u/Exciting-Isopod4609

To keep it as short and sweet as I can i've been working in construction in midwest kansas for about 10 years all together in various different fields.for about 8 years it's been mainly framing and steel buildiings from multi million dollar commercial jobs to residential. Custom homes and additions. Like I said my specialty is certainly framing and steel eretions with siding, panels, trim and all the fixings that go along with those but I also have a decent amount of experience in concrete, shingle roofing, gutters, drywall, tile and other interior work and finish carpentry. Basically I've worked at my recent company off and on for about 8 years all together. It's my, much older than me's, cousins company that my dad told me I should go work for when I was 18 and he thought I needed a big boy job and I thought what the heck. I didn't know anything about construction when I started and certainly never got any special treatment being family. (He's much older than me and my family has never been that close) So I climbed the ladder like everyone else. When I first started the company was much bigger ( 4 formens and about 30 guys. The first couple years I didn't take it very seriously and was just a gopher but over time of u being there u want to be like the guys running the nail guns and doing the actual work so I put my nose down more and learned. Fast forward and the company is much smaller (2 formen and about 8 guys) my formen now is actually still the same guy I started with when I was 18 and taught me the bulk of what I know and molded me when I was a pup. But I've been his lead now for my last 4 years at this company. I do like working for him and we are great friends even though he's a hard ass nothing new there but my cousin on the other hand I can't stand sometimes.. and I'm curious what framers and steel workers and any field for that matters jobs are like. I make 25 bucks an hour. No pto no paid vacation time and last year didn't even get a bonus which was1000 dollars on Christmas and that was only given to me 2 times over all the years I've worked at my cousin's company. I got a dollar raise this year but that isn't even guaranteed to happen every year either. We push projects out and get a lot done for 4 guys. And I feel like I'm certainly ready to get my feet wet and become a formen myself but my cousin doesn't seem interested in growing a future there. When I see him he's all buddy buddy and says its about time for me to get my feet wet as a formen but then doesn't hire any new guys to get a crew started for me since we literally don't have enough guys for me to even have a crew. He makes bank on rentals these days and my formen now still has probably 6 more years till he retires. And I wonder is he going to just sell the construction side of his business once my formen now who has been so loyal retires and lay off anyone who's left? Trying to squeeze the life out of everyone till they quit so he doesn't have to pay unemployment? If you are a framer especially a lead guy u know this is a young man's game and I'm not that old yet but I've noticed this year at 32 that it's starting to wear on me more and I don't got it like I did when I was 26 and it doesn't seem worth it to me. Not even any PTO or vacation let alone decent money. I also pay 1100 bucks every 2 weeks in taxes and insurance which I need the insurance because my wife and I have a 8 month old son ( which I missed 1 week for when he was born and didn't get paid at all just had to eat that) and a little girl due in Dec and my wife stays home. Idk it just doesn't seem worth it the work we do and the check I see every 2 weeks. Hell my cousin doesn't even bring Gatorade the very seldom times he does show up on the job. I'm just frustrated and curious what everyone else's jobs are like out there? How does your company treat u? Is my situation not as bad as I think it is? In an industry as a framer where u just put your head down and walk toe boards on a 12/12 2 story house with a nail gun on your hip bucking sheets on the roof for 8 years no complaining. When can u finally say I'm getting screwed here? Like to hear some thoughts thanks

I few months ago my basement was flooded do to a main line back up in my house that was built in the 1960s the house had only 2 other owners and was basically all original inside. Me and my father in-law completely renovated the upstairs before we moved in and I was never really aware of asbestos and the dangers and how many different materials actually contained it. But anyways the basement flooded and got into the living area and a bedroom downstairs.

I had a local company come and with fans and dehumidifiers and they also cut out some drywall and tore up some flooring in my utility room which had seen some water damage prier and also some really old carpet that had some floorimg underneith that they left. No masks or any kind of abatement techniques. Im a framer and do commercial steel buildings and had done some renovations before so decided I'll just replace the drywall and floor myself. I wanted to just go over the old floor under the carpet with lvp but as I ripped up the rest of the carpet the old flooring came up with it in places and I noticed water under neith it. I didn't want a mold problem so decided to scrape the floor up. It came up fairly easy compared to other flooring I have scraped before but it still came up in small chunks but the room didn't get overly dusty or have a haze. Well then I started to see online that asbestos is this huge deal after I scrapped it.

I have an 8 month old and a baby on the way with my wife in the house. I normally wouldn't worry too much about something like this but with my wife and kids i decided I'd test it and it came back 3 percent chrysotile. I didn't use wet methods, I wore a mask but not a respirator and I shop vac the whole room with a fine dust filter not a HEPA. I didn't where a tyvek suit but I did triple bag all the materials and taped the tops shut before carrying them upstairs. Well after I got the results back I started to get in a frenzy because I can't stand the thought of hurting my children or my wife.. I bought a HEPA filter for the shop vac and hit the room again and a week later wiped down the floors and walls before I painted and decided to get 2 winix HEPA air purifiers for the upstairs and down stairs.

All in all I'm just struggling to get the basement done now cause I'm fearful of going down there and dragging up fibers upstairs.. and I worry about fibers getting in the vents. I've just kind of turned into a panicked mess and don't know how to let it go and move on and get the basement done and feel better about the situation. I just feel like the fibers are everywhere and on everything and as I move around the basement I'm just swirling them around after they settled. Really don't know what kind of answer I'm looking for cause the damage is already done and we've been in the house 2 months like this. I've been thinking about getting an air test done recently to hopefully ease my mind or make it worse ig. It's all really taking a toll on my mental and also my wife's. I guess I just would like to hear people's thoughts if I'm worrying to much or not. Sorry for the long post let me know if I can answering any questions better thanks.

I also live in central kansas In the US and don't have a picture of the materials but I did have it tested. Also there is no more visible dust in the basement after the removal. Hopefully I covered all the requirements