Carpentry as a Career

A carpenter is someone who builds stuff primarily from wood. He cuts, fits and joins the parts together to form something as basic like a chair or a table.

There are two types of carpenters around. The first is the residential carpenter while the other is commercial. One works in people’s homes while the other gets to work in a construction site like an office and since he gets to work in different places, it requires a lot of certification.

In most construction projects, contractors have more than one carpenter on hand to get the job done.

For starters, a rough carpenter is called in to do rough carpentry work like assemble the frames, formwork, roofing and other large scale work which does not require a polished appearance.

Someone who does a similar job to the rough carpenter is the framer. The difference between the two is that the framer builds the skeletal structure of a building and some of the techniques he uses which the rough carpenter may not be familiar with include balloon framing, platform framing or timber framing.

When he is finished, another carpenter known as a joister comes in to put floor joists that happen to be the horizontal boards that connect the frame of the structure at the level just below the floor so it will be able to hold the weight. This is also used for the deck of a building.

Once this is in place, the finish carpenter or joiner finishes the work done by the two individuals. Some of the things they work on include cabinets, chairs and tables.

As for the doors, windows and other ornamental work, that job is taken cared of by the trim carpenter.

The roofer specializes in roof construction by taking care of the beams, rafters and trusses.

But carpenters do not work only in construction sites. Some find employment in the entertainment industry as part of the stage crew when a film or television show is being made. Their job is to make the set and then dismantle it when the show is over. Other carpenters may also find work in building, maintaining or repairing ships.

Wherever the carpenter works, he has to certain rules to get the job done. Before hammering away, he has to look at the layout then do some measurements. This will enable him to estimate how much materials will be needed and how long it will take to complete. When the materials are ready, some of the wood is cut in the specific shape while other tools are used to increase the accuracy of his work.

When the project is complete, he can look back and be proud of what he did then add this to his portfolio.

You should know that a carpentry career is quite stressful. You will have to bend, climb, kneel and do all sorts of things to get the job done. You are at risk of getting hurt since you could fall, slip or cut yourself when you are working with sharp tools. But if you are able to overcome that, then you will know doubt have a successful career as a carpenter.