The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum
"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"

Some of what you say Ron makes sense and some just plain isn't true.

Chris makes a good point about going to take a test to become State licenced. I will speak for this state only (though I do know others are the same way). If you have the financial requirements, can come up with three people to put as references, go to a testing location and pass the test, you will be a Class A or B contractor. A "C" is much easier with no test. Once you pass that test, you can do anything within your license. Does it mean you can actually do the hands on? Not really. Does it mean you can pass a test and know your way around the BOCA book? Yes it does. Once you have the license, you can hire anyone you want to work under you.

The beginning of the meetings with the certification committee was starting to go way beyond where it needed to be as an organization still in it's infancy when compared to some who have been around for years and offering a certification. Jumping out of the gate with an expensive certification, a lengthy process and a 100 question test was just crazy. The certification was not ready back in November when the old certification was done away with. It sat, untouched for about five months with many old and new members having no clue as to what was going on, when something would take place and how expensive it might become to be certified to clean a roof.

Wanting people to wait for a year or two is really unfair to the large majority. There are people moving into roof cleaning with many years of some kind of construction knowledge such as painting, roofing, remodeling, building. Should those people also have to wait a year or two? Phil and Bruce make some good points.

In the end, I think the certification committee looked at this way (still much better than the old way) as a step in the right direction. Some are saying that all it takes is $200.00 and you get your certification. Well, if anyone actually reads the post about that, they will find that statement isn't true. Had we kept going the way Delux "wanted" us to go, the certification would have been way more than $200.00 and a 100 question test to do what? Clean a roof?

Aaron brings up good points about certifications. In the end, if some ambulance chasing lawyer is going to sue, it will be everyone in a list, looking for the deeper pockets somewhere. I would like to hear what a lawyer has to say about suing the entity offering the certification. I think one of the premium members posted a while back that after talking to a lawyer, that wasn't possible.

Let this process take it's course in an infancy state before we try to become the Chimney Sweeps of America or some other organization that has been around for years.