Corey Page Sr The Plumber
While bussing tables at a local restaurant in the San Francisco Bay area, one night his best friend asked him, “Hey, you want to be a plumber?” Cory Page Sr. (@Hydronic_tech510) went in for an interview that same week and was hired on the spot. At that time, Cory continued bussing tables part time before putting his two-week notice at the Black Angus restaurant and strictly did plumbing for a living.
Table of Contents
West Coast Plumbing and Hydronics
At the age of 20, Cory began plumbing with Skaates Inc., Burlingame, Calif., in 1997 and spent his first five years doing a combination of plumbing and hydronics in new construction and remodels, but mostly plumbing back then. He started installing hydronic heating systems exclusively around 2002, specializing in radiant heated floors with some radiator projects.
In California, employees able to work under our employers Journeyman card. “So, some might say I’m just a helper after 28 years in the trade with no real credentials—because our PHCC apprentice schooling was shut down during my second year of my apprenticeship. Being a young struggling provider for my family of four in my early 20s, traveling 240 miles round trip once a week, plus one Saturday a month, wasn’t in my budget, but it was the only option provided to us to complete our schooling.
Page says that he has a love and passion for what he does for a living. “I spent many evenings in my apprentice years ‘RTFM’ as it’s referred to nowadays on social media,” says Page, who says that Skaates has had the opportunity to work on the finest of high-end custom homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Skaates is known for its radiant heat systems and mechanical room installations because they’ve spent the last 39 years building its reputation of being the best in our field, and they strive each day to maintain that standard they set for the industry.
And while Page was blessed to work with some very talented Journeyman Plumbers in his younger days, Chuck Canepa was the man responsible for turning out many great Journeyman Plumbers over his career. “He instilled many great traits in all of us and set the standard for all to strive to become,” says Page.
Mentoring & the Work
Does Page consider himself a role model? “I hope that I’m viewed as a positive role model for those not only wanting to join the trades, but also those just getting started in the trades. We’re only both the mechanical contractor and plumbing contractor on roughly 10% of our hydronic projects I run so I try and help and guide the many different plumbing employees from the different companies we work with on projects to be successful with each installation setting up the next guy to succeed. Sharing different insights and techniques provide our clients with the best finished product,” says Page.
Furthermore, “I’ve been blessed with a gift of being able to visually see the finished product before the first pipe has been cut and the mechanical room is just rough framing which sets us up for the perfect orientation of equipment when it’s time for the glory work of piping the mechanical room,” says Page.
Nonetheless, the challenge for Page is keeping up with the work load that they have. He says that they’ve never advertised for work and have never had a shortage of work. So, the reward for Page is the great deal of respect that he has earned from the clientele, contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, co-workers, and so on. And while they say too much work is a good thing, Page tends to disagree, as finding leisure time is almost non-existent nowadays. He says that too many evenings and weekends are spent working on getting reports in for billing, getting material lists generated for bids, and responding to work emails, texts, and phone calls. “Spare time?! I almost have forgotten what that is. I have made it a point this summer to do more living and less working, but I find myself working even harder to find the time to take off to go camping with my friends and family. In fact, I have two more camping trips coming up, and finding a day or two to sneak away with the wife kid-free,” says Page.
When it comes to living and working in California, Page says that you can’t beat the climate. The salt air is only an issue with our projects near the ocean, says Page, as opposed to the interior bay area, and the climate is fairly mild inside the San Francisco Bay Area with a few hours a year below freezing. And while California is known for its packed freeways, Page says that the traffic doesn’t bother him too much. “In the morning, it’s not too bad because I leave home before the rush and the evening traffic gives me time to unwind from the demanding days. Those living out in the Valley feel different about the traffic, I’m sure,” says Page.
And, Page does admit he’s not a fan of the push for electrification and banning of fossil fuels that’s being pushed by the State and local Government. “We do not have the infrastructure in place to support such a vision and it’s more difficult to accommodate a lot of the added components needed with real estate limited in mechanical rooms and on the exterior of buildings,” says Page.
Social Media
As far as social media, Page has been active in Facebook groups associated with the trade for the better part of a decade. He enjoys interacting with group members—boiler guys and hydronic techs—even though he’s not as active as he once was. “When COVID shut down our industry here in April 2020 for six weeks, I was going crazy sitting home with nothing to do. That is when I started my Instagram hydro_tech510 and spent my days searching the different Facebook groups. I appreciate all the positive feedback I’ve received from those who follow my journey. I also appreciate all the different manufactures who’ve provided me the opportunity to partake in discussions and serve on their committees. I also appreciate all of the latest products that have been provided to me to check out and install in our systems from many different manufacturers,” says Page.
A bucket list item for Page? “I used to want to visit the Viessmann headquarters in Germany, as Viessmann boilers has been our go to boiler for over 27 years,” says Page.
Oh, and the last time Page said “today is a great day?” “Every time another project is 100% and final it is a great day! But seriously, after losing my best friend of 40 years who got me started in plumbing back in April, I try and live every day with gratitude and look at each day as a blessing. I get get to wake up to my family—I’m blessed to be where I am in life, and that I get to do what I love for a living. My son has been working with me for the second summer in a row, which makes for great days!” says Page.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter, https://mechanical-hub.com/enewsletter/
