Reno man

>>Carpenter urges caution in
choosing contractors

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Scott James McCullough

Age: 44

Occupation: Carpenter

Bio: This affable Chateauguay stud and former guitarist in Montreal’s early ’80s punk rock sensations Terry Fox’s Right Leg fled to Toronto about a decade ago after being chased out of Quebec by CCQ union thugs. “They’d arrived on a perfectly legal job I was doing one day, and, well, one thing led to another and they wound up filing criminal assault charges against me.” After beating the rap in court, the union, whom the thoroughly bilingual and highly trained young carpenter felt had rejected his application solely “because I was a bloke who they thought came from Ontario,” had it in for him, waiting outside his home every morning and following Scott to whatever job site he was working on that day. “It just got to be too much, they made it impossible for me to work here, they really had it out for me after I beat them in court. Eventually I had no choice but to leave.” Now back from his Toronto exile to be closer to his family, Scott’s the man to see for any of your home reno needs. “I’ll build you a house right up from the ground if that’s what you want.” Contact him at (514) 466-3757 or via fairtradesconstruction@yahoo.ca. He drives a 1967 Mustang convertible.

Where “nearly 90 per cent” of his jobs originate: From people who’ve been ripped off by his brethren in the industry. “It’s horrible—you walk in and see these poor people have been taken for, say, 80 grand, for a job that isn’t finished or has been done terribly. And it’s frustrating because often I’ll have given a quote for the same job but the customer figured my price was too low, thinking they’d be wiser to go with the more expensive company. And then they get cheated and call me back. Another thing that happens, no shit, every fuckin’ day, is these thieves come in and do, say, $20K worth of work and then tell you they need another $30K to finish it. You write them the cheque, they cash it and then they close up shop and disappear forever.”

Something everyone looking to hire a reno guy should know: To check references. “I can’t emphasize this enough, but still, people usually don’t, and they get ripped off. It’s absolutely heartbreaking sometimes. Many of these people have taken out, like, $100K mortgages to get this work done. And all the thieves want is to get the most money out of them for the least work. Where I can’t help but think, “You poor bastard, you’ve just borrowed $100K to get this job done?!” I mean, it becomes sort of personal to me that when I’m finished, they feel like it was the best investment they ever made. But I suppose that’s how you build your reputation, which is everything to me.”

Something that happens to Scott most winters: California millionaires fly him out to work on their mansions. “It’s great. Suddenly you’re living in a mansion, it’s warm, you’re making good money, holding the keys to their Porsche in the driveway.”

Literary preferences: Mojo, Mustang Monthly

Musical preferences: Jet, Al Green

Words of wisdom: “Follow your passion, but make sure you have a trade.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net