Other Trades Explained
Within the scope of standard UK residential construction, carpentry is only one of the many trades involved in the total process. At various stages throughout a project, numerous other trades are called upon in order to achieve the desired outcome. Excelling in any trade requires practice and repetition, and as such, persons within the construction industry generally tend to stick to one trade. Though it’s not impossible for an individual to perform well in multiple roles, “multi-trade operatives” are less likely to excel in a specific role, purely from an invested time perspective. Logic would state that an operative that spends all of their time practicing one trade will be more effective at that trade than another operative that splits the same amount of time between multiple trades. This is a generalisation, and of course there are exceptions to this rule. The outcome of a project is likely to be of a higher quality if multiple specific trades are used, as opposed to a few operatives that try their hand at everything.
Whilst our primary pursuit as carpenters is to excel in woodcraft, understanding the basic principles and tasks that are carried out by the other trades can be beneficial in numerous ways. Understanding how non-carpentry components are installed or assembled can be beneficial during renovation works. We are also able to better prepare for the trades that follow on from our work if we are able to anticipate how their works will be carried out. There are many trades that specialise in very specific aspects of construction, some of which are more prevalent in certain types of construction as well as geographical location. Here we shall take a look at the most common trades involved in residential UK construction.