Wearing more than 1 hat

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GG

Senior Member
Location
Ft.Worth, T.X.
Do any of the Electrical contractors here also hold an HVAC or plumbing license? Do you stock material and tools for both on 1 truck or use seperate trucks for each trade? How does doing 2 or 3 different trades work for you? I know 1 guy that has a contractors license in all 3 trades, but he was not about to answer any of my questions as he looked at me as the enemy. He is only 44. I still dont see how he was able to snag all 3 licenses without having a buddy write him letters of work experience. To get an EC license where we live you have to show 8 years ex., so needless to say Im a little skeptical of how he got all 3.
 

jeff43222

Senior Member
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

I couldn't imagine having an additional trade license. Just being an EC keeps me plenty busy, and I'd prefer not to have to spend even more money to get myself outfitted for another trade.

As for how this three-trade wonder managed to get all the licenses, perhaps he was able to "double count" his work experience if he worked for a contractor who was licensed in multiple trades. Suppose someone formed a do-it-all company by getting a master electrician to qualify for the EC license, a master plumber to get the PC license, and an HVAC guy to get that license. How does an employee's work experience get counted by working for such a company? Suppose an employee spends a third of his work time on each trade. Do the experience requirements call for counting hours of work, or years? What if someone worked part-time? If the requirements call for years, after so many years someone could legitimately claim that they worked for an EC, PC, and HVAC contractor for those years.
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

I would think that if you're an HVAC installer than you would need to know electrical, mechanical and plumbing just to do the job. Even a simple gas furnace has all of these components and may require multiple permits.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

There are a lot more young people showing up all over with more than one license. I think that more young guys are considering going into business for themselves now. In the past when the money was better and work more secure a worker tended to make one trade a life's work. Now that it's harder to make a living more people think of it from a business perspective. The more jobs you know the better your chances for success. In the service industry it's not a bad idea. Operate under one corporation, one business license, one set of books in one building. It's much more cost effective. Think of how far the advertising dollar goes when you can advertise three trades in the same add with small additional listings. You never have to call in someone else to bid the other portion of the job and you can leave cards and stickers advertising all facets of the operation. I wish that I had thought of the advantages when I was younger. HVAC often requires semi-annual service and that gives you the chance to spot electrical problems and keeps your name in front of the customer.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

there is at least one heating contractor around here that i know also does electrical work.

it makes a lot of sense since you are constantly running new circuits and it would be a hassle to have to hire a sub everytime you wanted install a new circuit.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

I have also collected the HVAC license (easy) and a plumbing license (a bit harder), but don't do any of that work. I did it... well... just because. It's good to have a "plan B" or at least the option if I want to expand into other areas. Admittedly, I would suck as an HVAC man or a plumber.
 

hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
Re: Wearing more than 1 hat

Originally posted by mdshunk:

Admittedly, I would suck as an HVAC man or a plumber.
Ah come on. All a plumber needs to know is hot on the left, cold on the right, shi$ doesn't run up hill (w/out an electrician), pay day's on Friday, and the boss is a son of a b****.

(If any plumbers are reading, it's a joke!)
 
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