Florida licence help

[Greg Lentz]

I am new here to southwest (Naples) Fl. Stopped by my county (collier) office to inquire about lic. info. I was told that with 25 years interior remodelling experience, licenced in 2 states, I dont qualify for that type of licence here in fl. Seems I must have knowledge and experience in ground up building. Site work, foundations, blocks, roofing, you name it.
So it was suggested I apply for a cabinet installers licence. This seems too limiting to me. I typically design sell and manage remodels. Not just install the cabs. Anyone have any suggestions for me? Is this just collier co. or is all of fl. this way? Without the G.C. licence I could get seperate ones for tile, drywall, carpentry, etc. This seems crazy and still wont let me sell and sub plumb, elec, appliance etc. In other words I cant control my projects as I have been doing for 10 years now. I did call the state before moving here and was fed a load of crap by a phone jockey.

Any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe I should have stopped in the Carolina's.

With the hurricanes I can understand Florida's need to be tough. But it seems they could have something for a company that wants to remodel without building.

[Unforgiven]

Hi Greg,
I'm in Marion and Alachua Cty's, FL. The Dept of Prof Regulation is pretty limiting here. To build cabinets you need a builders license, or sub under one. In fact to do anything you need a builder's lic. To GC a home and do the plumbing and electrical you need all three licenses. Luckily the test is open book. Forget about the state's position on license reciprocity with other states, it's a farce. Once you pass the exam you have biannual continuing education classes to attend to keep an active or inactive license. To maintain an active license you have to keep insurance. We used to have general maintenance and handyman licensing, but they're pretty much a thing of the past. There are lots of good weekend contractors classes. There is no in between licensing, and toeing the line can get you jailed for unlicensed contracting, a felony under some circumstances.
-Pete
C. S.
AMJ Inc, of Gainesville

[Toolwhore]

That really sucks! I moved to Arizona a year ago, after 8 mos. of negotiations, and after moving everything I owned there, it all turned out to be BS. I feel your pain, Greg. Hope you can get everything worked out.

[Greg Lentz]

Yeah I was told told (before moving my whole friggin life) that my Md. licence would reciprocate. Ah the govt workers, dont get me started. Bottom line in Collier County as I understand it, is without documentable years of experience in ground up building, even classes wont get me licensed. I dont have the desire or time to go dig holes for a builder.
Maybe I have to get 6 or so different interior trade licences and go that way.
At least there is protection for consumers and once licenced you dont have to compete with every Joe in a pick up.
Thanks.

[Unforgiven]

Straight from the horse's mouth:

http://wise.fau.edu/fisc/pdf/Eligibility.pdf

and a testing prep service:

http://www.contractorsexamprep.com/Licensing_steps.htm

[Unforgiven]

"interior trade licenses" will only qualify you to work for a builder if I'm correct.
-Pete

[Greg Lentz]

Hey Pete,
Thanks for the forewarded link. As they are reading that in Collier Co. my experience to qualify must be in building. Interior remodelling doesn't seem to qualify me to even sit for the test. I will do some research but down here I must also be licenced by the county. So I think their rules trump the state.
Thanks again, hope I'm wrong. If all I can do is sub for buiders and "contractors"... I'm moving again.

[Greg Lentz]

Hey Tom,
Sorry to hear your going thru it in Arizona. Whats the story, why did you leave Cal. and whats the trouble in Arizona?

I read your posts all the time but all I know is that your a whore with lots of tools.
Greg.

[Unforgiven]

Marion Cty here has more stringent rules than the state also. Alachua Cty allows the sub-trades to regulate themselves. Pool builders need a license, but tile setters don't. The myriad of ever changing state and local statutes is enough to make your head spin. There are three differing designations that deal with the different types of structures you are qualifying to work on. In my experience all you need is a notarized letter from a licensed contractor (a) verifying your experience, and (b) sponsoring you for the exam. I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain that your experience can be out of state.
-Pete

[Robert Z]

Greg,

A friend's father has a high dollar condo down in Miami, and he has had a very difficult time finding a legal, licensed, and compentent contractor to do the work in his building. He says the licensing requirements are so stringent that most say to hell with it and work under the radar. Of course, he can't get them into his building. The ones that past muster with licensing and insurance, he doesn't think they could build a dog house properply, much less manage his million dollar remodel. He would like for us to come down there and do the work but I don't want to be away from home that long and Fla is too hot for me. :)

I read the links that Unforgiven posted to see why your MHIC would or wouldn't work. It sounds like a CF down there.

I am glad to see they have their priorities set straight with this:

"(4) The department shall ensure that a sensitivity review committee has been established including
representatives of various ethnic/minority groups. No question found by this committee to be
discriminatory against any ethnic/minority group shall be included in the examination."

[Unforgiven]

Yeah, Robert, Because if someone is building my house I want to make sure that the government hasnt hurt his feeeeelings by asking questions to see if he's qualified. I don't see how any construction related questions could be biased or insensitive, but leave it to somebody that got turned down to find one. Lesbians might be offended by the term stud, so we'll use "vertical framing member." And everyone knows that when doing a job it's far more important to be diverse and unoffended than qualified.
-Pete

[General nail bender]

"vertical framing member." -Pete

I stand upright, I am offended by this new term

[Robert Z]

I was also amused by the use of "person-hours" rather than "man-hours".

Now I know my work in the office this AM was totaling not the amount of work my men did last week, but instead the amount of "person hours" my "persons" completed.

[whiskytangofoxtrot]

I stand upright, I am offended by this new term

Um...since the reference is a Vertical Framing "Member", shouldn't that be, "I stand erect?"

I am offended by all this offensensitivity.

[b_montgo]

sorry for my ignorance. i was under the understanding that, in florida, inorder to sit for the gc liscense it required either a 4 year degree or minimmum 5 year documented experience as a sub in the building trades.... that actually sounds too simple to be true. however with some of the idiot builders around here i wouldnt be suprised