On the Job With @volts.tats.and.hardhats: Electrical Tools That Make a Difference
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Every electrician’s got their go-to tools — the ones that save their back, their sanity, and sometimes their day. We caught up with Laura [@volts.tats.and.hardhats on IG], a commercial electrician out of Toronto, to chat about a few of her favorite Rack-A-Tiers gadgets, life on site, and what it’s really like being the only woman on the crew. She shared some insights and reminded us why good tools (and good coworkers) make all the difference.
Starting in the Electrical Industry
Rack-A-Tiers: Let’s get started with a quick introduction. Tell us about yourself and your experience in the industry.
Laura: My name is Laura. I am a commercial electrician working in Toronto. I got into it pretty randomly. I was running another type of business, and it was shut down. One of my good friends is an electrical foreman, and he had the idea. I acquired certification within two weeks, and then I started working.
Rack-A-Tiers: And how’s that experience been so far? Has it been what you expected?
Laura: Yeah. There’s a lot more to electrical that I didn’t really know about, obviously. I thought it was mostly, you know, you wire lights, and you get power, but there are a lot more things like all the different niches and different varieties of electrical work that you can get into. It’s a big field. I never really knew that. It’s been fun to expand on different things, and I’m hoping to get more familiar with different areas of the field.
Women Thriving in the Electrical Industry
Rack-A-Tiers: A lot of people probably ask you about this but, what has it been like being a women in a field that’s predominantly male?
Laura: Honestly, it’s been pretty good. All the guys I work with in my company were very welcoming and patient. I knew nothing about electrical when I came in. I had never really used power tools. So, it took a little bit of time, but all the guys I work with have been very great. I’ve never really had a problem with anybody on site.
I have been the only girl for pretty much the whole time. I get looks sometimes or I get guys who rush over and try to help out or get it done quicker. So, they’ll kind of take over, which is frustrating sometimes because I also want to pull my own weight and do my share. But overall, it’s been great.
Rack-A-Tiers: What advice do you have for women that are looking to get into the trades who might be a bit intimidated by the idea or worried about what the experience will be like? What kind of attitude should they come in with to succeed?
Laura: I have been approached by quite a few women who want to get into the trade. It takes a special type of woman. You need to have thick skin. Not that you’re going to be attacked or have people yell bad things or anything like that. But you do need thick skin. It’s 15 guys and you on the site. So sometimes they forget you’re there, and they say stuf,f and then they’re like, “oh, sorry!” So, you need thick skin, but I’ve never had huge problems on site. I’ve never been uncomfortable.
Building That Job-Site Toughness
Rack-A-Tiers: Do you think that thick skin is something that you can build on the job? Or do you think that there’s a level that you need to already have before you get started?
Laura: I think you can harden a little bit while you are on site, but coming into the site, you need to be a little bit tough already. If you’re a girly girl, you might not love breaking your nails on site, not wearing makeup, and getting dust in your hair. You might not love that stuff. So, yeah, you need a certain level coming in, but I think you can build up that thick skin in time while you’re on site.
Rack-A-Tiers: On that topic, being an electrician online, you deal with a lot of people giving unsolicited advice and sometimes even just hate. Do you find that it’s the same kind of deal where thick skin is required? How do you deal with that?
Laura: Online is a whole different ball game for the criticism and the unsolicited advice, and the downright negative comments. It used to bother me a lot. I used to read every comment. I don’t do that anymore. I’ve learned that there’s always going to be those people online, and I mean, sometimes it also gives your page attention.
I have a lot of followers who have been longtime followers who are always commenting encouraging things. But there’s always going to be those negative people who try to bring me down. You’ve just got to get past it, and you’ve got to not care what anyone thinks.
Rolling Easy With the E-Z Roll
Rack-A-Tiers: We’re going to shift gears a little bit and start talking about some tools! Have there been any tools recently that made your life easier or made a job run a bit smoother?
Laura: Oh yeah, the E-Z Roll, the wheelie rack. It comes in two different sizes, and I’ve used both. It’s very easy for wire transportation, even up the stairs. It’s quick to assemble, and it saves my back from having to pick up the reel if we’re going from pipe to pipe or if we have a few different runs. I love being able to just pick up the handle and drag it behind me instead of picking up the entire reel.
Cutting the Dust with the Dust Bowl
Rack-A-Tiers: It sounds like it’s important to keep in mind that you only have one body so if there’s tools out there that are going to be a bit easier on the back or a bit easier on the hands, then we should use them so we can have a long career. Are there any other tools that keep you healthy?
Laura: Well, I use the Dust Bowl. I wear a mask or a respirator when I need to, but sometimes it’s overkill if it’s just a quick shot on the ceiling. You don’t always want to put your respirator on, right? I wear my glasses, but dust flies everywhere, and sometimes you run out of masks. With the Bowl, you don’t need one. The Dust Bowl saves a lot of headaches.
Pulling Made Simple: The All American Pull Buddy & Wire Vortex
Rack-A-Tiers: Have you come across any tools for pulling wire that have been a lifesaver when working by yourself?
Laura: I love pulling wire. When I’m working by myself, I find the All American Pull Budy and the Wire Vortex Plus are both my best friends. I use a 10-foot ladder a lot because I’m not that tall. The Pull Budy transitions the wire from one pipe to the other in the box, so I don’t have to drag my ladder around.
And Wire Vortex also. It’s great when you don’t have a bushing. The wires don’t get cut up, and it’s just a smoother transition into the conduit. The All American Pull Buddy and the Wire Vortex Plus have both been great.
See Our In-Counduit Wire Pulling Tools
Smooth Strips with the Croc’s Wire Strippers
Rack-A-Tiers: Every electrician needs a trust pair of wire strippers. You’ve been using the Croc’s Needle Nose Wire Strippers, right? How have those been treating you?
Laura: Yeah, the Croc’s are great. They’re strip very smoothly, but not just that. They also have the 6-32 and 8-32 holes in them so that I can cut down my screws without leaving a rough edge.
Quick Fixes with Mark My Wire
Rack-A-Tiers: One of the more innovative tools that people seem to be discovering lately is the Marky My Wire markers for re-coloring wires. Can you tell us a bit about them?
Laura: I love those Mark My Wire markers. They come in all the different phasing colors, red, black, blue. I think they even have white. Suppliers don’t always have the phasing tape, or even if they do, we don’t have it on site, so it’s come in handy several times. My co-workers and I have all passed them around.
Even if you’re out of colorless wire for a quick pull, you just pull out your marker, bang, bang, boom, it’s done in five seconds, and you have a new phasing colour. Usually, you want to use the right color insulation, but copper is copper, so the markers help a lot.
Other Tools Getting the Job Done
Rack-A-Tiers: Are there any cool tools from other brands that you’ve tried recently that you want to shout out?
Laura: Yeah, Klein Tools has a bunch of new MODbox sets called KNECT. There are all these different sets. You can find impact-rated bits, you can find the nut drivers, and I really like them because they click right onto my MODbox. There’s probably like 30 different variations of these MODbox KNECT things that you can buy. They keep releasing new ones, and I’ve been trying them out.
Job-Site Laughs
Rack-A-Tiers: Sometimes things don’t exactly go your way on the jobsite. Has anything happened recently that you think the people reading along will get a kick out of?
Laura: Yesterday on site, I was in the ceiling, and I shoved my fish stick through the ceiling, and it knocked down one of the T-bars. This is about five minutes after the HVAC guy (who was doing drywall for some reason) had mentioned to me that the ceiling was kind of weak. So, I’m shoving my fish stick through, and he makes eye contact with me right as I hit something and like six feet of the ceiling fell down between us. I knew that I had done it, but I didn’t really tell anyone that, so that’s kind of funny. And I was like, “I don’t know what happened.”
Rack-A-Tiers: Must’ve been a ghost!
What Makes the Work Worth It
Rack-A-Tiers: And so the last thing I want to ask you is a bit more airy-fairy, but I am curious how you might answer this. For you, what is the key to your happiness working as an electrician?
The last question is a bit different, but something very important for anyone looking to work in the electrical industry: What’s your secret to staying satisfied and happy while working as an electrician?
Laura: Ooh, the key to my happiness. One of them is cold showers for sure. One of my pet peeves about my job is all the itchy insulation and the ceiling tiles. About three years ago, I remember commenting on the site that I hated ceiling tiles, and this guy I worked with was like, “Laura, ceiling tiles are like 75% of our job,” and I was like, “Trevor, I know.” So every day I have a nice cold shower because I get itchy, my scalp gets itchy. On the days that I am not happy on site, it’s usually because I have a rash and I’m itchy, and I’m covered in dust. I’m definitely happier when I get home and have a cold shower.
I also work with a lot of really cool guys. I am the only woman I have been for a while, but a lot of the guys are really great. I can talk to them, and I’m not spending my days with people that I can’t stand to be around. I’m learning from and working with people who have turned from coworkers to friends.
Rack-A-Tiers: So biggest pain is, dusty job site, the biggest happiness is, cold shower and friends at work. Sounds pretty spot on to me, thanks, Laura!
Wrapping Up
Big thanks to Laura for taking the time to chat with us and share her story from the field. If you’re not already following her, go check out her Instagram [@volts.tats.and.hardhats] for more behind-the-scenes looks at life on site. At the end of the day, Laura’s story is a great reminder that the right mindset (and the right tools) can make all the difference on the job.
