The Top Three Trades: A Builder’s Take on Skill, Pride, and Banter on Site
Ask any tradie what the best trade is, and you are guaranteed a lively debate. It is part pride, part humour, and part friendly rivalry that has existed as long as job sites have. Every trade brings something vital to a build, but everyone still swears theirs is the one that keeps everything together. When the question came up in this conversation, the answer came out fast: carpenters first, plumbers second, and sparkies somewhere a little further down the list.
What followed was more than just light-hearted banter. It was an honest look at how different trades see themselves and how each role fits into the rhythm of a build.
Carpenters: First on the Job, Last to Leave
Carpenters always seem to take the number one spot, and with good reason. They are the backbone of most projects, the ones who start the build and the ones who finish it. From setting out the frames to trimming the last bit of finishing work, carpenters are there through it all.
Being first on site means setting the tone. The carpenters shape the bones of a job, laying out the framework that everyone else builds on. It is a job that demands both strength and precision, a mix of physical labour and careful calculation. And when the last screw goes in, it is often the carpenters who are still there, making sure everything lines up and looks right before the client walks through.
For many tradies, carpentry is not just a trade. It is a calling. The satisfaction of seeing a house take form, beam by beam, never gets old. Every project is a signature, every cut a small mark of pride.
Plumbers: Solvers of Hidden Problems
If carpenters are the backbone, plumbers are the lifeblood. They make everything work behind the walls and under the floors. Their systems bring buildings to life, making sure water flows where it should and waste disappears where it needs to.
It is not a trade for the faint hearted. As one builder joked, the “human feel element” can be a bit off-putting. But beneath the humour is real respect. Plumbers deal with pressure, both literal and figurative. They work in tight spaces, solve complex problems, and fix issues most people would rather not think about.
There is something deeply satisfying about plumbing done right. When the system works smoothly and no one ever has to think about it again, that is success. Like carpentry, it is problem solving in its purest form.
Electricians: Knitting with Cables
Then there are the sparkies. Their work often gets described with equal parts awe and amusement. The term that came up in the conversation was “knitting with cables,” which might just be the best analogy ever used for the trade. Watching an electrician thread wires through framing and junction boxes really can look like someone weaving an invisible pattern through the skeleton of a house.
They may not be working with timber or pipes, but their precision is unmatched. Every connection has to be exact, every system checked and tested before the lights come on. It is technical, detailed, and essential. Without them, the house stays dark and silent.
Still, the teasing never ends. Carpenters joke that sparkies are a bit odd, the quiet ones who keep to themselves and deal in circuits and cables. But that is part of the culture. The banter is how tradies show respect. It is a way of saying, we see what you do, even if we will never admit it directly.
The Banter That Builds Connection
The friendly rivalry between trades has been around forever, and it is part of what makes job sites such unique places. The jokes, the back and forth, the light teasing about who does what — it all builds camaraderie. Every trade relies on the others to get the job done, and the laughter is how that interdependence is acknowledged.
A carpenter might joke about sparkies “sewing” through frames, while the plumber might remind everyone that nothing works until they connect it. Underneath it all is mutual respect. No one can build alone. Every part of the project needs the others to make the whole work.
Why Each Trade Deserves Its Place
While carpenters might always claim the top spot, there is no real hierarchy on a successful build. Every trade has its own kind of mastery. The carpenter shapes the structure. The plumber makes it function. The electrician brings it to life. Together they turn drawings into homes.
What makes this ranking fun is that it captures the personality of the trades. Carpenters are often seen as the steady ones, practical and hands-on. Plumbers are the troubleshooters, unafraid of the messy parts. Sparkies are the thinkers, focused and methodical, wiring up systems most of us would be nervous to touch.
The trades complement each other perfectly. The carpenter builds the frame, the plumber threads through it, and the sparkie knits his cables through the spaces left behind. Each one depends on the other’s precision.
Pride and Play in the Trade
What stands out most in this conversation is not the ranking itself but the pride behind it. Tradies love what they do, and they love to laugh about it. The teasing is part of the shared language of the industry. It is what turns a group of individuals into a team.
Every site has that mix of humour, hard work, and unspoken respect. It is what keeps long days enjoyable and what reminds everyone that, despite the differences between trades, they are all part of the same story.
Conclusion
If you asked ten builders for their top three trades, you would probably get ten different answers. But the heart of the conversation would stay the same. Each trade brings its own skill, its own pride, and its own personality to the job.
Carpenters might call themselves number one, plumbers might laugh it off, and sparkies might quietly keep wiring everything while the debate goes on. In the end, that is what makes the building industry what it is — a mix of craft, camaraderie, and competition that keeps everyone pushing to do better.
The banter is more than talk. It is the sound of respect disguised as rivalry, the heartbeat of every job site where trades come together to turn ideas into something real.