Beyond carpentry skills, Nathan credits the apprenticeship with helping him launch his own business. “One of the best things about apprenticing on the Newton project was all the advice I got from Charlie Silva, not only about how to be a good builder but also how to run a business,” he says. “It’s really helped me as my own business has begun to take off.” Nathan now runs his own carpentry business focusing on renovations along the south shore of Massachusetts.
As a member of the first group of This Old House Generation NEXT apprentices (at the Newton project during summer 2017), Nathan Gilbert jumped at the chance to work with Tom Silva and Norm Abram.
Nathan already had skills in the building trades, having worked with his father and as a Navy Seabee, but he was eager to learn more. “What we liked about Nathan right away was his eagerness to learn from us, even if it was something that he clearly already had done,” says Tom.
After Nathan’s work on last season’s Newton house, he returned to his own carpentry projects in the greater Boston area, and Tom Silva has made a point of staying in touch. Tom recently visited a house where Nathan was working on some front porch repairs. “I helped him on a project in Winchester where he was repairing a couple of rotted balusters, and I went over with him how he was going to do it. It’s just great to see good people coming into the profession,” says Tom.
Nathan and Tom will be tackling house problems together even more in coming months: Nathan has joined the cast of Ask This Old House, and will make his first house call in episode seven, which begins airing November 15. Tune in to watch an apprentice on the rise!
Nathan’s path to the trades began early, working alongside his father and brothers. “Instead of giving me menial tasks at the job site, my father took the time to teach me the skills I needed to become a successful carpenter,” Nathan says. “He challenged me so I could learn more.” That foundation, combined with five years as a third-generation Navy Seabee in the U.S. Navy’s construction battalion, gave him proven skills that set him apart from the start.
