Hats Off to Licensed
Contractors
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize,
applaud, and take my hat off to all of the Licensed
Contractors.
After going through the process of taking the prep
class, tabbing and highlighting all of the books, studying the table
of content, the glossary, and the index every time I got a chance,
and finally taking the Environmental/Class A test, I have a much
higher respect for all of those who have done this before me.
My Hat is off to all of You.
The rules and regulations for the state of Texas
require that companies in the Air Duct Cleaning business have an Air
Conditioning Contractors License. Even though Power Vac America
does not do any service work, change-outs, or installs, we do clean
blowers, air handlers, coils, open and close access panels in
ductwork, detach and attach flex duct and use anti-microbial.
Because of this we are required to hold a license and we support
this requirement.
Back in May, a request to remove this requirement was
added to the agenda for the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation Advisory Board. Thanks to Bob Elolf for bring this to my
attention. I made the trip to Austin to voice our support for this
law in front of the Advisory Board.
I talked to several people about this test. The
comments ranged from you do not have enough field experience, to
throw all of your field experience out the window when you take the
test. Approximately 80% fail the test the first time, but that
percentage goes down if you take the prep class. Even though my
goal was to take this test in 2008, my procrastination finally paid
off. Effective July 1, 2008, the TDLR changed the testing time from
3 hours to 4 hours. I used all but 3 minutes of the four hours and
was completely exhausted when I hit the “Done” key. I thought I was
going to get the results immediately, but the computer made me go
through an evaluation questioner. Some how I hit the wrong button
and the screen went back to the login screen. My anxiety sky
rocketed. The lady running the testing center said she would print
the results while I packed up all of my books. I PASSED!
For those of you that set this as your goal, did the
required studying, took the test and committed to this industry,
My Hat is Off to You!
Doug Long, ASCS
Power Vac
America, Inc.
Air Duct Cleaning and HVAC Systems Cleaning in Texas
