Xavier

There probably isnt a lot of home contractors on here so how handy are you guys with doing home builds and construction? Like bathroom and kitchen remodels or renovations, additions, decks, laying tile or wood, electrical work with new lighting, new plumbing for sinks or showers, etc. I can barely hammer a nail in straight let along do any type of remodeling work. My grandfather was always great at that and build the house him and my grandma lived from scratch. He could build or renovate anything in a house. I never got to learn any of his knowledge before he passed away and wished I could do more around my house instead of having to hire people to do it. What kind of stuff can you guys do and do have any pics to show your handywork?

rx bandit

I can paint walls really well if that counts

i8acobra

My parents are/were both general contractors. Learned a lot from them. I do all of the work in my house. My father and I built an addition on our house when I was a teenager.

JonGTR

There's a HUGE difference between a handyman/repairman that fixes and repairs problems and a specialty contractor who builds homes from scratch. Design, code, and knowing the trade is the real difference between a specialty contractor and a "general contractor". Anyone can take a broken part to Home Depot, get the same part to mimic the design, and put it back in the way it came out. But, it takes a real man of the trade to design the system from scratch. I personally work in the electrical trade (heavy commercial), but this also goes for plumbing, HVAC, drywall, etc. There are calculations and real design work that goes into even a small house. I can personally repair just about anything in a house and have done so, but I give even the texturers credit for their trade because it takes an experienced person to repair a large surface and make it blend correctly. This is why we have LICENSES for certain trades. This is one thing the gov't isn't just out to get our money for.

i8acobra

G.C. must mean something different where you're from. A GC is the contractor that oversees the whole job. Subs (Sub-Contractors) work in single trades. The GC needs to know all trades and be licensed. They're the ones that pull the permits on job sites. My mother has a Masters in structural engineering and is licensed in MA and NV. My father was licensed in MA. He didn't have any degrees, but started as a carpenter. He graduated from Boston Latin, joined the Navy as a Sea-Bee and then went through the Carpenter's Union apprenticeship. After 20 years, he got licensed and became a GC. He rehabed historic buildings in MA.

JonGTR

I know exactly what a GC is. I've been doing this for over 20yrs. A GC does not hold an electrical or plumbing license. Maybe I should say 99%. You may get lucky to find one that has a license from a specialty trade, but not multiple. A GC is a jack of all trades, and you know what they say they're a Master of?

i8acobra

A GC holds a GC license. They have to pass a test that covers the building codes for all trades. My mother rarely handles tools any more. She oversees all of the trades on the job. She has to know all of the codes because if anyone screws up, she's the one responsible. She also has to make sure the trades don't get in each other's way and that things go in the correct order. She has to not only know the trades, but also be a manager and run the financials and the schedule for the whole job. A GC is NOT a "handyman".



I've also been doing this for over 20 years. Been pushing dirt since '96 and worked for my dad from '85 to '96 as a laborer.

JonGTR

Using an open book and not committing any of it to memory. Again, not a master of any of the trades and I would not put my trust in one to perform any of the design work.

i8acobra

The plumbing Master and electrical Master exams are also open book.



http://www.contractors-license.org/ma/Massachusets.html

JonGTR

Yes they are. But they are damn near impossible to pass if you have to look up a handful or more questions. Most of the information must be committed to memory, and the codebooks must be something you are used to looking through every day for speed. Someone who does "general" work in multiple fields would not have the time committed to memorizing the information of a SPECIFIC field or quick enough response to looking up the proper information. There are over 1200 pages in the NEC with each subject being referred in multiple chapters. You could use the index to find those half dozen locations, and eventually get to the exact location of reference, but you'd lose too much exam time if you had to do it more than a handful of times. That is why it takes years of schooling on top of 8000hrs of field training before you can sit for the exam. It's not a cakewalk.

If you are lucky to pass the licensing exam, which takes years of training/studying, you still are not adequately trained enough to design a full Mechanical, Electrical, or Plumbing system. That takes an MEP engineer (another field). At minimum, you could say that the licensed intaller can read a designed set of plans and install per code as to not create a hazardous condition.