Being married to a trades guy

7 Ways to Know You Married a Trades Guy

James and I are celebrating our 7 year anniversary in July! In honour of this milestone, I’m getting a bit personal and sharing some fun facts about our marriage with you. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be married to a trades guy? Well, you can find out 7 ways to know you married a trades guy below!

7 Ways to Know You Married a Trades Guy

Your house doesn’t have any lights. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating slightly but not much. None of the bedrooms in our house came with central lighting sources, so James promised he’d install pot lights…four years ago. We’ve been living with lamps ever since. Please note that he happily installs lights for other people at work every day.

As a side note, who would ever think it was a good idea to design bedrooms without central lighting? You might sleep there, but you still need to, you know, be able to see in order to get to bed safely.

You pay for services rendered in beer. I don’t mean that I pay James; I believe in slave labour when it comes to my husband. However, trades guys will often swap their services for beer, which is a fantastic deal. For bigger projects, we have paid very heavily discounted rates. We are currently experiencing a heat wave in Toronto and our air conditioning broke (because of course it did) and James’ friend came over and fixed it for us right away #perks

Funny marriage articles

A whole day can pass before your texts are answered. When I’m at work, I spend most of the day sitting (which I actually hate and I would love to get a sit stand station or pedals for under my desk). When James is at work, he spends the entire day moving around, working with his hands, and dealing with customers. He usually has his phone with him (in a trades-guy-proof phone case), but it’s not always accessible or possible for him to take the time to chat with me (terrible, right?).

Given the nature of his job, I don’t usually worry about texts that go unanswered for hours on end. However, there have been times that, also given the nature of his job, I wonder if he’s okay. This fear results in me leaving voice messages like this: “hi, babe. You haven’t answered me all day, so I’m calling to check if you’re still alive. If you’re not dead, call me back and bring home milk. I love you!”

Our sense of humor is really awful.

There is a wide array of work boots and safety shoes on our front step. James’ work footwear is awful. Dirty, stinky, and all around gross. As such, I make him keep all of his work boots outside. Another trades wife I know makes her husband remove his clothes before coming into the house, which I think is a touch extreme (and alarming for the neighbours).

Self-care tips

Friends will annoy you by asking for free work. It is extremely irritating when friends ask me if they can “borrow” James (the answer is no, and by the way, he’s not a pair of shoes). If you did something at work all day, would you want to come home and do it for free at other people’s houses? My guess is probably not. Unless the trades guy offers or you have something useful to barter with (and no, your company doesn’t count), please save your friendships and stop.

Your house is in a constant state of disarray. James is an electrician by trade, but he has a strong working knowledge of all things construction. He doesn’t like plumbing and will often tell me, “I’m not a plumber, eh?” but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it (which I love to remind him of). He is always renovating something, but it’s not always my first choice of project (remember the pot lights? We got a new garage door instead). Buster and I have gotten used to living with the sound of power tools in the background, certain areas of the house being off-limits (like our currently ripped apart basement) and watching where we walk very carefully.

Do it yourself projects

Sometimes, “don’t touch me!” is shouted at you frantically. No, James isn’t grouchy (usually). He just works live sometimes (even though that’s a very bad idea – don’t do it) and if he happens to get electrocuted, he doesn’t want to take me down with him. Isn’t that sweet and romantic? It is in our world.

Here’s a sample conversation:

Me: Hi, babe. *touches James’ back as I walk by him in the hallway*
James: Don’t touch me!
Me: You’re working live aren’t you?
James: No, of course not.
Me: Then why can’t I touch you?
James: Because…
Me: Would you let me work live?
James: No, of course not.
Me: Then why do you do it?
James: I’m not!

Please note that electricians think they are invincible. They also lie.

Tell me some fun facts about your relationship below! How do you usually celebrate your anniversary?

To see bonus pictures of our boxer, Buster, and get a sneak peek into my life with James, head over to Instagram. Don’t forget to follow our hashtag #authoropwrites, turn our post notifications on, and show us some love with a like or follow! You can also join my street team through a private Facebook group with direct access to me (and exclusive content)! This is where my readers become my friends.



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32 thoughts on “7 Ways to Know You Married a Trades Guy”

  25. I’m so grateful that my dad and my father-in-law are retired engineers! They are so handy, and are willing to help us out with anything (when they’re not traveling, like they both are at the moment). They’ve saved us a ton of money since we bought our house two years ago. My husband and I are both fairly handy, but our dad have far more years of experience! Al and I both change our own oil in our cars, have installed toilets, painted, put together furniture without killing each other, and pulled up old carpet, to name a few things. We’re gaining experience in landscaping year by year. We have been together since 2010, and will celebrate three years of marriage in November! We are looking forward to traveling to New York City (Al’s first time ever!) in November to celebrate my 30th birthday and our anniversary.

    1. That’s so amazing that you do the renovations together (and are both alive to share the tale), and that you have two helpful and handy dads! I’m only allowed to pass James tools and do the first coat of paint, lol. He’s a perfectionist and apparently I don’t measure up to his standards… Go figure! More time for me to write, lol.

      All of my books are set in New York City – I’m in love. I’m a country girl, but in terms of visiting cities, New York and Chicago top my list. Snowy New York is the stuff fairytales are made of and I hope you guys have a blast celebrating in November!!

      1. Absolutely. Being an only child, I was part daughter and part son growing up. I learned how to change the oil in our Volvo station wagon before I was in middle school. I’ve mowed my parents’ lawn a hundred times, and learned to use a chainsaw when I was 15 after a hurricane took down several trees. I’m not afraid to get in there and do the work!

        I was born in Manhattan, at 25 weeks. My parents kept up a strong relationship with the hospital, since everyone said, “Our greatest joy is seeing these babies do well.” My parents took me back to visit the hospital every year until I was 16. The last time I visited the hospital was in 2007, and I was last in the city in the winter of 2010. I’m long overdue for a visit!

    1. Thank you so much for reading! My dad wasn’t officially a trades guy, but he was very handy (for the projects he chose to finish, lol).

  27. What a fun post. I can relate to so much of this. My guy’s a tradie too, not a sparky but a fitter and turner by trade. He’s always fixing things I’m breaking. 🙂

    1. So true! Every time I break something, James says, don’t worry, I’ve got it. He’s saved me thousands of dollars over the years! Now if only I could get him to install some lights, lol.

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