Minnesota’s Only Licensed Ice Dam Removal Contractor
Sunday, January 5th, 2014
Minnesota’s only licensed ice removal contractor
News flash. We just did a little digging and discovered that we are the only State Licensed ice dam removal remodeling contractor in Minnesota. We’ve been assuming that everyone plays by the same rules up until now. Click here to see for yourself. Search for our major competitors on the Department of Labor’s site. They are nowhere to be found. Wow. Not to be tattletales, but really?
The State of Minnesota requires that anyone who contracts with a homeowner to “construct or improve residential real estate” must be licensed as a residential building contractor or residential remodeler unless they do roofing alone, in which case they must be licensed as a roofer. I guess that is where the gray area exists. Is ice dam removal an improvement to a home? Not really and yet it seems reasonable to call someone who gets up on your roof to perform professional work a roofer and roofers must be licensed according to the Law. This ambiguity apparently creates enough moral wiggle room for some ice dam removal companies to operate without a license. Tisk tisk fellas.
Why should you care if your ice removal contractor is licensed? For starters, a contractor can not obtain a license without possessing a minimum amount of experience and must pass a residential construction and business management test. We are also subject to a criminal background check and must not have any outstanding contracting complaints on record. Licensed contractors are required to prove they are indeed insured for both Worker’s Comp and General Liability. As a homeowner you are protected by the Contractors Recovery Fund if something goes wrong. This fund compensates homeowners who have suffered out-of-pocket losses due to a licensed contractor’s fraudulent, deceptive or dishonest practices or failure of performance. This is not available to those who chose to work with unlicensed contractors.
The bottom line is that hiring a licensed contractor offers many additional protections to the home owner. Here is a helpful article on Angie’s List about the topic.
The only licensed ice removal contractor? Really?