Michael Upshall Mentors Next Generation of Renovators

When you embark a project with us now, you won't just be getting work done by professional renovators; you'll also be partnering with an actual professor.

Probuilt Design + Build Founder Michael Upshall recently taught George Brown College's Associated Trades course, a program designed as an introduction to the subtrades.

Upshall has sat on the George Brown's PAC Committee for many years, so when the school was having challenges locating qualified professors for the renovation and building courses, it reached out to its committee members for help.

Given the importance he places on education -- especially within the trade sector -- Upshall eagerly submitted his resume for the position. And based on how qualified he is to teach the course components, it was a perfect match.

"Teaching a course like this has always been in the back of mind because I so enjoy teaching our apprentices," Upshall says. "So I thought it would be a great opportunity to give this a try."

As part of his duties on the PAC Committee, he advises on the programs the school offers and this played a role in his decision as well.

"I was really interested in seeing, first hand, how the program works."

The seven-week course (18 hours in the shop and six hours in the classroom weekly) consisted of completing a project that called for plumbing, electrical, drywalling, door hanging, tiling and flooring, giving students a broad range of trades to explore.

Basically, the students framed individual cubicles, hung an interior door and then cased it. The door was then removed as the students roughed-in an electrical circuit and a plumbing mock-up within the cubicle. Next up, they drywalled, mudded and primed the unit, created a tiled countertop on site, and installed the electrical and plumbing fixtures and finishes.

Finally, the students tore down this structure and engaged in a small flooring project consisting of installing some blind nailed hardwood, floating laminate and vinyl tile.

They got a taste of several different trades in this course, giving them a good sense of where they'd like to specialize in time. But the students weren't the only ones to get something great out of this course.

"I found it quite rewarding to teach this course as it's very important to me to leave a legacy for those up and coming professional renovators given that I believe we currently lack this quality in the industry," Upshall says.

He plans to revisit this gig when the course is next offered in the fall.

So on your next renovation project, if Professor Upshall shows up to site with patches on his elbows and a pipe in his mouth, now you'll understand why.