Roofing Licensure Yes or No?

The local guys pushing state licensure are good guys, they run solid, reputable businesses. I started this thread to let them see what those in other states think of licensing. It can be a very slippery slope! And as with any entity that is enforced by a government agency, at some point it explodes into an unresponsive behemoth that most wish never started.

Yeah Mike you won't have to concern yourself with licensing after 2019.....just worry about Money!

Sounds like you Chuck! :laugh:

You two are cracking me up! :laugh: You've reminded me of how wild I used to be in my younger days when I liked to roof a house, drink and party it up. In that order. ( Often wouldn't roof another house until the money was nearly gone from the last one ) :huh:

I got into a little trouble one time in a one horse town just for taking a leak behind the local Grocery store. lol The arresting officer was a real arse hole and we got into an argument. I don't even remember what it was now but something he said really pissed me off, so I did a karate kid on him with my foot winding up nearly stuck up his arse.

This particular little town had night court once every two weeks and as fate would have it, court was being held that very night and just getting started about the time we arrived at the police station so they took me directly in front of the judge with me drunk as a skunk.The judge said " I hereby set your bail at one thousand dollars ". I yelled out make it TWO THOUSAND you sob. He said " ok two thousand then ". I yelled out WHY NOT FOUR? He said nope two's high enough, get this drunk maniac outta my court room please. And they did.

When it was all said and done, I pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a police officer in exchange for 1 yr. probation and a $500 fine. While I wouldn't ever want to do anything like that again, I can tell you that that one time was worth every cent! ;)

It's a strange dichotomy that I'm not entirely comfortable with, but sometimes it works just the same. I overheard one building inspector telling the other "I don't think I'd mess with him, he owns some karate schools and I hear he's a bad dude."

Of course, if I ever was a bad dude, I'm certainly not anymore. But they don't know that and sometimes I get good mileage from that without having to say a word. :-)

Not sure if I shard this story previously-

Back in 1998-ish? City & County of Denver.

One of my supers was having an issue on a project, so I made an appointment to meet with a Denver roofing inspector, (yes, Denver has/had specific roofing inspectors). I went armed with applicable bldg. code & manufacture data.

The guy was a complete arse - He didn't give a rat's yah-ta-bay what the bldg code of manufacture said. In so many words I told him he was an imbecile. He gets down off the roof - gets in his truck and leaves.

About 5 minutes later, siren blaring - a cop car whirls up to the jobsite. The GC super yells up that the cops' here for me!

WTH? The inspector had called and said I had threatened to quote; "kick his ass".

To try & make this short- We ended up in court because of this low-life poor excuse for a human, lying SOB's false accusation. With great self-control & disgust I went along with my attorney & pleaded guilty to a broken taillight or some malarkey- Such as what one typically does in these situations.

Along about the time this idiotic exercise was coming to an end, the judge decides she's going to lecture me on how I should respect public officials, etc...

My attorney sensed my reaction - she gave me a swift kick under the table and a glaring look. So I swallowed my pride and allowed yet another imbecilic bureaucrat to rant away.

Not sure what the moral of the story is, other than "smile & wave" - Just go along with them.

It is also entirely impossible that I've been doing this too long and have become senile.

LOL, car wash? Kinky! :-)

That inspector had small man syndrome bad! He was a failed contractor himself, which made it even worse. He gave us the only failed final inspection we ever had, because he said a JoSam drain needed double strainers on it. I demanded an emergency meeting with him and the city manager. I waltzed in with a letter from the CEO of the company that makes JoSam drains, addressed specifically to the building inspector, telling him that under no circumstances should anyone install double strainers on their drains.

City manager overulled the inspector but the failed inspection remained on our record!

I just hate dealing with those government-think dopes!

lol. I've had that type of feeling more than once.

Maybe rather go a little more Christian route, strap him into a golf cart, run him through the car wash a couple times and say, "There, you're all clean now!" (no?)

When chief bldg inspector isn't very sharp one definitely has a problem. Thank God time marches on.

I harbor this unhealthy fantasy involving the now-retired chief building inspector of a nearby large city, whom I had many heated arguments with on roofs. That fantasy involves randomly running across him at a flea market or gun show, him mouthing off and making a gesture that I can legally construe to be a physical threat, so I piss-pound him into the ground as I laugh an evil laugh.

What to say what to say....

Whether one is operating under a state license law or not under a state license law, it seems that everyone has and always has been required to deal with municipalities and counties. This is that ubiquitous "make sure you conform to local codes" business. The local building officials can choose how much and what parts of the uniform building code they want to adopt.

They don't have unlimited freedom, but they can deviate from each other on all kinds of things. This one requires a final inspection only. This other one requires a nailing inspection before roofing and then a final after. This third one requires no nailing inspection but requires an in-progress inspection and then a final. What are the possible permutations? A, B, C, AB but not C, BC but not A, AC but not B, ABC. And that's just inspections, that's not specs. Let's not talk about specs.

Most of the time they defer to manufacturers so if you're a jackleg you're in trouble. You have to at least read the labels or you have no prayer.

But manufacturers can get weird themselves. Then if you have a sharpie of an inspector and a dufus manuf spec, you have a policy issue. I hate policy issues.

You take a fastening spec for nailbase that shows the pattern layout for the tech screws, giant things with big heads, and submit it with your permit application. A rogue inspector comes out for a nailing inspection and disregards the ICBO ES tested, sealed, engineered, and delivered and says no, you have to have perimeter fasteners on six inch increments staggered against the neighboring sheets, and twelve inches in the field, like regular plywood. So you agree to do it, he leaves, and you blow him off and roof it, vowing that next time you get the head inspector to make a note on job permit that field inspection is to comply with manuf printed specs attached. It's a risk, because he'll get his feelings hurt and try to find something else. Gotta use that kind of tactic with discretion and keep on smiling.

Some counties require a bus license, some don't. All municipalities do. Inspection fees are all over the map. Some inspectors are straight up people who know what they are doing and some are psychopaths.

Around here they all do physical inspections, even though they don't always get off the ladder onto the roof. I've found that most of them want to perform a legitimate service and do the right thing by everybody, even the ones who can't. You know there's that Bell curve thing going at all times. Watch your step with the extreme types. Keep a relatively low profile with the rest. A little serious, a little jokey, a little self-righteous, a little deferential. I've had to bark a few times but that's best kept to a minimum for sure. If they're lacking in self-respect then under attack they will realize that they should have it anyway and try to make you prove to them that you are fully cognizant of the make-believe variety. Power of the office, and such.

But realistically, aren't we all a little like that ourselves? lol

Compared to the state, the cities and counties get way more money from me. Even though there is no sharing of fees and the only permits the state issues are for government projects or mobile homes, the very existence of the state over-structure actually seems to mitigate weird behavior in the little guys. imho.

Chuck - That was SOP in most municipalities we worked in CA. Don't know about these days...egg?

Amen Twill

It'a a fine mess we've created - the bureaucracies - "PC", etc.... It's seems it's gaining momentum - much as the toilet water gains speed as it descends.

The wife went down to the city to obtain a simple deck rebuild permit the other day; 4 hrs later she returns home exasperated!

To make a long story short: City needed an "engineered" framing plan for a cantilever section. Then when we pay $450 for an engineer to give it his blessing, the city planner starts questioning the structural integrity - Gets me on the phone - I tell him that's not for you or I to decide; That's what we paid the engineer to do. Amazing.

I hear ya Twill. When they told me I had to have the decking repair inspected before roofing over it, the first thing that popped into my mind was to say "Well, you won't have to worry about that, because the next person that calls me from "your town" and asks me to help them out with their roof problem, I'm just going to explain to them about their city leadership and how it has forced me to decline all request from said town." What few I get from that city that is.

I was all red in the face and it was right on the tip of my tongue But I didn't say a friggin word! I just walked out the door! ;)

This is a low income/high crime area too. Not exactly prime territory for a high closing rate.

I was licensed in Lake County, IN ....one time. I was told that I would have to have a licensed carpenter change plywood. The Board member was rather IDK.....embarassed by having to tell me that. I surprised mys elf by saying nothing. We both silently agreed that it was a joke, and something he was required to say. Still.....it's a law on the books. Peasant Beware! Ignore at your own Peril says the Kings!

This spring I was told in my little town that registering contractors "Protects the Homeowners"....

"Oh Really" said I.....to the clueless bureaucrat. "Who's inspecting the nailing? The flashing? The ventilation? MOST everyone walking in here with a work comp cert? it might only cover the part time office help that used to work for the company. A long time ago. Maybe. Kind of sort of. Whichever. What not.....NOT the workers on the property

" and besides, anyone can call my Ins. Agent at anytime to get the same info you charging for....FOR FREE!"