Tuesday, February 19, 2013

oh joy!


It’s that time of year again…..

No, not spring.. no, not state tournament time (a Minnesota late winter tradition)...
and no, not time to go to home shows... although it’s actually time for all of those. That’s not what I am talking about. What I am talking about is it's time to take my annual continuing education class required by the state to renew my contractors license.

My usual response is…"Oh Joy!" Another day given up for politicians and bureaucrats to tell me what’s best for me to run my business. Don’t misunderstand. I know it is prudent to operate a business as ours with rules and regulations. We do deal with the safety and health of our customers everyday…I do understand.


What has bothered me over the years– and it has been 22 now since the state required us to be licensed– is this... if you are going to require us to pay and attend class every year, the least you can do is provide a quality experience that has some real, relevant and practical things to learn to improve our business experience.

Well I am happy to report after I attended The Kaplan Schools http://www.kpsminnesota.com/Industry_Index.asp?Folder=Contractor&ObjectiveID=15&ObjectiveCode=CE for continuing education last Friday, we finally had an enjoyable and informative day. At least our instructor made it that way. He had a gift to keep your attention and present new and important things in a way that past instructors have not. It was a nice change.

All of that to say this. It is extremely important that you as a homeowner have as much education yourself on what is required of your contractor by the state.

First, all of us who act as general contractors and remodelers need to be licensed. There are a few exceptions that some people can fall into but as a general rule, we need to be licensed by state statute to legally work on your home.

Second, with the license, you are also covered by our insurance, both in liability and workers comp for those of us who have employees.

Third, by using a licensed contractor, we also pay into a recovery fund that helps you possibly recover funds if your contractor skips on the job and leaves you high and dry and nothing to show for the money you have paid him.

By using a licensed contractor, you are not guaranteed of everything going perfect, but what it does tell you is he or she is at least following the rules, trying to compete on an even playing field, and doing their best to stay on top of the ever changing rules, regulations, codes and techniques that go with this business.

We at Applewood have always carried the state license since it became a requirement 22 years ago and will continue to do so in the future.

Remember to keep checking in to our Facebook page to follow the progress on our current job. We are entering the finishing stages soon, that is when our homeowners really see their dream come to life.

Stay warm, another cold snap is coming and maybe some more snow…”Oh Joy”.

~The Carpenter


No comments:

Post a Comment

thanks for commenting! There will be a delay before your comment posts.