The State makes me paranoid
I’m taking an exam-prep course for getting a residential builder’s license. It’s not that I want to have another certification under my belt, and it’s not even that I want to build houses for other people. However, since I’m not sure whether or not I want to be general contractor on our house, I figure it’s better to be prepared than not. (Sure, I can do it without a license if I’m building my own house, but a home-owner-builder doesn’t get the good trade discounts.)
Besides, even if I don’t go on for the license, at least I have some idea of how to talk to contractors and a bit of what they deal with. Assuming, of course, they’re licensed. Which they’re supposed to be. I have already bookmarked the state’s license-check website, to be sure.
The funny thing is, you don’t have to have any building experience to be allowed to build houses for people. You just have to pass a test. That information, in itself, gives me pause, and is probably more information than most homeowners buying custom homes have.
I don’t mean to trivialize the knowledge that contractors have. Most have worked their way up from their trade, and trade knowledge is tested. However, most of the trade knowledge is code-based1 where it isn’t construction math. There’s nothing that someone who has obsessed over residential construction wouldn’t be able to glean. There’s also a business, law and project management section, which absolutely doesn’t require any trade knowledge.
I think that someone like me, who doesn’t have deep experience in the reality of a building site, may just have an advantage in this system, especially if they do well on standardized tests.
So state licensing, while intended to make homeowners feel better, makes me feel more paranoid. Thanks, State!
- Interesting instructor comment: “You don’t want a house that is only ‘built to code’ — you want one that is built well.”↩
