Episodes
James Lowrey from JL Carpentry set up as a sole trader in September 2023. He's got a steady flow of work but is struggling with many other aspects of running and scaling his business. Robin gives James some advice and allows James to ask him some questions as wellÂ
Robin Clevett is joined by a Carpenter who was faced with tool theft unfolding while he was working in a customer's house. He tells the amazing story of what happened next, how close he came to serious injury and what he would do differently if it happened again
Oli Lee, With Bear Hands talks about a standout cabin he's recently completed and walks Robin Clevett through how he acheived the build to his and his customer's satisfaction
Robin Clevett is joined by The Institute of Carpenters President, Geoff Rhodes so that he can give his thoughts on the black economy and discuss how it affects Carpenters and Joiners specifically
Robin Clevett is joined by Clive Holland, Fix Radio Presenter and House Builder, Jack Auletta so that they can discuss the gray/black economy and how it impacts the building trade in the UK
Robin Clevett talks to Jonathan Randall to discuss his 14 years building an amazing business in kitchen design and creation. Jonathan talks about how specialising in this has benefitted him professionally and how he runs his business
Robin Clevett is joined by several guests from the trade to discuss their approach to preparing quotes and estimates. Max Lee from Pitch Perfect talks about his approach to quoting with his team when conducting structural work, John Argyle talks about the digital assets he has in place to assist his quoting stages and Richard Wagner from The River Shop shares his past experiences and lesson's he's learnt the hard way
Robin Clevett brings you part two of his discussion with Simon Bowler where they discuss how Simon approaches the quoting and planning process as well as design, favourite tool brands and more
Award winning tradesperson, Simon Bowler joins Robin Clevett in the studio to discuss his journey through the trade, His business and social media journey. Theyre will be more from Simon next week where he will discuss how he approaches working on projects and will talk about some memorable projects as well
Robin Clevett is joined by three chainsaw artists that create some incredible scluptures and artwork out of timber. Robin talks about some of their notable projects, how they got into this line of work, some of the challenging and dangerous aspects of working with chainsaws and the timber they use
Robin Clevett looks at the year ahead and what it might be like for Carpenters and Joiners across the UK. Robin is joined by award winning Tradesperson, Astrid Arnold so that she can talk about the year ahead for her and the trade as a whole. Robin also has some voice notes from three previous guests about the year ahead and gives his own thoughts, advice and predictions for 2024
Robin Clevett looks back on 2023 for Carpenters/Joiners and the building trade as a whole. Robin, is joined by Builder, Jack Auletta discusses some things to be mindful of in the year ahead and Robin plays some voice notes from previous guests
Robin Clevett gets asked this all the time so he's invited John Argyle from Enfield Refurbishments to join him so that they can share their experiences with regards to expanding their business and offerings
Robin Clevett brings you his interview with CITB CEO, Tim Balcon at SkillBuild and asks what they're trying to achieve with SkillBuild as well as how training and education could be improved for trade and construction, across the UK. Robin also talks with Huw Thomas, who has three finalists competing from his colleges in West Wales and finds out why SkillBuild is so important in implementing their learner experiences
Robin Clevett has recoded this show at CITB's SkillBuild finals in Milton Keynes so that he can put himself in the shoes of a finalist and find out what it's like to be one of the final eight competing to win
Robin Clevett is joined by Jason Joyce to discuss his experience focussing on timber roofing, structural carpentry and cladding. Jason talks about how he came to specialise in this, the best aspects of focussing on this work, his favourite jobs so far and ambitions going forward
Robin Clevett takes a quick look at working during the winter months, staying warm and how much time you should take off over Christmas. Robin is also joined by Max Lee from Pitch Perfect and Richard Wagner from The River Shop to discuss their experiences working in the winter, how 2023 has been businesswise and plans for 2024
Robin Clevett is joined by two new guests on the show, both are nominated for the 'On the Tools Carpenter/Joiner of the Year' award and they explain the principles of how they work, discuss their experiences in the trade and more
Robin Clevett asks 'if it's okay to...' have certain ways of working, certain business practices and approaches to the trade
Robin Clevett talks to Carpentry influencer, Gary Banks about his experiences building a following on social media and also invites fellow Fix Radio presenter, Izzy The Bricky onto the show so that he can give him some advice about handling the pressure that comes with working with brands and keeping the content flowing
Sam Thomas and Sean Matthew return to do some 'fill in the blanks' style exercises about the trade
Sam Thomas returns for another appearance and joining Robin for the first time in person is also Sean Matthews. They talk about their experiences on the tools and give some thoughts about the trade in 2023
Robin is joined by two time served, well respected Carpenters to find out how they go above and beyond for their customers to create a lasting impression
Jason Howe from City & Guilds joins Robin to explain in more detail how T-Levels have been rolled out in the UK, How they feel they will benefit the industry and standards on-site as well as discussing taking on apprentices and giving students real on-site oppertunities
As we enter the final quarter of 2023, Robin Clevett looks at what 2023 has been like in our trade and offers some advice to anyone struggling with lack of demand, struggling to make profit, interest rates/cost of living spiralling and labour demands
Peter Hannam talks about his experience working in churches which date back as far as the 12th century. Peter talks about taking a modern approach with restoration work and some of the aspects of the churches that he's restored on the several jobs he's completed so far
Ryan Jones from LJ Construction decided to set up The Carpentry Academy after finding that many new entrants into the trade were just not site ready and also lack the oppertunity for real on-site experience. Ryan talks about what his goals are with the academy, how apprenticeships work at LJ Construction and also talks about the reform needed in how the trade is taught
We've found Robin some different customer interactions and issues shared online by tradespeople so that he can go through them, discuss what he would do in each circumstance and hopefully offer some advice to anyone that's come up against something similar
Ahead of the new academic year, Robin decides to take a look at T-Levels, a new qualification for the trade and wants to find out how they differ from what we have already and how it's going to improve the standards on-site. Joining him to explain T-Levels and share their experiences rolling out T-Levels are two lecturers from South Essex college
Charlie Cameron from Treehouse Life returns to talk about how treehouses and rope bridges are designed and constructed