My dad was one of those, he and his offsider could stand a George Hudson frame on a subfloor they built and pitch a roof with hips and valleys in way less than a week. I learnt to walk on bare joists not long after I learnt to walk. None of those houses he built ever fell down but now we have more regulation and red take than you can poke a stick at, currently I in over 15k in red tape cost to put up a 67k YZY kit granny flat.
They left out the bit were they all go to the pub for a few affordable beers , and then home to their houses that they paid off in their early twenties on a single income .
@@ryanroberts1104 That's only because of the lack of safety and modern healthcare and nobody was really aware of the dangers of smoking and certain materials like asbestos.
@@matthijsjansen5838 You can't even remotely blame their low life expectancy on smoking. What a stupid thing to say! People still smoke well into their 80s today...
I live in an old house just like that, built in the early sixties, and it is as solid as a rock, same roof tiles and door frames, all perfect. Proper job.
And those shoes, no boots, looked very light weight, because so much of it was tactile. That had to be 50 pounds on his shoulders & he didn't miss a beat going up that ladder-without hesitation.
Mixing concrete onsite, that is one task you don't see today. Cement came in 40kg bags, back breaking stuff. The whole film brings back great memories, thank you.
I'm a house painter in 2020. I've been on countless new construction projects and I'm absolutely stunned at the level of professionalization and attention put into construction back in the day. I understand this a film and it is obviously edited and produced to show the the absolute best, but if tradesmen actually were even close to this good in those days, it is simply not comparable to the work you see today.
Mate, my dad began his apprenticeship as a bricklayer on the London and North Eastern Railway in 1941 when he was 15. He served in WW2 then went to be involved in the building trade for the rest of his life. He and his contemporaries WERE that good because they were trained to be that way. The dross and garbage in the construction industries these days are a product of build it quick and cheap to make as much money as possible then don't worry about tomorrow. Sad.
@@thegman2484 yeah right I run an electrical company and my guys are trained to the best tradesmen I’ve ever seen. I’m sure your dad was a great man but there is still great men today and excellent tradesmen. Look at the buildings we build
Why? They couldn't compete with the others cranking out mcmansions as fast as possible. People buy them as fast as they're made. The consumer doesn't want to pay extra for this type of work when the alternative is cheaper and they can get more of that almighty Sq footage. It's not just on the trades people it's also on the buyers.
When you do that everyday your body is used to it. Our bodys our made for bending. The issue is many of us sit 90% of the day then go outside and try to lift 20 bags of mulch no warm up. Its like trying to stretch an old rubber band thats been sitting around awhile, the odds of it snapping are a lot higher
This house is better built than my 2009 one.. I am amazed at the fact that they had so much manpower on the site. Nowadays if you manage to get a team of 5… those 5 guys do the foundation, the walls, the roof, the driveways, etc. in some extreme cases they even do the plumbing. That is madness.
It's crazy that most of these buildings from the 40's are still standing strong and fine in Sydney, while we're watching apartment high rises from like 10-15 years ago collapsing and falling apart.
My old man was an old school tradie like most of these blokes, and so were all his mates, many different trades amongst them, l wish they were all still around to build and renovate my house now. These homes are still standing today because they were built to a standard, not to a price.
My great grandfather built houses like that at that time. The guys worked extremely hard, and I might add died young. So much for hard work keeping you fit. Although maybe it was all the smoking and booze that got to them.
Hard working, will just injure you and leave you with a life of pain and surgery, just like a sedentary life will do the same, they are 2 faces of the same coin
Im a 6th generation bricklayer in Canada. My great grandfather learned the trade from his father in Germany and then came over to Canada in the early 30s. One thing ill always remember him saying about work...if youre not gonna do it properly then dont...get someone who will. That's how it was back then all done correctly. Not anymore, now everything is slapped together and 100 times the price
My Grandpa built his own house in the 60s, Grandma, my Autn and my dad moved into it early 1970s. While the grandparents have already died. The house still is owned by my aunt and is getting rented out. I love it. Good old brickwork.
You don’t see this kind of good craftmanship anymore. It was really nice to see how accurately everything was made. I’m from Finland and my dad was carpenter and very proud of his work. Today carpenters are too expensive and builders use mixed workers who do everything and they can’t do anything as well as real professional.
Awesome vid!! Real tradesmen, if only they built homes like that nowadays. That brick home is still standing while homes built 5 years ago are falling apart.
There are contractors willing to take the lowest bid and build fast to make a buck. Many are foreigners that get into the construction industry and deliver projects on discount but not gurantee. As a Handyman almost all my jobs are done ok and last. Also the main problem is the building permits. They are expensive and then added to that inspections, licenses and insurance required. So if a house material cost 400k and construcion work 500k or more. Still insurance and building permits and inspectors and Osha will take at least 200k
@@MarkWhich yes that happens often when houses are built on wood. Because depending on the tempeture inside amd outside the house. The wood tend to re adjust itself. Wodd studs are still very flexible compared to metal. However if metal is used, and constructiin according to specifics. There shouldn't be no cracks , if any, if any is just ine spot because thick metal don't move. If the gauge of metal is above .18 reinforcement must be added, however over all metal is in many cases better than wood.
Notice...... No wood framing, the walls are built using a 2 wythes system. (2 rows of brick tied together, with a cavity in between). Today's brick work is simply veneer. No not the peel and stick stuff, but rather a single row of bricks tied to the wood framing. In today's system the house holds up the brick, in the old days the brick held up the house. I plan on building the old way.
@ NFSA Films , This was a surprise to me actually, I had no clue the difference in old school Brick masonry vs today's building techniques until I saw this video and started doing a little research. I guess the only disadvantage was that there was no installation used in these old school builds, and they plastered the interior walls and then painted, which I'm sure made it difficult to hang pictures. I guess with a little innovation you could still build the old school way and use modern installation techniques. but then that would all depend on today's building codes and requirements. I'm definitely going to look further into it.
Yes taking the good from the past and adding the good from the new sounds like a great way to go. Obviously there are cost and resource issues to consider too. The Germans are now building a style of house called "passive housing" that takes insulation incredibly seriously. If done correctly the houses require no internal heating or cooling regardless of the climate.
+B4ReaL It depends where you live. I'm a brick layer, certain areas have timer frames where bricks are just veneer, though i've worked in other states in Australia where it is all brickwork or blockwork inside and out, there's no timber frame.
Not in the UK Timber frame houses still have a cavity and an external Skin of Brickwork, plus we still do traditional builds, through the wall.....This film still shows much of what is still being done though thankfully no more salt glaze underground drainage......
Found this by accident and I LOVE it!! An Australian production made when men were men, slim as anything but muscle strength to die for. No safety officer running around, no harnesses, no sunscreen, no paperwork if you hit your hand with a hammer, just got on with it.This was made in the late 50s early 60s and these houses are still standing, we live in one. My dad worked as a builder and yes, as someone else commented, the pub was visited every day after work. This was when pubs closed at 6pm, hence the "6 o'clock swill"
Fascinating stuff. My house was built in 1948 and many of these building materials look the same. My wife and I were pretty adamant about buying an older house because they're made so well. It's still a lot of work, though.
Totally agree. Older houses is all I buy due to they are built better than the cheap boxes of crap that falls apart the moment it gets wet - the sawdust/wood chip crap called engineered wood thats used for support structures. SMH
I was working with my dad one time painting a house and he goes to cover the week holes with paint so it started to argue with him you can’t do that it allows water and moisture to escape the cavity he kept going on how I was weeper mad or something
Double brick was stopped here in New Zealand years ago. They fall down very easily in earthquakes. Great workmanship and diligence in this build in spite of that.
@@samskeeter1 That's what we call normal over here. I never knew it was especially resistant to earthquakes. We just call it cheap, LOL. Still these cheap homes last well over 100 years.
@@robertbrandywine Double brick houses fared very badly here in quakes in 2010 and 2011. All I will say is brick houses with timber frame work didn't completely collapse.
Back in the day when builders cared about the quality of there product. Paid the appropriate wages for all of the processes needed to construct a proper house... Now get it up as fast as you can if not before.....paid crap money and don't do the job correctly..just get it up... no wonder I'm slowly going broke... 3rd generation Bricklayer... still doing it as my Dad would say.... "if ya wouldn't have it in your house...don't lay it ..do it like It's your own "
@Kevin Richards Hahaha... yeah painting.. wait till they drop your money to what you were getting 19 years ago... after 38 years of laying bricks the builders are pushing blocks that are 3 times the size and paying less than what they were 19years ago..The builders also make sure Painters have a ticket... Not once in 38 years has a single builer checked to see my qualifications... they use cheap labourers that aren't doing it correctly or to the correct building standards.. what rates are you getting have they dropped..and don't you have to be ..ticketed to be a painter... cos if you don't ...goodbye to your job ..
@Kevin Richards Mate.. I never said that .... My dad said that .. "if you can piss you can paint".. Meaning that you didn't have to be a qualified Tradesmen in the UK to be a painter... Yet to be a Bricklayer you had to do a 7 year apprenticeship... Here in Australia you have to be a qualified Tradesmen to paint hence the ticket.. Yet the builders don't use Qualified Bricklayers... to build the most important part of the house... Also brick in Australia doesn't usually get painted.. so the houses I have built over 30 years ago still look as they did when they were built.. so by doing a good job they don't need rebricking or touching up... Mate I didn't want to argue with you... I wasn't complaining in my first post about lack of work ...I was complaining about how the Builders here in Australia want it building quicker and cheaper... I have never been out off work in 38 years my complaint is that the builders in Australia are just doing solely for profit... Also 4 years ago the wages for a Bricklayer were anywhere from $45 to $100 plus an hour depending on your skill and speed.. now the top money is about $22 for a qualified Tradesmen.. So mate I didn't want a war of words on who's trademen are better or more skilled or who is good or isn't... I suppose I was just having a moan at the builders here in Australia as this is where the film was made.. and pointing out that we.... the Bricklayers don't do half of the stuff that we used to do in the old days.... Cheers and good luck in the future.. P.S. Did you do a trade certificate when you started Painting or did you just pick it up learning from mistakes and other people ... when you started to pay for college
@Kevin Richards THANKS for the offer mate... Would love to come to Colorado.. My eldest son had a fully paid scholarship to do chemical.. engineering and Football (soccer)..but sadly got really sick almost died... but he got through it but couldn't play or run any more.. Thanks for the offer of work... I do have plenty of work all the time just saddened by what is happening in this industry in Australia and how they treat the owners... it must be completely different in the USA.. Not all the trades are suffering here. I do respect all trades ... even the labourers... Good on ya mate not always do the comments get all fired up.. P.S. I did do a degree in Civil Engineering while doing an apprenticeship.... but sadly I loved building things... not just engineering them... lol. 38Years as a qualified Brick and Blocklayer.. Stonemason.. Tiling.. Concrete and paving as well as plastering... all included in my Trade Certificate.. so over here where they don't want to see your actual paper Qualifications.. I was told I'm wasting my time in getting my Master Bricklayers Ticket ..lol..Anyway good on ya mate.. enough about the trades... I have a couple of Day off for Christmas then back at it on the 27th.. So Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and all your loved ones.. Cheers Marshy
I don't know too much about building but I just know that these men are doing it the right way. I just secured an old 1930s house and it's a proper build... I really appreciate it.
I know of some men that built homes. They took extreme care in producing quality homes. They're some of the most sought after homes when they come up for sale. Mossman, Hoffman, Swingle... these guys built masterpieces.
Wow this was cool...all work done by hand and they were good at it...My father started this type work in 1936 and I saw men just like these guys doing this very good as well...
Oh, mac4564, I guess I was thinking all lead had to be eliminated from the builders' diet, what with the paint and all. Thanks for clarifying the limit of your point now. Happy Flag Day (USA)!
And I guess you still use random capitals for some common nouns for some odd reason too, huh, mac4564? Hehe.... So why lead, if there should be so many other materials that could be used instead?
Fantastic old trades still mainly the same. However gone are the days you see many plumbers on roofs doing lead flashing now. We spent a year in college doing lead dressing. Look at them solid drinks too. Build to last. Brings a tear to the eye.
I live in a block house. circa 1960. Lots of brickwork too. Brick fireplace and chimney. Very solid. Metal roof. (Lead paint but it's covered with other paint) Since it is a warm climate many of the homes here are prefab, modular, single wides, double wides. etc. I'll take the block house, thank you.It was a DIY and I must say it has character.
Things to watch out for when buying a Solid brick home of this vintage. Check the depth of footing. These days it's 600 deep and further depending on the clay bed. My 1946 home has 2 solid walls on each outer footing and average 250mm thick. Check the inside walls. They used to use "Dough boys" cheap seconds that weren't cooked properly. They were lighter and more pourus. They crack easier. Inside walls were in some cases not cross bricked and lots of off-cuts were used causing cracking.
good call. My father was a house builder in this period and told me how they dug stump holes to the required depth where they knew the inspector would look, the rest were placed just an inch below ground. Dodgy builders have a long lineage.
I lived in a stone home, where someone dug out a basement under the porch, but you saw the footing. Holy smokes.....it stuck out 2 feet and was 2 feet high, and that's as low as the floor went. No telling how much stone and concrete was used. The footing was tiered, and was higher on the outside, then in the basement side. The footing was at least 4 feet wide.
It was a joy to see these old school tradesman at work, the roofies had it tough, those tiles are heavy, and he was dancing across the rafters. These days most construction uses roof trusses, and rafters seem to be a thing of the past.
This people were artists. Such a beautiful craftsman ship. There's a reason why there's a great demand for 100+ year old brick houses which are rare this days.
its almost impossible to find people that take this much pride in this type of work anymore . or any work for that matter . just sad . hats off to these gents
@@leonhou7137 No way. Those vented floors are always cold, and always saggy and bouncy. Without proper vapor barrier and roof insulation you are basicly heating a street. Double brick wall with air gap has 4.4 times lower insulation value then standart 2x6 wall or 300mm aerated concrete wall.
@@Toyotaamazon80series First of all, why are you walking on bare concrete? Cover it with hardwood. Secondly if you really want suspended wooden floors just make them over conditioned crawl space. Vented crawl space is shit, end of story.
Love this video. the house I lived in with my ex that we bought in 1985 till we separated 2005 was originally built back in 1959 at Elizabeth East in South Australia so I can imagine it was built very much the same as the houses shown in this film.fascinating to see how they used to do things back then. please keep these videos coming.
Elizabeth is one of the places where they were doing this - its in the archives here recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx
@@Mercmad Here are the ones they did in Elizabeth recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8275499 Thinking this might be Nowra ?
You mention Elizabeth East. Most of the houses in that part of the world were either pressed brick or shale bricks. Peter Hutchinson used to run a 5 axle road train from Golden Grove to Elizabeth, 3 loads a day, with between 7,000 or 8,000 bricks per load, depending on what brick it was. He got rid of the road train c1973, and purchased a Volvo G88 with a Williams built bogie drop deck trailer. He was not happy with the Volvo back end, so he fitted a Camelback suspension and Mack diffs to it. They were the days where you could work hard and earn a great wage. Today, you can work harder, and you get a lot smaller percentage for your toil.
this is so cool to see, i work in construction myself, and i can tell you. the people in this "film" have way better coordination, somehow the architect himself turns up and is interested (very rare nowadays), the bricklayer somehow knows what to do and doesnt need to be told otherwise 10 times a day, theres no cut corners, people actually know what to do. and people seem happy, or atleast motivated to work. wish we would see that nowadays.. its all "ah just put it there", "no one will see it anways", "if we do it like this its fine as well" etc. in construction now.
In those days it was common to hear the workers singing on the job , there were no audio systems blaring out hard rock and not a nail gun to be heard .
Crikey! No Oc Health and Safety in those days that's for sure haha! You would be persecuted if you did those things building a structure nowadays. No steel caps either... But I guess that's how they built my Nanna and Poppa's house back in the day. Exactly same type of design but with a few alterations. Even the drains are the same. I miss my grand parents house so much! So, so, so many great memories. This video brings those great memories back. Thanks for sharing this.
I grew up in a double brick house in Sydney with a large under-house area . So much better for summer and winter temperature control than the brick veneer rubbish *today*. The terracotta tiles on the roof were still in perfect condition after 80 years - no need to strip and resurface like you do with concrete tiles every few years when they begin to leak. PS I now live in a BV house because I can't afford anything better.
@@vickikay54 Funny to see anyway, houses were build the same way here in Denmark back then. Back when time was not too expensive, and people took pride in the job.
@Matt NYC I beg your pardon. Before retiring I was a union mason tender for over 15 years and I'd pass brick and or block to the tune of at minimum 10,000 lbs a day... most days 12,000 lbs and not uncommon to move 15 or 20,000 lbs in a single day. An 8" concrete block weighs 40 lb and each mason lays 300/day x the two masons I was tending for. You do the math.. And that's 5 days a week. I'd carry one in each hand And this doesn't include all the mortar and or grout required to lay this material as well as heft 16 foot planks and corresponding scaffold parts. Right up age 55 I had to lifting 1,500 000 lbs every single year. And at 62 I still have a grip like iron I'd work your snowflake ass into the ground and you'd be a whinning useless crumpled heap by coffee break. Then I'd go have sex with your girl
Such a concept driven field as construction should feel proud, we need now learn from the past as the rate of construction takes place according to the stability of construction firms and the proceeding weather conditions. I think there are hundreds of cities in England which could be example of the progress that needs to continually be made.
Solid built house. And it would have a solid built full sized automobile sitting in the driveway too. Built to last a lifetime. Today's houses and automobiles are built with super high profits, super low material cost & planned obsolescence at the forefront.
those builders and subbies worked so hard in those days, Builders work hard today also but they have lots of various machinery that makes their life much easier
I live in a 1905 Victorian house. It has 7 bedrooms, four baths and constructed using nominal 2x6 and nominal 4x12 beams. I know because we just finished a whole house remodel. It's nice to see all the hard work that went into building these great homes. Americans built this great nation.
The first house I bought was a Victorian "2 up 2 down" built much the same as in this film and having since lived in many different houses on both sides of the Atlantic I can say it was hands down the best quality solid as a rock
We did that from 87 to probably early 90s , that's when I started my trade. Still use now when it's just the odd one or two. Hands are not as tough as they were.
@Michael Rourke thats right back those days cement was packed in 40kg bags now they only use 20kg ones . They used too frame the walls up hammer and nails and screw drivers by hand , these days they use a nail gun and even electricians use a cordless screwdriver for the tiny screws on the light switches .
Houses that were built here in the Netherlands in the 1930s are still regarded here as one of the better and qualitatively also the best built houses and I should know because I once owned one myself. A house built in 1936, even then with steel beams under the floor construction, except for the electrical part, which was downright bad but ok PVC was not invented then either. I have always enjoyed living there and sold well later on.
A few steps are sped up. Like the footings are done by ready mix trucks and placed with a boom or line pump. Or from the trucks if possible. But brick laying is still done by hand. Matieriels may have changed and steps simplified. But its still the same. I drive a concrete truck. Stuff i poured will be there long after i turn to dust
I have been a carpenter the last 20 years. The concept of learning a trade has been lost. These guys were good.
My dad was one of those, he and his offsider could stand a George Hudson frame on a subfloor they built and pitch a roof with hips and valleys in way less than a week. I learnt to walk on bare joists not long after I learnt to walk. None of those houses he built ever fell down but now we have more regulation and red take than you can poke a stick at, currently I in over 15k in red tape cost to put up a 67k YZY kit granny flat.
they were great
So how are buildings built if it’s been lost
Learning roofing at 28👍 it ain't dead cuz boomers say so.
Yeah houses aren't built anymore cuz there's no one who knows how to do it except geriatrics
They left out the bit were they all go to the pub for a few affordable beers , and then home to their houses that they paid off in their early twenties on a single income .
And the part where they die at age 60.
@@ryanroberts1104 That's only because of the lack of safety and modern healthcare and nobody was really aware of the dangers of smoking and certain materials like asbestos.
@@ryanroberts1104 From smoking related illnesses . We now know better .
@@matthijsjansen5838 You can't even remotely blame their low life expectancy on smoking. What a stupid thing to say! People still smoke well into their 80s today...
@@sadface It has nothing to do with asbestos and smoking. The low life expectancy applied to everybody, even children.
I live in an old house just like that, built in the early sixties, and it is as solid as a rock, same roof tiles and door frames, all perfect. Proper job.
Luis Cannon cool story bro
fuckin eh man. hold on to that baby
1960s houses were more or less a decline in quality not as bad as now but before the 1950s was when homes were of greatest quality.
@@greghonda5475 *castles from 1300s* am I a joke to you ?
@@greghonda5475 self insulation baby 😘😻
That roof tiler running up a ladder with a full shoulder of tiles. Gangster
He had great sense of balance,one wrong step, that's the end of his roof tiling career. Respect his nimbleness.
That’s just how you do it.
Gangsters run up ladders carrying tiles? I doubt Al Capone ever did that.
And those shoes, no boots, looked very light weight, because so much of it was tactile. That had to be 50 pounds on his shoulders & he didn't miss a beat going up that ladder-without hesitation.
i was doing that at 21 yrs old in like 2003 ... only big firms uses so many machinary these days
Love how the architect is wearing a complete black wool suit in what looks to be a hot ass day.
Back when people took pride in how they looked.
@@MattUKepcc816 I prefer not to boil alive than to take pride in how I look.
@@Trias805 There has to be a balance in comfort and pride in appearance. People dress like absolute shit now, it's disgusting.
@@scinto23 Do what you want, but to me my comfort is way more important than what other people think about how I look.
This is a propaganda film, it may have happened for some architects, but it was probably uncommon
Mixing concrete onsite, that is one task you don't see today. Cement came in 40kg bags, back breaking stuff. The whole film brings back great memories, thank you.
"Oh hell , it's just a little job , we'll mix the mud in a wheel barrow"
26 wheel barrows later
Me: squating 150 kg in the gym
1940's roof layer: psssh, do you even lift bro
>150 pounds
light weight, baby
xpaganda he’s getting there
Hell yea bro keep pushing yourself in the gym you got this
150 lb? that's not even 70 kg... LOL
@@PrideDefiler meant 150 kg, little confused about the freedom metrics as a swede
I'm a house painter in 2020. I've been on countless new construction projects and I'm absolutely stunned at the level of professionalization and attention put into construction back in the day. I understand this a film and it is obviously edited and produced to show the the absolute best, but if tradesmen actually were even close to this good in those days, it is simply not comparable to the work you see today.
Especially painters are terrible
Mate, my dad began his apprenticeship as a bricklayer on the London and North Eastern Railway in 1941 when he was 15. He served in WW2 then went to be involved in the building trade for the rest of his life. He and his contemporaries WERE that good because they were trained to be that way. The dross and garbage in the construction industries these days are a product of build it quick and cheap to make as much money as possible then don't worry about tomorrow. Sad.
Says every old generation about the new. Yet our buildings are far better today
@@thegman2484 yeah right I run an electrical company and my guys are trained to the best tradesmen I’ve ever seen. I’m sure your dad was a great man but there is still great men today and excellent tradesmen. Look at the buildings we build
@@tonymontana6734 categorically false
I think modern contractors should watch this.
Or modern house BUYERS!
Why? They couldn't compete with the others cranking out mcmansions as fast as possible. People buy them as fast as they're made. The consumer doesn't want to pay extra for this type of work when the alternative is cheaper and they can get more of that almighty Sq footage.
It's not just on the trades people it's also on the buyers.
My lower back was screaming just watching those men setting the lower courses. Those people were just made of tougher stuff. Brilliant craftsmanship!
When you do that everyday your body is used to it. Our bodys our made for bending. The issue is many of us sit 90% of the day then go outside and try to lift 20 bags of mulch no warm up. Its like trying to stretch an old rubber band thats been sitting around awhile, the odds of it snapping are a lot higher
They were walking with canes, by the time they were 50.
Do sprints and stairs if your back is killing you
They were made of the same exact stuff as you but simply suffered through it.
@@billkallas1762and at 30 they looked 50
This house is better built than my 2009 one.. I am amazed at the fact that they had so much manpower on the site. Nowadays if you manage to get a team of 5… those 5 guys do the foundation, the walls, the roof, the driveways, etc. in some extreme cases they even do the plumbing. That is madness.
It's crazy that most of these buildings from the 40's are still standing strong and fine in Sydney, while we're watching apartment high rises from like 10-15 years ago collapsing and falling apart.
My old man was an old school tradie like most of these blokes, and so were all his mates, many different trades amongst them, l wish they were all still around to build and renovate my house now. These homes are still standing today because they were built to a standard, not to a price.
Back then people built for "eternity", nowadays everything only has to last until the guarantee has expired.
Maybe city high rises and sky scapers aren't worth it than
How many 10-15 year old Sydney high rises have collapsed in recent times?
Survivorship bias
My great grandfather built houses like that at that time. The guys worked extremely hard, and I might add died young. So much for hard work keeping you fit. Although maybe it was all the smoking and booze that got to them.
Hard working, will just injure you and leave you with a life of pain and surgery, just like a sedentary life will do the same, they are 2 faces of the same coin
And here you are today paying half a million dollars for a house made of carboard.
not in uk houses are almost built exactly the same if anything buildings regulations are stricter
@@georgeenticknap4216 I know. This was a jab at Americans. Not that I would complain about living in a McMansion.
Poor americans... Hope Katrina won.t Strike again.
But i gave seen a few days ago a gas explosion distroied plenty of cardbord houses in US
George Enticknap UK houses look ugly in my opinion. Check out the houses Texans have, mainly in Dallas
@General Grievous ur an idiot if you buy in sydney. thats like buying apple stock today.
Now this is an educational film. These gentlemen have got skills.
Im a 6th generation bricklayer in Canada. My great grandfather learned the trade from his father in Germany and then came over to Canada in the early 30s. One thing ill always remember him saying about work...if youre not gonna do it properly then dont...get someone who will. That's how it was back then all done correctly. Not anymore, now everything is slapped together and 100 times the price
My Grandpa built his own house in the 60s, Grandma, my Autn and my dad moved into it early 1970s. While the grandparents have already died. The house still is owned by my aunt and is getting rented out. I love it. Good old brickwork.
I'm a stone Mason and I do brick too, these guys are og I have much respect for them
I'm living in a brick house that's almost 80 years old, built by my grandfather, still standing strong.
You don’t see this kind of good craftmanship anymore. It was really nice to see how accurately everything was made. I’m from Finland and my dad was carpenter and very proud of his work. Today carpenters are too expensive and builders use mixed workers who do everything and they can’t do anything as well as real professional.
Awesome vid!! Real tradesmen, if only they built homes like that nowadays. That brick home is still standing while homes built 5 years ago are falling apart.
There are contractors willing to take the lowest bid and build fast to make a buck.
Many are foreigners that get into the construction industry and deliver projects on discount but not gurantee.
As a Handyman almost all my jobs are done ok and last.
Also the main problem is the building permits.
They are expensive and then added to that inspections, licenses and insurance required.
So if a house material cost 400k and construcion work 500k or more. Still insurance and building permits and inspectors and Osha will take at least 200k
And the first cracks become visible in only 3 months.
@@MarkWhich yes that happens often when houses are built on wood.
Because depending on the tempeture inside amd outside the house. The wood tend to re adjust itself.
Wodd studs are still very flexible compared to metal.
However if metal is used, and constructiin according to specifics.
There shouldn't be no cracks , if any, if any is just ine spot because thick metal don't move.
If the gauge of metal is above .18 reinforcement must be added, however over all metal is in many cases better than wood.
My Dad was a bricklayer. Very hard workers back then!
Notice...... No wood framing, the walls are built using a 2 wythes system. (2 rows of brick tied together, with a cavity in between). Today's brick work is simply veneer. No not the peel and stick stuff, but rather a single row of bricks tied to the wood framing. In today's system the house holds up the brick, in the old days the brick held up the house. I plan on building the old way.
Thanks for pointing that out.
@ NFSA Films , This was a surprise to me actually, I had no clue the difference in old school Brick masonry vs today's building techniques until I saw this video and started doing a little research. I guess the only disadvantage was that there was no installation used in these old school builds, and they plastered the interior walls and then painted, which I'm sure made it difficult to hang pictures. I guess with a little innovation you could still build the old school way and use modern installation techniques. but then that would all depend on today's building codes and requirements. I'm definitely going to look further into it.
Yes taking the good from the past and adding the good from the new sounds like a great way to go. Obviously there are cost and resource issues to consider too. The Germans are now building a style of house called "passive housing" that takes insulation incredibly seriously. If done correctly the houses require no internal heating or cooling regardless of the climate.
+B4ReaL It depends where you live. I'm a brick layer, certain areas have timer frames where bricks are just veneer, though i've worked in other states in Australia where it is all brickwork or blockwork inside and out, there's no timber frame.
Not in the UK Timber frame houses still have a cavity and an external Skin of Brickwork, plus we still do traditional builds, through the wall.....This film still shows much of what is still being done though thankfully no more salt glaze underground drainage......
Found this by accident and I LOVE it!! An Australian production made when men were men, slim as anything but muscle strength to die for. No safety officer running around, no harnesses, no sunscreen, no paperwork if you hit your hand with a hammer, just got on with it.This was made in the late 50s early 60s and these houses are still standing, we live in one. My dad worked as a builder and yes, as someone else commented, the pub was visited every day after work. This was when pubs closed at 6pm, hence the "6 o'clock swill"
Narrator: Frank is seen here applying a healthy layer of asbestos on the pipe.
5:06 Look at that pointing! What an artist!
Uhhh,the good old days when builders had skills and took pride in their work.
Exactly. When it was about building a house not making bank.
@@Cbr_auh its always about making bank...they just did it with class
Fascinating stuff. My house was built in 1948 and many of these building materials look the same. My wife and I were pretty adamant about buying an older house because they're made so well. It's still a lot of work, though.
Totally agree. Older houses is all I buy due to they are built better than the cheap boxes of crap that falls apart the moment it gets wet - the sawdust/wood chip crap called engineered wood thats used for support structures. SMH
458 "The moisture passes out through weep holes" Yes until somebody fills them up.
I was working with my dad one time painting a house and he goes to cover the week holes with paint so it started to argue with him you can’t do that it allows water and moisture to escape the cavity he kept going on how I was weeper mad or something
Even if no one fills them, eventually deteriorated mortar will plug them from the inside.
Double brick was stopped here in New Zealand years ago. They fall down very easily in earthquakes. Great workmanship and diligence in this build in spite of that.
So what do they use now to prevent falling down?
@@robertbrandywine By first building timber framework then putting bricks up round it using fastners to the timber as they go
@@samskeeter1 That's what we call normal over here. I never knew it was especially resistant to earthquakes. We just call it cheap, LOL. Still these cheap homes last well over 100 years.
@@robertbrandywine Double brick houses fared very badly here in quakes in 2010 and 2011. All I will say is brick houses with timber frame work didn't completely collapse.
Yeah that place is a deathtrap in any disaster. Them heavy tiles over your head?
Back in the day when builders cared about the quality of there product. Paid the appropriate wages for all of the processes needed to construct a proper house... Now get it up as fast as you can if not before.....paid crap money and don't do the job correctly..just get it up... no wonder I'm slowly going broke... 3rd generation Bricklayer... still doing it as my Dad would say.... "if ya wouldn't have it in your house...don't lay it ..do it like It's your own "
@Kevin Richards Hahaha... yeah painting.. wait till they drop your money to what you were getting 19 years ago... after 38 years of laying bricks the builders are pushing blocks that are 3 times the size and paying less than what they were 19years ago..The builders also make sure Painters have a ticket... Not once in 38 years has a single builer checked to see my qualifications... they use cheap labourers that aren't doing it correctly or to the correct building standards.. what rates are you getting have they dropped..and don't you have to be ..ticketed to be a painter... cos if you don't ...goodbye to your job ..
@@richmarsh5029 Kevin just presses the trigger on his sprayer. He sprays three house a day.
@@droldsw31 lmao... yeah.. my old man says " if ya can piss. Ya can paint"
@Kevin Richards Mate.. I never said that .... My dad said that .. "if you can piss you can paint".. Meaning that you didn't have to be a qualified Tradesmen in the UK to be a painter... Yet to be a Bricklayer you had to do a 7 year apprenticeship... Here in Australia you have to be a qualified Tradesmen to paint hence the ticket.. Yet the builders don't use Qualified Bricklayers... to build the most important part of the house... Also brick in Australia doesn't usually get painted.. so the houses I have built over 30 years ago still look as they did when they were built.. so by doing a good job they don't need rebricking or touching up... Mate I didn't want to argue with you... I wasn't complaining in my first post about lack of work ...I was complaining about how the Builders here in Australia want it building quicker and cheaper... I have never been out off work in 38 years my complaint is that the builders in Australia are just doing solely for profit...
Also 4 years ago the wages for a Bricklayer were anywhere from $45 to $100 plus an hour depending on your skill and speed.. now the top money is about $22 for a qualified Tradesmen.. So mate I didn't want a war of words on who's trademen are better or more skilled or who is good or isn't... I suppose I was just having a moan at the builders here in Australia as this is where the film was made.. and pointing out that we.... the Bricklayers don't do half of the stuff that we used to do in the old days.... Cheers and good luck in the future..
P.S. Did you do a trade certificate when you started Painting or did you just pick it up learning from mistakes and other people ... when you started to pay for college
@Kevin Richards THANKS for the offer mate... Would love to come to Colorado.. My eldest son had a fully paid scholarship to do chemical.. engineering and Football (soccer)..but sadly got really sick almost died... but he got through it but couldn't play or run any more.. Thanks for the offer of work... I do have plenty of work all the time just saddened by what is happening in this industry in Australia and how they treat the owners... it must be completely different in the USA.. Not all the trades are suffering here. I do respect all trades ... even the labourers... Good on ya mate not always do the comments get all fired up.. P.S. I did do a degree in Civil Engineering while doing an apprenticeship.... but sadly I loved building things... not just engineering them... lol. 38Years as a qualified Brick and Blocklayer.. Stonemason.. Tiling.. Concrete and paving as well as plastering... all included in my Trade Certificate.. so over here where they don't want to see your actual paper Qualifications.. I was told I'm wasting my time in getting my Master Bricklayers Ticket ..lol..Anyway good on ya mate.. enough about the trades... I have a couple of Day off for Christmas then back at it on the 27th.. So Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and all your loved ones..
Cheers Marshy
I don't know too much about building but I just know that these men are doing it the right way. I just secured an old 1930s house and it's a proper build... I really appreciate it.
The chimney was essential. Air conditioning or central heating were unknown in Australian homes till the 1970s. I wonder if this house still exists.
wouldntb be surprised if it is
Nice video, a joy to watch. I'm a civil engineer from Portugal and salute builders from all age and country.
These guys were tough as nails back then. I love the detail all these construction workers put into their work, amazing craftsmanship
I know of some men that built homes. They took extreme care in producing quality homes. They're some of the most sought after homes when they come up for sale. Mossman, Hoffman, Swingle... these guys built masterpieces.
I’d like these fellas to build me a home immediately,men that took pride in their work.
Have to respect the ambition, the teamwork and the days they did. They worked hard for their money. Favourite video, wish I could find more like it.
Wow this was cool...all work done by hand and they were good at it...My father started this type work in 1936 and I saw men just like these guys doing this very good as well...
Love these old films. Nice to see why it's always such a bear to demo old work as they built everything so well!
Glad you enjoyed it
Here we are in 2016 and as a bricklayer, nothing's changed really.
Uh, yeah it has.
You can't use lead now, and OSHA would never allow a guy to stand so close to the edge of a roof!
+Maxx Fordham! We're using lead on the site I'm on now! And I mean the trade itself, not health and safety.
Oh, mac4564, I guess I was thinking all lead had to be eliminated from the builders' diet, what with the paint and all.
Thanks for clarifying the limit of your point now.
Happy Flag Day (USA)!
+Maxx Fordham! No here in the UK we still use lead for flashings around Dormer Windows, chimneys etc.
And I guess you still use random capitals for some common nouns for some odd reason too, huh, mac4564? Hehe....
So why lead, if there should be so many other materials that could be used instead?
Looks like high quality materials and excellent craftsmanship. What is lacking is beauty.
Fantastic old trades still mainly the same. However gone are the days you see many plumbers on roofs doing lead flashing now. We spent a year in college doing lead dressing. Look at them solid drinks too. Build to last. Brings a tear to the eye.
And the white shoes worn by the roof tiler? When I helped a roofer, about 1980, our safety equipment was a pair of Dunlop Volley tennis shoes.
Ive done roof tiling and would carry about 8 tiles at a time. That fella doing 10 dancing up that ladder is insane.
Yep , and he probably went footy or cricket training after work , played sport Saturday afternoons .
Great video. The roofer was great. I wish we could have seen more of the plasterer.
Thanks heaps. Those men remind me of my father as a young man, building our house.
God bless all of the men and women who build houses. Hats off to you
So cool watching these few videos of old school construction.
That facing Brick chimney is minted...that tiler is fit as a butchers dog too...GREAT FILM..
I live in a block house. circa 1960. Lots of brickwork too.
Brick fireplace and chimney. Very solid. Metal roof. (Lead paint but it's covered with other paint) Since it is a warm climate many of the homes here are prefab, modular, single wides, double wides. etc. I'll take the block house, thank you.It was a DIY and I must say it has character.
Things to watch out for when buying a Solid brick home of this vintage. Check the depth of footing. These days it's 600 deep and further depending on the clay bed. My 1946 home has 2 solid walls on each outer footing and average 250mm thick. Check the inside walls. They used to use "Dough boys" cheap seconds that weren't cooked properly. They were lighter and more pourus. They crack easier. Inside walls were in some cases not cross bricked and lots of off-cuts were used causing cracking.
good call. My father was a house builder in this period and told me how they dug stump holes to the required depth where they knew the inspector would look, the rest were placed just an inch below ground. Dodgy builders have a long lineage.
I lived in a stone home, where someone dug out a basement under the porch, but you saw the footing. Holy smokes.....it stuck out 2 feet and was 2 feet high, and that's as low as the floor went. No telling how much stone and concrete was used. The footing was tiered, and was higher on the outside, then in the basement side. The footing was at least 4 feet wide.
It was a joy to see these old school tradesman at work, the roofies had it tough, those tiles are heavy, and he was dancing across the rafters. These days most construction uses roof trusses, and rafters seem to be a thing of the past.
Um... so...?
Depends on location
I would enjoy seeing this neighborhood today!
Thank you for finding this video. Really neat to see how it was done back in the day
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback.
5:55 sparkie fixing his own back boxes with plaster wow!!!
This people were artists. Such a beautiful craftsman ship. There's a reason why there's a great demand for 100+ year old brick houses which are rare this days.
Love it! Great video, correct terminology, capturing a moment in time beautifully
Beautiful build. I bet this house is still standing and looks as good as the day it was finished.
wow, thanks for upload. i too cant believe how hard the roof tiler works. Now they are done with conveyors and packs of young men.
its almost impossible to find people that take this much pride in this type of work anymore . or any work for that matter . just sad . hats off to these gents
Ironically, most of those houses are in better nick today than some new build homes that were finished last year
Not joking, the house in the video looks way better than the modern one, soild double brick wall, 10 times better than concrete wall.
@@leonhou7137 No way. Those vented floors are always cold, and always saggy and bouncy. Without proper vapor barrier and roof insulation you are basicly heating a street. Double brick wall with air gap has 4.4 times lower insulation value then standart 2x6 wall or 300mm aerated concrete wall.
@@zuhelWTF May be, but i never liked concrate wall for home, it just doesnt feel right.
@@zuhelWTF Give me a proper suspended timber floor in a house any Day of the Week. Better than a freezing cold concrete slab.
@@Toyotaamazon80series First of all, why are you walking on bare concrete? Cover it with hardwood. Secondly if you really want suspended wooden floors just make them over conditioned crawl space. Vented crawl space is shit, end of story.
Wonderful film, thanks for showing.
Many thanks!
Love this video. the house I lived in with my ex that we bought in 1985 till we separated 2005 was originally built back in 1959 at Elizabeth East in South Australia so I can imagine it was built very much the same as the houses shown in this film.fascinating to see how they used to do things back then. please keep these videos coming.
Thanks for the feedback, yes it is an interesting and popular film. We've got thousand of films we want to publish on UA-cam so stay tuned.
it looks like a Adelaide style of home too.
Elizabeth is one of the places where they were doing this - its in the archives here recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx
@@Mercmad Here are the ones they did in Elizabeth
recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8275499
Thinking this might be Nowra ?
You mention Elizabeth East. Most of the houses in that part of the world were either pressed brick or shale bricks. Peter Hutchinson used to run a 5 axle road train from Golden Grove to Elizabeth, 3 loads a day, with between 7,000 or 8,000 bricks per load, depending on what brick it was. He got rid of the road train c1973, and purchased a Volvo G88 with a Williams built bogie drop deck trailer. He was not happy with the Volvo back end, so he fitted a Camelback suspension and Mack diffs to it. They were the days where you could work hard and earn a great wage. Today, you can work harder, and you get a lot smaller percentage for your toil.
this is so cool to see, i work in construction myself, and i can tell you. the people in this "film" have way better coordination, somehow the architect himself turns up and is interested (very rare nowadays), the bricklayer somehow knows what to do and doesnt need to be told otherwise 10 times a day, theres no cut corners, people actually know what to do. and people seem happy, or atleast motivated to work. wish we would see that nowadays.. its all "ah just put it there", "no one will see it anways", "if we do it like this its fine as well" etc. in construction now.
In those days it was common to hear the workers singing on the job , there were no audio systems blaring out hard rock and not a nail gun to be heard .
It wouldn't look good if everyone behaved how they normally would if a camera wasn't filming them.
I enjoyed it! Going to show it to my workers!
I'd give anything to have builders with this level of skill, dedication and pride in their work!!!
How the hell do you know they did a good job? You can't see shit and all the crappy buildings they made have either burned or fallen down by now
Lol my dude. You got nice deep Rose colored glasses.
10 tiles at a time and no petrol cutter in site. No skips ,what wasn't burnt was buried.Love it
Hoover Dam built before my days and is still standing and looks greater than ever!
It would be very interesting to see this house now!
Probably demolished to make way for apartments.
It's a bungalow, if it still exists it would be worth $$$
Crikey! No Oc Health and Safety in those days that's for sure haha! You would be persecuted if you did those things building a structure nowadays. No steel caps either... But I guess that's how they built my Nanna and Poppa's house back in the day. Exactly same type of design but with a few alterations. Even the drains are the same. I miss my grand parents house so much! So, so, so many great memories. This video brings those great memories back. Thanks for sharing this.
+Caleb's Rail Films Thanks for your feedback. Glad you got something from the film.
I grew up in a double brick house in Sydney with a large under-house area . So much better for summer and winter temperature control than the brick veneer rubbish *today*. The terracotta tiles on the roof were still in perfect condition after 80 years - no need to strip and resurface like you do with concrete tiles every few years when they begin to leak. PS I now live in a BV house because I can't afford anything better.
Brilliant comprehensive film, pity it couldn't have been even longer and even more comprehensive it certainly moved fast.
Amaizing work without electric power tools.
Love the narrators voice!!
Sounds like my headmaster 40 years ago!!!
I worked as a framers for 4 years . So much goes into older homes . Brick over wood house any day
crazy how times change, absolutely incredible
Would love to see that exact house today!!
Visit any of the older suburbs in Adelaide Sth Australia. They are everywhere.
@@vickikay54 A bit far away from Denmark, but it looks like a durable house that still would stand👍
@@02powertube Sorry, I sometimes forget that the whole world is connected.
@@vickikay54 Funny to see anyway, houses were build the same way here in Denmark back then. Back when time was not too expensive, and people took pride in the job.
Thank you, that's great. Please come back whenever you need an education fix. We've got lots of information in our films.
Would like to see styles of 1948 ish homes .
Just keep them coming :)
I love this video
Good job on the house Lads and i bet it will last a life time!
So will houses that are built now.
Huff Puff, The Wolf blows the house down, a lifelong Masonry contractor,, brink houses are one of the best, the wild brickwork you can do is amazing
R.I.P real homes. real wood, real bricks, real MEN!
They don't make them like they use to. Everything's gone soft nowadays.
@Matt NYC
I beg your pardon.
Before retiring I was a union mason tender for over 15 years and I'd pass brick and or block to the tune of at minimum 10,000 lbs a day... most days 12,000 lbs and not uncommon to move 15 or 20,000 lbs in a single day.
An 8" concrete block weighs 40 lb and each mason lays 300/day x the two masons I was tending for.
You do the math.. And that's 5 days a week.
I'd carry one in each hand
And this doesn't include all the mortar and or grout required to lay this material as well as heft 16 foot planks and corresponding scaffold parts.
Right up age 55 I had to lifting 1,500 000 lbs every single year.
And at 62 I still have a grip like iron
I'd work your snowflake ass into the ground and you'd be a whinning useless crumpled heap by coffee break.
Then I'd go have sex with your girl
Tbh I don’t see much difference, except that every one was using nails lol
They didn’t even fix the tiles and there was no insulation or felt in the roof
Ikr
Such a concept driven field as construction should feel proud, we need now learn from the past as the rate of construction takes place according to the stability of construction firms and the proceeding weather conditions. I think there are hundreds of cities in England which could be example of the progress that needs to continually be made.
respect to those workers,must have been a really hard job.
Solid built house. And it would have a solid built full sized automobile sitting in the driveway too. Built to last a lifetime. Today's houses and automobiles are built with super high profits, super low material cost & planned obsolescence at the forefront.
I feel nostalgia for this time period even though I was born in 1980.
6:33 is mental. That's some skilled work.
Loved that. Thanks for posting.
You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
those builders and subbies worked so hard in those days, Builders work hard today also but they have lots of various machinery that makes their life much easier
Really love this video
I live in a 1905 Victorian house. It has 7 bedrooms, four baths and constructed using nominal 2x6 and nominal 4x12 beams. I know because we just finished a whole house remodel. It's nice to see all the hard work that went into building these great homes. Americans built this great nation.
1905 ,Victorian? 🤔
fine work from the tiler
The first house I bought was a Victorian "2 up 2 down" built much the same as in this film and having since lived in many different houses on both sides of the Atlantic I can say it was hands down the best quality solid as a rock
Imagine making those cuts without power tools ...
All the roof truss cuts with a hand saw, fuck that haha.
We did that from 87 to probably early 90s , that's when I started my trade. Still use now when it's just the odd one or two.
Hands are not as tough as they were.
old films like this are so cool
Roof tilers carrying tiles up to the roof by hand 10 at a time? Those blokes worked hard for their money.
Or they just appeared for this movie..............
@Michael Rourke thats right back those days cement was packed in 40kg bags now they only use 20kg ones .
They used too frame the walls up hammer and nails and screw drivers by hand , these days they use a nail gun and even electricians use a cordless screwdriver for the tiny screws on the light switches .
To carry 5 tiles is already hard, can't imagine 10
@@mauricevandraanen4286 Yeah the houses that are still standing today magically got built.
jdabel1: Yeah todays entitled snowflake millennial has no idea what hard work means
There quality is light years ahead of were we are today, amazing
Houses that were built here in the Netherlands in the 1930s are still regarded here as one of the better and qualitatively also the best built houses and I should know because I once owned one myself.
A house built in 1936, even then with steel beams under the floor construction, except for the electrical part, which was downright bad but ok PVC was not invented then either.
I have always enjoyed living there and sold well later on.
Fantastic video. And look at the thickness of the floorboards! That would cost a fortune today, and I live in a country full of trees.
A few steps are sped up. Like the footings are done by ready mix trucks and placed with a boom or line pump. Or from the trucks if possible. But brick laying is still done by hand. Matieriels may have changed and steps simplified. But its still the same. I drive a concrete truck. Stuff i poured will be there long after i turn to dust
You're saying they didn't build a whole house in 10 minutes?
Lovely house, good skilled tradesmen there.