How hard can it get? Here is an example: In the state of Florida to become a Plumber you have to complete a four year apprenticeship before you are permitted to sit for the license exam. During the apprenticeship you have to work a minimum of 40hrs per week for 200weeks, which is four years less vacation time(any week inwhich you work less than 40 hrs does not count). At the end of each week you have to submit a timecard to the state apprenticeship board and the timecard details how many hours you worked in each catergory for that week. During that four years you have to also attend a four year state approved technical school or college course where you study the Plumbing Code, plumbing theory, and a little bit on OSHA, workmans comp and necessary licensing requirements. At the end of the four years you get a Diploma from the Tech school, a certificate of completion from the state apprenticeship board and a letter of recommendation from the Master Plumber that you worked under. You then pay a $250 non-refundable testing fee and you are given a list of 12 books that you must bring with you for the exam. (The books are another $500, and given that they are rewritten about every 18 to 24 months to remain current, you have to buy new books). You then have to wait until the exams are being given (Only twice a year) and you have to travel to Tallahassee or Miami to take the exam. They allow you two full 8 hour days to complete the exam and statistically, 70% will fail the first time they take the exam. If you fail, you have to wait until the next testing cycle and pay the testing fee again before you can sit for the exam. I shall never forget my first night in the apprenticeship class. I too had been a DIY'er, who became a handyman, then went on to work maintenance in 3 large motel/conference centers, two hospitals and a municipal school district where we did all the maintenance in 9 public school buildings. I walked into the apprenticeship class room feeling really cock sure of myself. I had been doing plumbing work for nearly 15 years, how hard could this be? The instructor walked in and went to his desk. He says "I see we have a couple new faces, lets all introduce ourselves" and we made with the usual introductory small talk for about 10 minutes then the instructor says, "in honor of our new students, lets have a simple quiz tonight, and as soon as your done, you can go home early" He then opened a 4"dia PVC tube, took out a stack of building prints and began passing them out, one to each student. As he was passing them out he says "You guys will note that these are all simple one story 3br 3-1/2 bath on slab and I have marked a spot in the back yard where the septic tank will be. Your project is to do a complete DWV layout and annotate all pipe sizes and cleanout locations, then do an Isometric on a sheet of typing paper. As soon as your done you can lay your work on my desk and go home". One of the guys was done in 45minutes and perhaps half the class was done within the first hour while I sat there with a total of one line on my paper and the next week when we reviewed the work, I found out that was wrong. Finally two hours had passed and the class was over, so I turned my paper in, still with my one line... and I was feeling as dumb as a box of rocks. The instructor glanced at my print and says "not as easy as one might think is it? But don't worry, if you take the classes serious in 6 months you will be going home in 45minutes too."

You should not be charging anyone anything without a license. This is to protect not only the homeowner here, but you also. You are exposing yourself to HUGE liability issues if you are working off the books and off the radar as an unlicensed contractor. And frankly, if you cannot pass the contractor's test and spend $500 to incorporate and buy a business license, why should anyone hire you? Them's the requirements. And someone who isn't willing to do that minimal amount of effort might also be seen as someone who would cut corners on a reno and do a hack job. And, if that were the case, what's to protect the consumer? What if you unknowingly do a job incorrectly? Don't say that wouldn't happen, because it happens all the time. What if all of the profit on the job was eaten up by that mistake that you tried to make good on? Would you still feel compelled to show up and work even though you were essentially paying the homeowner to be there? What would protect you if you had a contract dispute with someone who hired you? You aren't legal, so legally enforcing anything becomes that much more difficult. You could easily get stiffed and have a client tell you to sue them. What leg would you have to stand on in court? You weren't licensed to do the job in the first place, so "of course" they fired you when they found that out and don't owe you anything.

I understand your dilemmas. You hate the layout and want it changed. Then I say change it. Secondly, if you give it to your contractor, you're worried what if your fence gets ruined or not repaired properly.. I would put all that in writing and specify damages paid if not done correctly. See if he still wants the island if he has to fix the fence. I think you should call Habitat to see if they will take the cabinets. I glanced on Craig's list and saw whole kitchen cabinets going for $1200. I don't know the quality of them. Also, just because it is listed at that doesn't mean that there is a buyer. Cabinets have to fit and match. Regarding my old cabinets, I am going to ask if they'll take it but some of the drawers look broken and two KDs said they were cheap cabinets. I'm going to post the island to see if anyone will bite between now and the demo but the contractor said islands were tough, especially since I had a range built in. Then it requires a buyer who is willing to pay to have the gas lined up in addition to one who has a kitchen that can fit it. Good luck!

I just packed up this week past and the kitchen was demolished on Tuesday. I can't believe how much stuff I have! No wonder I think I need more storage and have ordered uppers that go all the way to the ceiling! I tried to exercise some discipline and throw out all the old things I rarely use anymore. I wasn't very successful... let's say it was like removing sand from the desert with a teaspoon. I guess I'm just attached to my old favs, like special friends. Plus, my mom passed away last year and I ended up with most of her stuff - as the only girl child, my brothers simply delegated all that kitcheny/household stuff to my best judgement. How could I possibly get rid of the green glass citrus squeezer??? or Grandma's best china?? Or Auntie's hand painted china, etched aluminum trays or the ancestral beer glasses?? For the record, I did throw away all the sippy cups and souvenir kiddy dishes (the baby starts HS next week), and at least 2 dozen coffee mugs are packed to donate to the local thrift (I'm sure those breed in closed cupboards) but I still have at least 3 dozen I can't part with. Hey, who wants to come to my place for coffee? Or tea? I counted 6 teapots, keepers all. I do think I'll replace all, or at least most of my kitchen towels. They have all seen better days, even if they rarely see the light of day anymore. We are currently settling into our "temporary kitchen" in the wet bar area of our basement rec room. This classic piece of 1960s design and construction leaves much to be desired functionally, but at least it boasts running water and a usable refigerator. Ironically, in the 13+ yrs we've lived in this house, we have seldom ventured into this cubby-hole, except to access the beer fridge. Now, I can hardly wait until the kitchen is completed so I can start planning its renovation...