Workforce: Foreign Bodies “Remodeling used to be a profession that was more highly regarded as a career,” says Paul Winans of Winans Construction, Oakland, Calif. “High schools had a shop track, and the thinking was that if you couldn’t make it in college, you could go into the trades and still make a decent living,” complete with a boat in the driveway and a spouse at home.
This scenario had already begun to change when REMODELING launched in 1985. The oldest baby boomers were entering their 40s, and the subsequent Generation X was not only smaller but (like many boomers themselves) “didn’t want to work with their hands,” says consultant and longtime REMODELING columnist Walt Stoeppelwerth. Moreover, the rebounding service economy was luring young workers with well-paying jobs that came with perks rare among remodelers. “Even company owners get few fringes,” noted a 1986 REMODELING article, with most workers getting an hourly wage and little else.
As competition for workers intensified, by 1990 more than one third of REMODELING readers were offering employees health insurance, along with some paid vacation and holidays. Other employment costs were rising too, notably workers’ compensation insurance. Many sophisticated remodelers today offer a full array of perks — and follow corporate management practices as well — yet the industry has “a very long way to go to become professional in our human resources practices,” says Linda Case, another consultant and longtime columnist.
As the traditional U.S.-born workforce dwindled, “the only thing that really saved us” was immigration, says Hugh Rice, chairman of FMI, a management consulting firm. Hispanics nearly doubled their share of the population from 1980 to 2000, and construction workers of Eastern European and Asian origin are more prevalent. Though most began in unskilled positions, foreign-born workers “are now moving into the more skilled trades,” notes Rice, and, increasingly, running their own businesses.
Remodeling job functions have changed as well. A huge milestone was the lead carpenter system, which appeared in the mid-’80s. As companies grew, they subcontracted more, shed top-down management systems, and gave production managers more influence. Today many lead carpenters are effectively serving as production or project managers to several jobs — dropping by mainly to communicate with homeowners when non-English-speaking workers cannot. “We place a premium on people who can manage work” and on people and language skills, says Winans.
Regulation: Setting Rules State licensing, permits for remodeling projects, building codes — all of these are driven by the aim of state governments to protect citizens from unscrupulous contractors. Bill Asdal of William Asdal & Company, Chester, N.J., says current regulations are not consistent. “They are all over the board. Some are insurance-related, some are fee-based. A handful test competency,” he says. “We’re still way before the front edge of that as a national or industry-wide issue.”
During the last two decades, industry officials have discussed national licensing for residential remodeling contractors. However, most remodelers do not see this as the best solution for protecting homeowners. Remodeler Bob Hanbury of House of Hanbury in Newington, Conn., says good contractors already comply with existing rules and regulations — the contractors who have never complied will not be affected by additional rules.
Connecticut began requiring registration in 1984. Hanbury says local contractors have also lobbied for other solutions to protect homeowners. The state now has a “guarantee fund” that is collected via a registration renewal fee for contractors. Money from the fund is used to compensate consumers who have issues with registered contractors. Connecticut also earmarks money from registration fees to provide free classes for contractors, inspectors, tradespeople, and architects.
Asdal says legislators think they are protecting the public with licensing and registration, he says, but when the public buys based on the lowest cost, there will always be issues. Homeowners need to be educated so that they buy services based on lifecycle rather than cost.
Florida has one of the most stringent licensing requirements in the nation. Contractors need a certification of competency from their local jurisdiction or a state-wide certification that requires a test and four years experience. In 1993 the state added a requirement of 14 hours of continuing education for license renewal. In addition, says Tim Vaccaro, executive director of the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board, in the 1990s the state added a fund similar to Connecticut’s fund to reimburse homeowners who have grievances.
Building codes have also changed in the last 20 years. Hanbury says that Connecticut formerly had regional codes but now uses a National Model Code and includes a supplement for the state. Having a national code is helpful for contractors who move and for those who work in several states. They just have to know the national code and learn the adjustments for each state.
Hanbury says that many of the code changes relate to specific issues such as lead, mold, and radon. He believes that future code changes will be related to energy-savings. “Due to the energy crisis and cost of fuel between 1985 and now, part of the reason for building codes is to save us energy,” he says.