TOPIC: Life before HI

You do what you gotta do for Uncle Sam

I spent 5.5 years in the Coast Guard, half of which was on the icebreaker Polar Star.  I did enjoy spending time in Antarctica and the Arctic, but much like John, the accommodations left something to be desired.  As Mark Twain once said, "The only difference between being in the Navy and prison, is that in the Navy you have the added fear of drowning."
After the CG, I spent the next 10 years in various Electronics Engineering positions until deciding that I could make money doing Home Inspections that I had been doing free for friends.

Its funny you used that quote.  LOL  I use to tell everyone that I was a legal slave for the government.  lol  I had a lot of fun though.  Too much I think!  Its all a blur now!

Hey Jay,

I am the 3rd other. I have worked on boilers since 1987. Worked at the same company and worked my way to management. I could only handle that for 2-1/2 yrs too much stress. Talked it over w/ my wife she said she would go back to full time instead of part time till I got the HI thing going which has only been since the first week of August. Have had a couple of inspections now so far so good.

Better home inspections than boiling over from stress...

Keep on truckin' Brian!  Well, woohoo, then truckin'!

I am afraid "woohoo" is going to become a site word.  Way to go, DeVries!

I've been working since I'm 9 years old, and have done so many different things. It always seemed that no matter what I was doing, I always was involved with a construction, whether it was my own or someone else's.

Ok, lets see.

From early childhood I was quite involved with horses, and besides being a steerwrestler (sport), I was a practicing horse dentist. I also had a security company and supplied armed guards, etc. During that period, I built a central station and taught myself how to install alarms. That is when I learned about low voltage wiring.

As a teenager, I installed alot of water diversion systems and became familiar with the business end of a shovel, helped a few friends renovate their houses, etc. I still get involved with water diversion, I've straightened out some really difficult water problems. My solution isn't "out in a french drain", I've always tried to control the water before it came in.

When I was in my twenties, I also had a Karate school, and bounced in nightclubs. That is how I ended up in the security business.

My first real construction job was in the 70's. I build reinforced concrete buildings all around New York City. If you've ever taken the Outerbridge Crossing from NJ into Staten Island, you drove past the administration building that I built.

I ran a glass factory and then started a glass company and built stores and  custom glass storefronts in alot of fancy malls, airports and public buildings around the east coast.

In 1993, I walked into a collapsing building that I bought from the bank and three years, when I walked out it was a laundromat. I learned about plumbing and electrical and alot of other stuff then.

For about two years, I was a project superintendant for a mid sized construction company in NY, I did a great deal of hospital work, including building a maternity ward, instant hot water system for the OR's, a mammography clinic, sonnography clinic, and so much more. I also renovated hi rise condos for these people.

Well, that's the "short list", there is so much more. One of the reasons I became an HI is because of all of the different things I've done. It seems like everything brought me here.

I also feel off a roof a few years ago. Drove myself to the hospital. I walked out 13 hours later, went home, removed my own intravenous , and drove to South Carolina to pick up a trailer.

I love the ocean, old cars and young women.

I really enjoy inspecting. Besides inspecting homes, I also inspect EIFS... which I really love doing. Right now I'm also doing insurance inspections. If I wanted I could be busy with that 7 days a week. I don't because the pay sucks... big time.

I also take on side projects to fill the holes.