Renovation Licenses

6/3/2012 at 3:20:24 PM

I am assuming you are in the GTA, You will need a Renovators license which covers most renovations in the GTA.

You can`t study for the examination it is based on experience in the business. If you are a licensed trade the test is based on what you know. The test is oral by experienced examiners.

I hope this helps.

6/3/2012 at 3:49:20 PM

Hello,

I do believe that the only city in Canada that requires a renovators license is the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). You do not require a licence to be a tradesperson, renovator or contractor.

However, You can obtain a red seal certificate for specific trades. See Below.

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/trades_apprenticeship/red_seal/index.shtml

I do recommend insurance and a "general" master business licence (can be obtained by the province that you are in.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

6/3/2012 at 4:45:12 PM

Hey Jerry, It is always best to get a Lic. and any certifications for specific products in your trade. I have two Lic. and 3 certifications.

As a customer how would you feel sitting down talking to a doctor or lawyer and then find out they have no Lic. to practice their trade. I think the same applies to the trades, how can you tell people you are a renovator, carpenter and be taken serious when you don't have a Prov. trade Lic. or a Renovator Lic.

To me it also tells me that if a person has no Lic. of any kind they are not very serious about what they are doing.

6/3/2012 at 10:08:14 PM

I personally think owning a trade certification as Bob mentioned is BS. It is just a piece of paper which doesn't tell you anything except that you went to school and that doesn't mean you are good in what you are doing.

I work in the trades as a carpenter since 95 and I have seen a lot of "helpers" or laborers which were way more experienced in the trade than some guys that I met with a ticket (even with years of having a ticket)

I would suggest, if you don't have experience in the field of renovations, that you get some experience first by working with somebody who knows what he is doing.

I'm not sure about the licensing part in your area but usually the city will tell you which kind of license you will need.

I hope that will help.

6/10/2012 at 12:14:39 PM

I agree if you are in Toronto you do need a licence, and it is very easy to obtain.

Some of the questions that are asked are how far do you place drywall screw, or if doing tile setting where you do put your first tile on a back wall in order to centre the job.

As far as other districts I would recommend that you register your company it helps when you are selling a quote.

Pete

Champagne Renovations

6/13/2012 at 11:52:26 PM

If you contact your city government or even go into a registries place they should be able to point you in the right direction to obtaining whatever licence you need. We do have our contractors licence for our city and it was the city who informed us of needing it.

I also agree that getting experience is key, reading books and having certificates doesn't add up to anything without hands on experience.

Good luck in getting started.

Thank you,

Sherri & Dustin Depatie

Seamless Finishing Inc.

Office : 780-760-3852

Sherri : 780-297-0986

Dustin : 780-885-2231