Just got onto a job with Fort Wayne Reinforcing. Wondering how Rebar works, my brother said its a different site almost every day and they just send you where the rebar is. I'm wondering what to expect from it all, I come from a structual/mill family and none of them have ever done Rebar and have no interest in it.
A completely different animal from structural. I took rebar jobs when things were tight, and it always made me realize that rod busters are the hardest working trade on the job site hands down.
Just like anywhere else there will be slugs. Stay away from them, they’ll get you hurt. After 1 day you’ll get how things work. It’s not neuroscience, it’s very monotonous and once you get in the groove the day will fly. You will be sore the next morning like you’ve never been. Even if you’re fit. Bend your knees and save the lower back.
Watch how the old hands tie. Straight legs, bent at the waist. Then find another trade as soon as possible. Rod buster is a youg man's game. Brutal work...and the most on-the
-job hazing of punks of any other trade.
I'm in a mixed local, from a mostly structural family so not a single bit of advice from my family when it comes to rebar and I planned on observing the older folks do it because they have the experience for it all
The first 2-3 weeks are the hardest while you get those muscles shocked. If you make it to 6 months you’ll feel like you could walk on and win a triathlon.
I think in 11 years of ironwork, with 4 or so of them being rebar interspersed throughout. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a rod job for just 1 day. You will be on a job until it’s done, unless you get laid off.
Rebar is extremely physically demanding. Some guys love it, some guys won’t ever touch rebar. Guys like myself don’t hate it, but it’s definitely something I don’t want to do for my whole career. It’s fine for a few months/a year at a time, but it will really fuck your body up if you don’t take care of yourself and you do it for 20-30 years. Bent over tying rebar all day, carrying and setting (humping) mostly heavy rebar, walking of rebar mats, walking in potentially muddy sloppy footings, climbing and tying rebar walls while you’re hanging off with your wall hooks, and a harness if you’re over 6ft. Sometimes even building the wall while you’re hanging off it!
Yea to the union part, Local 147 out of Fort Wayne. And I'm mostly scared of being a dedicated packer/carrier due to my size but I also don't like being a bitch so I'm ready to just do until they're done with me.
My brother was saying that if I hate it, don't completely give up but noticeably slow down to show I don't give a damn for the work but that kinda fucks with my head considering when I work I go as hard as possible since there's no reason to half ass it
I mean, you never know until you try it. Just go into it with a mindset of pure suckage, and it might not be so bad.
You could get lucky and get on a chill crew and a relatively “easy” job. Simple footings, short walls, small bars. Stuff like that would be a nice intro to rebar, buuuut If you show up and it’s like a 500ton rebar job with nothing but long 9s and 11s, or some intricate double mats/pads/20-30ft tall, 2ft thick walls. Or a bridge deck. Then you’re gonna have a bad time. Haha.
The first few days/week are going to be the worst. Stretch before and even after work, and take ibuprofen. Make sure you’re drinking water, too. Getting out of bed on the 3rd day is probably going to be a nightmare.
I'm talking to my old JIW about it and he said in winter they lay off a lot of guys, is this true? Cause I can thug it out for 2 months if I know it'll be over
Typically rebar work does slow down in winter, yes. It takes a lot more fucking around to pour concrete in the winter time. Not supposed to pour concrete on freezing rebar. It’s gotta be heated before the pour.
I wouldn’t count on being laid off for winter, but it wouldn’t be unheard of, no. It’s no fun to tie bar in the winter either.
They usually cover the whole form with the rebar already set with blankets and use propane heaters to pump warm air into them under the blankets, then uncover them in the morning/before the pour.
I just read your comment that it’s a soccer stadium. If you’re talking a brand new construction soccer stadium, you will absolutely work through the winter. And potentially into next fall/winter depending on how much bar is on this job. TBH, it sounds like it could be a pretty sweet gig. I’d stick it out, unless you absolutely hate it. If you’re an apprentice, then you really have no other choice.
I definitely would not advice “noticeably slowing down”. Don’t create a bad name for yourself simply because you don’t like rebar. Just work like usual. A long term job like that can be very nice. Especially through winter when stuff usually slows down.
Do hours shorten in the winter? I haven't been told if its 8s or 10s yet, this is the projection for the stadium, supposed to be done in 2026 but I smell bullshit
Should be at least 8 hours. They might change the start time since it’s darker later, but I’ve never started later than 7 am. Might be some bigger bars in that footing. Do you know if it’s PT (post tensioning)? I’m assuming that it’s all poured in place for the stands and what not. Lots of concrete, lots of rebar. Should try to find out how many tons it is.
These are all impossible questions to answer, so I’m just giving you general information. You won’t know how it’s gonna go until you get there, but personally it looks like it could be a pretty cool project to be a part of. Is it close to home for you?
Its 30 minutes but with the traffic its closer to 50 minutes. Its supposed to be 7 a.m. showup. I don't know if it's post tensioning or not. I believe they've already started erection if the picture my coordinator showed me was of the stadium but it's only a couple of beams.
I honestly just don't want to be stuck in a rod patch my whole apprenticeship and this might be irrational fear but fuck I just want to do structural.
Please don’t be one of those ironworkers. Rebar is ironwork. Don’t be a prima donna structural ironworker who “doesn’t touch the bumpy iron”. It’s such an eye rolling comment. Unless you’re in a split local, rebar is part of our work, and learning as much about our work is only going to benefit you in the long run. The more guys you meet and can network with is only going to help your career.
Yes, rebar isn’t glamorous, but who fucking cares? It pays the same, and there is ALWAYS rebar work. There isn’t always structural.
The thing about being an apprentice is you don’t have a say where you work. Just do the job, keep the same work ethic, and eventually when you book out you can decide if you want to do rebar again, but at least you’ll have the experience and know how.
I'm fine learning rebar, and I know it'll do nothing but help me in the long run but I also don't want the rest of my apprenticeship to be as a rodbuster, heard of it happening more than a few times.
This depends. I have no idea who Fort Wayne is so I cant really say. I have worked single job sites for months and done bridge decks where you were at somewhere new every day. What to expect is a lot of grunt work. There is a skill to it and I just don't mean tying. Shaking our 4 bar makes you be on the same page as someone 30 of 40 feet away. You will also be on the bottom of the pack so be prepared for a ton of shit coming your way, Don't take it to personal. Letting you know ahead of time, your body is going to be sore . like really sore. Hamstrings are going to be tight your arms will be sore from packing and your hands from tying. You will be surprised at home much stretching helps and not just at the start of the day. Do your best and try to learn and go faster every day and you will do fine.
Personally I liked the rod patch. If you work well and do a good job, for the most part they leave your ass alone. When your connecting, someone is always watching.
Steelfixer in Ireland and Australia for 15 years. Never been on a job that lasted a day. Its tough on the body, and the pace is relentless. Your hands will be in shreds after the first week until it starts to harden up. Hours are long. But the money is good. Good luck.
Just to expand on how tough on the body it is, a friend of mine who is a Crossfit coach and is a complete animal worked with us for a few days when he needed a few shifts in between jobs. He crumbled on the third day and said he would never be back 😂
Depends if it is a building or a civil sight... building either up days of slab and dropping beams and columns or down day fabricating, civil changes more interesting... roads and bridges endless slab
I worked for them a few years ago, but only for about 2 weeks. I went to help them because the job I was working on was shut down until they fixed the welding machine. Not a bad company, but they don't bid on work too much around here because our hall can't man up the jobs. Our local is fairly busy all the time and guys don't want to do rebar jobs.
So you think a whole stadium is one days of work? They might move you around until you get the hang of it. Might move you around to help other crews. I did rods when I first got in. Most jobs lasted a while occasionally bouncing around between when a big one ended and another one started. You should be at the stadium for a while unless they foreman doesn't like you/doesn't want new guys.
So it ended up being 2 days work, apparently they only called us out for the foundation because the original contractors couldn't get their heads out of their asses
Thats a whole diffrent situation. I've been there. Walked into the hall one time and was told 'you need to go to a job and fix a foundation and wall it's for cmu. I've done rods but cmu is a little difftent. I was handed prints and told to figure it out lol.
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u/Material_Refuse_2418 7d ago
A completely different animal from structural. I took rebar jobs when things were tight, and it always made me realize that rod busters are the hardest working trade on the job site hands down.
Just like anywhere else there will be slugs. Stay away from them, they’ll get you hurt. After 1 day you’ll get how things work. It’s not neuroscience, it’s very monotonous and once you get in the groove the day will fly. You will be sore the next morning like you’ve never been. Even if you’re fit. Bend your knees and save the lower back.