I am considering getting a HVAC license....

[Jims5543]

... and moving to North Carolina where my vacation home is and cleaning up.

I called 5 different Heating / Air companies last week trying to get a service call.

Company #1 told me they only deal in cash. See ya.

Company 2 told me they only work in units they installed. See ya.

Company 3, I left a voicemail, never got a call back.

Company 4, told me they could not come out for 2 weeks.

Company 5 was the only nice one, I begged him (yes by this point I was reduced to begging) to please not blow me off. Instead he gave me some over the phone advise and it turned out to be correct. He was out of town and would not be back until the middle of the next week.

BTW - Thanks to wilke3169, Kevin, for calling me up Friday to give advise as well.

In another thread I asked for advise as to what was wrong with my unit. My outside compressor was encased in ice. As it turned out, it was a dirty filter. Go figure. Once I changed my filter I did not have another problem with it.

I hope that was it anyway, it would have been nice to have a tech come out and look everything over but I could not get anyone out.


So my idea is to open a place up, and then go out on service calls and do honest work and not rip anyone off.


Insane concept?

[Danny_Ocean]

Forget HVAC (do you really want to be in an attic in July for 8 hrs. cutting out an old unit with a sawzall that was built in-place and won't fit through the attic hatch? Whew!). Get a license to design/install solar systems and move to the SouthWest. Retire wealthy in 15 yrs.

Another thing to consider...what is the process in NC for getting the HVAC contractors license? I know in FLA it is a 5 yr. process. Not sure about you, but @ 40-something, I wouldn't want to be working as a grunt for a contractor waiting to get my 5 yrs. in.

[scottmandue]

Okay stop everything... I'm about to agree with Danny.

I worked HVAC for ten years, if you are looking for hot, dirty, dangerous, nasty yucky, uncomfortable work... go for it! Oh and half the people you will be working with will be raging A-holes.

There is a reason it is so hard to find people to do the work.

When I quit twenty years ago and went back to school I did side jobs to support myself, like you said I was honest and hard working, knew what I was doing, showed up on time, cleaned up after myself... after a couple of months of that just by word of mouth people were fairly begging me to work on their houses. I could have made a comfy living working like that.

The only good way to make money in HVAC IMHO is to get your contractors license, open a shop, and hire a couple of young bucks to do the dirty work. My dad did very well at that (I was one of the young bucks)

I hear pumping out septic tans pays well too.

No, I'm not bitter!

[M.D. Holloway]

with global warming you might be on to something

[Jims5543]

C'mon guys!

Danny I said in North Carolina, the summers are mild and the winters are not too bad either.


Scott, exactly what I am thinking, open up a shop hire a couple of clean cut good guys willng to work hard and be honest.

Here is the important part.

Then be nice, polite and go out on service calls when they come in.


My point was I called 5 shops and not one was willing to come out. This is a small town, this was pretty much every shop in town. If I was to open up the 6th shop and actually make the calls I would clean up.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by Jim Cesiro

C'mon guys!

Danny I said in North Carolina, the summers are mild and the winters are not too bad either.


Scott, exactly what I am thinking, open up a shop hire a couple of clean cut good guys willng to work hard and be honest.

Here is the important part.

Then be nice, polite and go out on service calls when they come in.


My point was I called 5 shops and not one was willing to come out. This is a small town, this was pretty much every shop in town. If I was to open up the 6th shop and actually make the calls I would clean up.

Well...better get busy then! You have two years of apprenticeship/schooling ahead of you:

Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to take the Plumbing, Heating Group No. 1, Heating Group No. 2 and Heating Group No. 3 examination(s), an applicant must have 2 years (4,000 hours) on-site full-time experience in the design or installation of plumbing or heating systems related to the category for which license is sought, whether or not license was required for the work performed. However, up to one-half (2,000 hours) (45 quarter hours or 30 semester hours) of the experience requirement may be in academic or technical training directly related to the field of endeavor for which the examination is requested.