The guy behind the numbers
I'm Brad. I've lived both sides of this math.
Third-generation carpenter. My grandfather taught my dad, my dad taught me, and I have spent 20-plus years building and remodeling homes, the last stretch running my own company, Pacific Remodeling, in Washington.
Between growing up on jobsites and going out on my own, I spent five years in the Air Force as a B-52 crew chief. When you maintain a bomber, you follow the checklist and you do not cut corners. That discipline is in everything I build, including this site.
I also build software. That surprises people until they think about it: framing a kitchen and shipping an app are the same job. See the problem, plan it, build it right.
Why this site exists
The biggest problem in my industry is not materials or code. It is people. There are not enough hands that can frame a wall, bend conduit, or sweat a joint, because a whole generation was told college was the only respectable door. Meanwhile I watch apprentices earn real paychecks at 19 while their classmates borrow $37,850 for a degree they picked at 17.
I am not anti-college. Nurses, engineers, teachers: go get the degree. But nobody shows kids the other column of the spreadsheet before they sign the loan papers. So I built the calculator, put real BLS wage data behind it for every trade in every state, and documented every assumption so you can check my work. The math talks. I just hold the flashlight.
When I'm not on a jobsite or shipping code, I'm behind a drum kit or on the water fishing. If you spot a number you can beat with a better source, email me. It gets fixed. That is the whole editorial policy.
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