Everybody must get stoned?
I just received this email from a ‘concerned reader’:
Whats with the huge number of stoned construction workers in Vancouver? I walk by ‘the Vine’ on Broadway every morning around 9:00am and there’s usually a group of guys in hard hats smoking weed on Vine street. When they’re being more discreet they stay in the alley or in parked cars, but EVERY morning you can smell the smoke along tenth avenue, and this is far from the only case. Along 8th I’ve seen (and smelled) construction workers, renovators and landscapers smoking up in the morning, and friends that live downtown have told me that Nelson park often has construction workers taking ’smoke breaks’.
I’m not opposed to anyones personal choice about leisure activities as long as it doesn’t affect me. I like to unwind with a beer after work and smoke occasionally, but I can’t imagine smoking up first thing in the morning and then trying to get work done. I don’t work in construction, but I’d think that being stoned around cranes, scaffolding and heavy equipment would be downright dangerous.
Never mind the theory that the dope trade contributes to irrational housing prices, whats it doing to construction quality?
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August 14th, 2007 at 10:10 am
The guy above was repeatedly shouting “YEA!!! F**K YEA!!!” at the top of his lungs. Just completely randomly as he “worked” on the homes. This persisted for 2 hours, at which point they were trying to park the cherry picker back onto the lot. It took them 30 minutes of trying, with constant beeping as they tried backing the thing up. I’m not sure if those have a clutch or what, but I watched as they jolted and stalled at every attempt to move it. Eventually they just left it sitting right in the middle of the cul-de-sac.
I was with a friend at the time and we both agreed that they were without a doubt at the very least stoned. More likely on something much worse…
All I know is, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live in a home built by these people. Ignorance is bliss?
August 14th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
August 14th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Sad reality, I’m afraid.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Don’t worry, they would probably be more sober after the crash, when jobs are harder to come by, and money is tighter.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
link text
August 14th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
“The market opened lower thanks to disappointing earnings from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs) and Home Depot (HD, news, msgs). Wal-Mart fell 5.2% to $43.77. Home Depot fell 4.9% to $33.50.”
So we’ve got housing developers & mortgage lenders on life support, now the retail housing-related stocks are taking a beating… who’s next?
August 14th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I mentioned this on VHB a few times too but it just seems to be par for the course.
August 14th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
“Stock markets racked up another session of triple digit losses today as fears of a deepening credit crunch hit more companies and sent the Canadian dollar reeling, closing down more than a full US cent.”
http://tinyurl.com/ys87bv
And; a sign of things to come?
“The flood of mortgage money into expensive Bay Area real estate has slowed to a trickle - even for those buyers with strong credit scores and substantial down payments.”
http://tinyurl.com/39ek26
August 14th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
August 14th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
really - give it a try someday
Try being an electrician
Try being a plumber or a gas fitter
Try being a professional carpenter
then come back and tell me that it’s brain dead grunt work
and yes - there are drug problems on job sites - and I personally wouldn’t buy anything that’s been built in the past five years - but it has nothing to do with the professionals. There are men who dedicate their lives to their trades who can’t stand the conditions that they have to work in - i.e. with the young, inexperienced guys that fill the sites today - but there’s nothing that they can do about it
August 14th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
when we drive around we feel that smell on to many diffrent places.I use to tell my wife, when coyotes pass by they just release some kind of smell ,later on we decided there can not be coyotes every where.as far as developments and work place concern their are always supervisor to see, if job is well done. I think there is no objection on quality of work, when assignment gets complete.
August 14th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
August 14th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
From the good tradesfolk I know, what they do about it is leave residential construction.
August 14th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
August 14th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
And YOU talked about arrogance earlier. I think you should spend more time worrying about how to hang on to that SFH of yours rather than judging others, my ill mannered friend.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Generally speaking, while the work does not require a Rhodes scholar, it is skilled, and requires some degree of intelligence, mechanical aptititude and an ability to work hard in less than comfortable surroundings.
Based on a lot of the sites I have been on, there is a pretty big gap between the people you would want to have working, and the people you actually have to hire.
August 15th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Some interesting incidences;
Lobby air conditioning not wired in or connected.
Roof drains plugged solid with construction debris, year old lunches..boxes of nails.
Roof membrane covered with nails and then roofing ballast
Automatic pump controls “hot wired” (electronic controls bypassed).
Rebar sticking out of patio slabs (will rust and corrode)
Patio railing glass installed with no expansion sealing (glass explodes when sun hits it).
Bath tub and shower drains not glued or cracked where the drain plumbing goes thru slab (results in unit below ceilings, getting soaked and collapsing).
Dryer vents collapsed inside slab (very common).
I could go on and on, great business! !
August 15th, 2007 at 7:13 am
does that mean the RAV tunnel is just one large bong?
August 15th, 2007 at 8:02 am
“I think there is no objection on quality of work, when assignment gets complete.”
What a clown. SATV, get off the bong man you’re delusions of grandeur are scaring me.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Good summary of the situation.
Same thing was happening in the boom years of ‘80/81. A lot of people were getting high on the job and sometimes ridiculous mistakes were made. At one site, I remember being teased a bit because I didn’t smoke up with everyone else…not because I never indulged back in the day, but I didn’t want to screw up the finishing work I was doing nor have an accident.
Productivity also suffered. I remember one large house where everyone cut hockey sticks, used a roll of black electrical tape for a puck, and played hockey for hours every day. Good times…
August 15th, 2007 at 8:19 am
What he did do is waaay too much amyl nitrate, nothing else could kill brain cells that fast.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I know even its hard to disagree with kaydee,but construction error what kaydee figure out are very similar to any other work place.most of time blind corners where even professional just assume that objects are placed accurately, and can not be judge without performance after completion.
ot
prices are firm or up in metropolitan states in usa.thats what i was talking about metro vancouver from sept, 2007.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Ok, so the NAR q2 numbers are out, and as expected they are perpetuating their usual fraud on the public.
Median prices were up yoy in 97 out of 150 metro areas. That of course means that 53 out of 150 had declining prices.
Here is how Lereah’s replacement spun it: Although home prices are relatively flat, more metro areas are showing price gains with general improvement since bottoming-out in the fourth quarter of 2006,
What he of course knows but fails to mention, is that the median is horribly skewed due to the collapse of the low end. Apples for apples measures such as Case-Shiller are clearly yoy negative.
And buried deeper in the report we get this:
The national median existing single-family home price was $223,800 in the second quarter, down 1.5 percent from the second quarter of 2006 when the median price was $227,100.
What do you know, the aggregate median is down. But they chose to highlight the 97 out of 150 are up.
And then the spinner in chief (the president) buts in with:
Unlike stocks, where significant equity can vaporize overnight, there is little volatility in home prices, and most homeowners are experiencing very healthy long-term gains,†she said.
Oh you forget about leverage and foreclosure, Lady Huckster. WTF does “healthy long term” gains do for some chump who is in over his head? Especially since your own boy Lerah spun and mislead all the way.
The costs of construction trends up from one year to the next, so even in areas that experience price declines, owners who maintain their property generally retain most of the equity that has built-up in their homes over time.
Shut the f*ck up. Did they do a round table brainstorm for pathetic non sequiturs?
While local conditions vary greatly, a typical owner who bought six years ago is seeing a 45 percent increase in the value of their home. Even so, it isn’t valid to directly compare homeownership with stocks. Although a home is normally a long-term appreciating asset, it is primarily shelter – most owners sell when their needs change, not when the market turns,
Oh pleeeze. Clearly contrived talking points designed to counter anticipated criticisms. What a bunch of desperate excuses. I have never had much good to say about the NAR, but this time these assclowns are spinning one deception too many.
An analysis of all available data over the past six years shows almost every market experienced price gains from the second quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of this year.
So what? I am sure Nasdaq did great between 1997 and 2000. It is the future that matters you pathetic clowns.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
No they are not. The aggregate was down. Quality adjusted is down. And it is just getting started. Don’t buy their spin, and don’t perpetuate it.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
great rant of the Kunstlerian genre
…keep their feet to the fire!
August 15th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
San Francisco’s median is up 7.6% despite all the foreclosures. Good news? No, not at all. It just indicates that the homes that do sell are biased towards high end. Case-Shiller had SF down 3.4% yoy in May. So what is it? Up 7.6% or down 3.4%. Big big difference. Which is the true one? Case-Shiller of course.
The funny thing is that once the sales mix returns to normal, the NAR calculated median will implode double digits. That can happen in q3, but more likely q4. It may help that mortgage originators are balking at jumbo loans that are essential for high end transactions.
Any body want to take a shot at what the spin will sound like once medians are down 15% yoy?
August 15th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
August 15th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
He called this “another clear sign that the underlying Canadian economy had plenty of momentum before the credit squalls broke.
Or maybe pre-approved buyers are panic buying. Do these talking heads go to Assinine Metaphor School or what?
August 15th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
you definitely deserve lots of appreciation to put analysis from their real estate.
I do not preserve from extinction of american real estate,how ever this is a first time i took a shot to show metro behave otherwise vancouver is not depend on usa,but yeah by mistake you have abuse your source by saying,and you are the one who represent usa model to vancouver I have read you lots of time before.
freako said…
Don’t buy their spin, and don’t perpetuate it.
freako whats going on?
I still respect your hard work,so i ignore that…
August 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Analysis? I merely shat on NAR propaganda.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Honest mistake I guess.
Speaking of honest mistakes, I posted a link which would be useful to specuvestors who might have made “errors” on their tax returns, and might want to amend their file.
Did you post the link for your friends on that other blog,some of them might find it useful?
August 15th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
August 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Sorry most of what I find can be seen easily by an experienced eye. What I see is absolutely no Professional supervision or contractors who are overloaded and understaffed with experienced people. This is not “normal” contruction defects but “sloppy” poor quality workmanship. I’ve been at this for 30 years and the construction quality is far below the level it was 10 years ago. The design of building envelopes has improved and that quality is better as that is watched closely and covered by extended 10 year warranties. All other building systems only have to last 1 year so they duct tape it together for 12 months!
(slight exageration).
August 15th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
yeah that manufacturing was closest in the list so I tab that one accidentlly.
kaydee,
you have a edge over that issue so i give that to you only if your act is accurate reloading after report implimentation,that works properly.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I work on wms, thats kind of laptop hang in front of your eyes at a one feet distance.their are hot keys function to see assignments and function to confirm.all assignment are timed and we are connected to one center from all over canada.what should be done on priority sequences that poped up to our t.r.t.a.can’t tell you more than this because of policy and procedure,yeah I can tell you I work for galen weston.
August 15th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
i know it’s not friday, but still, vancouver is still number one
8/15/07 3:42 PM
Richard,
thanx for the link vancouver rocks.
August 15th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Must be the mountains, the olympics, and oh yeah-shortage of land.
Imagine what Rennie could do for that market.
August 16th, 2007 at 2:08 am
That of course is the bubble, or should I say bizarro, definition of “investment” - something without inherent value, but which will be taken off your hands by a greater fool.
As opposed to the economic definition of “investment” - an asset that you buy for a price justified by its future yield of income or utility.
August 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am
For those of you who thought US housing problems won’t reach up to Vancouver, it’s already hurting hobbits and James Bond.
Hobbits
And a general overview of the cascading effects of the US meltdown.
Housing starts at a 10 year low
August 16th, 2007 at 9:01 am
August 16th, 2007 at 9:01 am
“…a report from RBC Financial Group’s economics department said: “Our expectation is that generally healthy financial conditions outside of housing will prevent the weakness in equities from continuing.”"
And that’s trying to put a positive spin on things. Interesting how the banks have gone from pretending housing is solid to chucking it overboard as excess baggage on a sinking ship in under a week. Kind of implies that they knew all along that housing was shaky.
TSX plunges to 2006 levels
August 16th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I don’t think there’s any need for speculation.
He works in warehouse management for Loblaws. He graduated high school around 1986 and joined Loblaws not long after. He is relatively poorly educated and admits to being more of a jock than an intellectual. His poor English is a result of lack of personal mental organization which also shows up in his debating skills (often producing fallacies and non sequitors). I don’t think he’s a troll, but he seems to enjoy the fact that he’s the pariah here, I think it makes him feel special. The views he espouses are, I am quite certain genuinely felt, but because of his poor critical thinking skills he cannot independently come to his own conclusions and simply relies on what he hears in the mass media (which he attempts to parrot here to ‘educate’ the rest of us).
There. I’m going to bookmark this thread. Next time the whole, “who is Satv?” conversation comes up just refer back to this comment because it’s distracting us from our purpose for being here and it’s really not relevant.