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## Terrorron

I've had a couple over the years...

The one that still stands out_ to this day_, is repainting mechanical equipment and supports on the roof of Cargill's rendering plant in High River Alberta. Schedule worked out that we were up there during an inversion (common in Calgary winters, where the cold air aloft pushes _everything_ back down). The stench of death was unlike anything I've ever experienced. The chimney sweep at Auschwitz likely had an easier gig.
It took almost a week to get the "taste" out of my respiritory system; this after only six hours on the roof. As an added bonus? We had a commanding view of the bobcat operator loading mountains of offal and chipped bone fragments into railway cars for trans shipment to god only knows where. Almost lost a _great_, long term employee over that one...

Fing nasty stuff...the interior repaint work (at the same facility) kept all of us out of the poor house during a couple of "lean" winters though.

Gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.:whistling


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