# Leadman or Foreman ?



## Bin.Yousef (Mar 15, 2009)

i made ads that i'm looking for leadman in carpentry so he can work by his hand and lead the people so someone send me resume saying he is foreman i ask him if he know how to work in carpentry he say yes but he is not going to work by his hand he is just going to watch the people .. 

so what are you perfer foreman or leadman ... ?


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## Ashcon (Apr 28, 2009)

If I understand your question? If you hire a foreman you would have someone on site to oversee the project including delivery of material, subs etc.

If you hire a lead you would have a person that works on the job as well as overlooks other employees and subs.

To simplify if you have large projects, buildings, houses, large renos or commercial you probably want a foreman.

If you do smaller projects, small additions, renos, kitchens bathrooms etc.
you probably want a leadcarpenter.

Others may have a different take on the terms but thats how I see it:thumbsup:

Good luck and be patient, good people are hard to find good leaders are even harder to find.


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## Elyrain (Dec 17, 2007)

rephrase your ad to say WORKING foreman.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

foreman/site supervisor= deals with material orders and pickups, home owners having questions or change orders, assigns tasks for the day for carpenters, deals with subtrades

lead carpenter- handles lay out, sets elevations and handles starting heights for trim or foundations. performs more difficult task. decides details for interior exterior trim if no drawing is present


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Bin.Yousef said:


> i made ads that i'm looking for leadman in carpentry so he can work by his hand and lead the people so someone send me resume saying he is foreman i ask him if he know how to work in carpentry he say yes but he is not going to work by his hand he is just going to watch the people ..
> 
> so what are you perfer foreman or leadman ... ?


:laughing: I get a laugh out of that, cause I used to go through that when hiring somebody. When the economy first when bad there were about 1 million 'foreman' / 'supervisors' looking for work, and they would all apply and I would make it clear as I could, repeat it about 12 times that this was a working position and they would all swear up and down that that was exactly what they wanted! "I love to do the work! I want to get back to the work! No problem!"

It would always be a problem. It's a rare guy who can make the transition back to doing the work for $25 an hour once he has been paid $37 an hour to stand around and drink coffee and supervise guys who don't need to be told what to do. :laughing:

Lead Carpenter and Foreman are clearly defined terms in the construction industry.

You want a Lead Carpenter. If they say they are a foreman they don't get their hands dirty.


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## fast fred (Sep 26, 2008)

How come a lead carpenter always knows more than a foreman/superintendant?


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

superintendants hardly come from the bottom, most of the ones i knwo today are desk jockies who took a construction management course.... its also why their material takeoffs are always wrong. you want teh correct amount of material let the lead carpenter figure it out, he knows what hes gonna use, the super knows how much he wants to use 30% less than what it should to put more money in his pocket for staying under budget


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