Conference 7.286::home_work

    Alot of notes speak of "Don't forget to ask for a contractor's
    discount..."  When I've gone in to ask for it, they've replied
    that you need a contractor's license in order to get a contractor's
    discount.  They said in order to get one you have to take some sort
    of test.
    
    What is a contractor's license?  What is this test that they are
    talking about?  What does it cover?  How much $$$?  Do you need
    a certain amount of years experience before you can get it?
    
    For all you DIYers that get contractor's discounts, how do you do
    it without any *real* proof that you are a contractor; not just
    a DIYer.
    
    -al

I didn't have to show anything.  I went into East Coast Lumber in (Kingston?) 
NH, told them I was building an entire house, and asked what kind of a discount 
they could give me.  They have 4 discount levels, and they gave me the best 
one.  No proof of anything needed.  On lumber items the cost for each account 
level is figured separately, but for items in the store I get an automatic 10% 
off the listed price.  Other places weren't as clear cut.  Some would give a 
discount if I made one big order, but wouldn't give me a discounted account.  
You'll just have to try a few more places, I guess.

Paul

    If you don't ask, you usually don't get the discount.  If you ask,
    you sometimes do.  If you intend to spend reasonably big bucks there
    you almost always do if you ask.
    
    Sometimes the "clerk" can't give you the discount, but his boss
    will.
    
    For instance, don't bother to ask at Nashua wallpaper if you only
    want to spend $25 or so.  But if you have $200 worth of stuff sitting
    on the counter ready to be paid for, you'll get the discount if
    you ask.

    I went to Maki in Lunenburg, MA and told them I finishing
    off the interior of a house.  They asked how much I thought
    I would spend and I said $10,000 (much higher than I actually
    thought I would spend).  They opened up an account for me and
    everything I buy and charge is discounted.  If for some reason
    I want to pay cash, I don't get the discount.
    
    Don't expect to be able to walk in to anyplace and ask for a
    contractor's discount.  You have to make some kind of commitment
    to buy a lot from them.  It doesn't work the way they say in books.
    
    
    

    
    	I know a guy who just calls up and says something like, 
    
    "Hi, this is Joe, of Joe's construction Co., and we're doing a job down
    at 123 MyStreet, I need a coupla dozen sheets of 5/8 CDX, 78 studs, 50
    pounds of sheetrock screws...   ...etc"
    
    "No, I don't have an account with you, we're new to the area.  Tell
    me how much it is, what time you'll be dropping it off and I'll
    meet you at the customer's site with cash".   "Yeah, with discount,
    right ?"
    
    	Reg
    
    

After making over a dozen trips to the local Grossmans's one week
and spending close to $2000.00, I asked and got a 10% builder's
discount.   The discount does not apply to sale items, but has
saved a few $ over the past several months.
    
    

    So what about the license itself (vs. the discount factor)?
    
    -al

    Another thing to check is whether there is a discount for paying
    with cash.  Hammar Hardware in Nashua will give you a 10% discount
    on non-sale items if you pay with cash, but only if you ask for
    it.
    
    Not likely on a big purchase, but it sure makes it worthwhile to
    stop at the money machine on the way to the hardware store.
    
    	- Barry

    As far as I know, no such thing as a contractor's license, per se.
    I think he was putting you on.
    
    Steve
    

    When I was building my house I went in to ask the inspector
    something, and he told me that what I want to know was right
    in the code.  I told him I didn't have a copy of it.  He said
    something like 'Don't you have a license?'   For some reason
    he thought I was a contractor.  So from this, I assume there
    is such thing as a contractor's license.  But I don't know anything
    about it.  It can believe there is one, because it would be another
    good thing for the state to charge an application fee for.
    

  Here is what you do to get a "license". Go to your local Town
  Hall and fill out a "dba" application. It costs maybe $15-20.
  You Do Business As... Ajax Builders, or Builders R Us, etc. Then
  have some cheapo business cards printed and you are registered
  to do business in your town.

    What about all those ads and yellow page listings that say
    "Licensed General Contractor"?  Don't you need some sort of
    qualifications to get the license?  Like taking a test of some sort?
    Starting your own business, such as, ACME Architects,
    Plots R Us Land Surveyors, or Sewage Engineering might work, but
    sure won't get you far unless your licensed and registered.
    
    -al

    So note 310.* mentions that the building department said that the
    person should have a *licensed* carpenter/contractor take a look
    and get a bid.  So what is it?
    
    -al

>        There *is* indeed a contractors/erectors license.  I build my own
>    house through Maine Post and Beam.  When it came time to pull the
>    building permit, I was required to enter the license number in order
>    to get the permit. 

    That was specific for your town.  (What town was it?).  In general,
    you don't need a contractor's license to get a building permit.

 
    
       

    Boston requires a licensed builder to sign the permit application
    and "supervise construction" for every building permit.  You must
    have a building permit to do anything except painting or papering.
    And they wonder why people don't get building permits....
    
    
    p.s.  that's interior painting - you want to paint the exterior?
    get a permit!
    
    

    does anyone know what it takes to get a general contractors licine
    in the state of mass?  or at least the town of clinton?

    Yes, you take a written test given by the state.  You also need
    some kind of references citing that you have 2 years experience.
    
    The contents of the exam is pretty much straight out of the thick
    blue Mass building code manual - about 90% of it is based on chapter
    21 (one and two family residential construction).
    
    The actual name for the license is a "Construction Supervisor's
    License".
    
    You should also know that this license holds everything from none
    to a great deal of weight with various jurisdictions.  Part of the
    problem was when the license was introduced some years back the
    State essentially grandfathered all existing contractors and just
    gave them one  (I am told the applications were sitting in stacks
    on the counters of lumber yards - all you had to do is fill one
    out).   So a "licensed contractor" in Mass may or may not actually
    know anything about construction.  Great system, huh?

    There is indeed a contractor's license! It's called a Construction
    Supervisor's License. I believe it has different categories such
    as wooden structures, and concrete. The last I heard was that the
    license cost $300 and was valid for five years. You need two years
    of experience and need to take an involved test concerning the code
    for the category of license you are applying for. Most people that
    go for this type of license precede the test with a course that's
    taught periodically at local trade schools.
    
    From what I've heard, from the only person I know who has taken the
    exam, is that most of the people taking the exam, were doing so
    for the second or third time. The exam is not given very frequently,
    maybe once or twice a year.
    
    Since the job of a general contractor is to bring the correct tradesman
    onto a jobsite in the correct order, or to "supervise" the
    construction, there is a specific license for this.
    

>        Since the job of a general contractor is to bring the correct tradesman
>    onto a jobsite in the correct order, or to "supervise" the
>    construction, there is a specific license for this.

    But who requires it?  What good is a license that's not required
    for anything?