Hi my wife and i are thinking of moving to calgary but i have some reservation about the winters. I'm a carpenter and mostly work on renervation and new builds,but i'm worried that the winters will mean that work stops for long periods of time. Any help would be gratful as ive asked the same question many times and received no straight answer. Thanks you

A friend of mine is a carpenter here in BC's interior. He's employed by a construction company that builds spec home, custom builds and some commercial work too. Work is generally scheduled so that interior finishing can be done through the worst of the winter, and the outdoor framing etc is done in better weather. He's not lost a day's work to weather yet.

I had my own home built in '07 and broke ground in January, with framing commencing in Feb. The contractors just dressed appropriately.

RICH,
you live in Kamloops? What's that like?
I live in Lake Louise, Alberta and I'm not in construction but I can't imagine construction workers working outside when it hits -30 but I don't think Calgary is that cold for too long but it is pretty cold there. Why not just email a Calgary construction company for straight answers?

If you mean in terms of winter weather, minus 5-10 degrees is a reasonable average daytime high, with occasional shortish spells (a week or 10 days) when it can dip to minus 20 or more. It's a very dry climate, so no fog or damp weather. Snowfall is rarely more than several inches at a time, with several feet accumulating throughout the winter.

We have been in Calgary for 10 Days and have been surprised about how warm it feels despite the temperatures. This morning was minus 3 (according to the local news)but because it is sunny and dry you dont feel like you do in the UK.

We live in a fairly new development that's still being completed, and I'm pretty sure the construction guys were working here in those kind of temperatures last winter.

Thank you very much for the info its been a great help, our only problem now is that weve heard that the work is drying up.

Yup, it's the fact that winters in Canada are much drier. There is less dampness to the air so it feels warmer as long as you bundle up. Not like the UK where it is damp and just gets right through you no matter how you dress. Means you can stand temperatures maybe 30 degrees lower than you could in the UK.

No it's not really. My hubby and 2 friends are working on the new hospital build. There is at least 10 years work on that site alone and Ellis Don have pre aproved LMO'S.

Thet are boarding the site now to heat it over winter.

I have my doubts about the accuracy of the temperatures reported on the local weather forecasts. I think the actual temperatures are always a few degrees higher than stated - that's why it feels warmer than it ought to!

With all due respect there aint one construction company in the whole world that can safely say that they have ten years work ahead of them.
A few years ago I moved heaven and hell to get on a "big" job, "over ten years work" they said. Guess what. It got built in three.

I hope it works for your husband but I will never again have all my eggs in one basket.

when it gets down to -30oC it's cold, damp or not

we got a discount on our christmas/ ski accommodation because of the construction work outside the window from 7am every morning...

or get on that ski instructor course?!