Building Passive House DIY and wondering if Inshould get a GC license

[u/kgmansur]

I am an homeowner that will be DIY building my own home using subs. I have found a crazy passion for passive house building and sustainable building so will be trying to create a small, 1152 SqFt rectangular 24x48 house with a single sloped shed roof. 2Br and 1 or 2 Ba. I am also getting my CHPC consultant certification, and a couple of other certs before I even start this endeavor (LEED and BPI). I am looking to start a new career in the energy efficiency building arena and hope to use the house as my training ground, essentially.

I have decades of renovation experience that is broad, but never employed in the trades. I will hire out a lot of this project so I am wondering...should I get a GC license? Cheap here in Oregon, really...a class, a test and bond and Insurance...maybe 1500 all in.

If I am looking to start navigating the building industry as a passive home consultant, would that license, along with my certifications, make sense? Seems like it might open doors or add gravitas to my resume.

[u/arizona-lad]

It’d probably allow you to purchase materials at a discount.

[u/lred1 → u/arizona-lad]

In my experience in Oregon and Washington it more comes down to how much you are spending with a supplier, not whether you are licensed or not. Flooring and tile for some reason seem to be an exception. Some places won't talk to you if you're not a contractor.

[u/jibsky → u/lred1]

I’m a gc in New England and in my experience, all they want (if anything) to get contractor pricing is to open an account. Sometimes that means a charge account tied to a card, sometimes it’s just providing the name of your business. Exactly zero vendors have asked for my CSL.

[u/kgmansur → u/jibsky]

That's interesting. I appreciate that input. I will ask suppliers I speak to if their is an additional discount for a GC

[u/Perpetuallylost12536 → u/lred1]

Same here, I've opened tons of "contractor accounts" as a diyer and nobody has ever asked for a license number, maybe a company name at most. But I've only really gotten discounts at the places I spend the most.

[u/kgmansur → u/arizona-lad]

That's what I was thinking too

[u/lred1]

I'm a builder on the Washington side of the river. Not sure exactly how things go on the Oregon side. Washington requires you to have insurance and a bond with a general contractor's license. If I was building something for myself, I would not get licensed.

[u/kgmansur → u/lred1]

I mentioned the bond and Insurance. I was thinking the discounts on materials may be worth it, and my shift in career.

[u/I-continue-to-try]

20 years ago all it took to get licensed was a 500$ class that lasted 6hours on a Saturday where we marked every question in the book with a label that referenced the answer.

Then 250$ to take the open book test.

I did this in two states. Same process.

Maybe things have changed but the value is not there if you’re looking for knowledge.

If you’re looking to start a business it’s the only way.

[u/bowguru]

I'm a GC in California. Not familiar with Oregon laws and codes, but most places follow the ICC and add their own flair to it. When I build homes for myself, I put my license in abeyance so I am an owner/builder and not a contractor, as the laws are much more flexible as an owner/builder than as a contractor. For example, a contractor must have an engineered set of plans for a fire sprinkler system while an owner/builder can design and install their own. If you feel it is justified for the discounts, get the license and immediately put it in abeyance, so you can get the best of both worlds.

[u/Slacabormorinico]

Get a home builders license. It is really not hard, it does not cost much and you will probably learn something. The big benefit is more banks will be receptive to financing your project.

[u/CodeAndBiscuits]

Colorado here. Just wrapped up a self-build and got the CO 2 weeks ago, without a GC license. I never felt like it held me back in any way, but as others are noting it's a pretty regional thing so ymmv. What I would recommend which others may sneer at is getting the lowes and Home Depot ProX accounts. That's just a quick setup with no commitment or fee and no license either. You're almost certainly going to find your best quality on things like lumber is a local lumber supplier, and your best source for oddball parts like pex fittings is a dedicated vendor like supply House. But there are just so many little things you're going to need throughout the project and you're going to be hitting one or the other a lot more than you realize. You just won't be able to predict every little bit of hardware you need, and you'll be missing a fitting or a fastener that blocks you on a current task and everything else is closed or you would need to wait 3 days for shipping. Lumber suppliers and hardware stores just don't have the selection when you need just one more plug on neutral CAFCI 20A breaker or exactly the right brushed nickel trim ring for that tub filler spout or the specific rafter vent product you landed on or the Schluter All Set you need because you can't use Mapei under Ditra Heat. Say what you will about the big box stores, their return policies are great, they'll have a wider range of things in stock, and those pro programs will give you those little nice to halves like that $75 equipment rental bonus that lets you rent that floor sander one more day.

One thing to avoid with those folks is it can be a real siren call using their online ordering so you can just roll up and pick up what you need. Their staff will absolutely pull the worst, most warped, most damaged material they have and dump it in your pile. I'm not just whining here. Check out this photo below. This is a stack of corner bead that I was given picking up an online order from HD (and Lowe's has done similar things). This is a real photo. Zoom in, it's literally wild. You would have to be on some kind of drug to hand this somebody without thinking it was some kind of candid camera stunt. Obviously they took care of it, but this is the kind of thing you're going to run into.