Instant Respect

Any subject can ignite naysayers and curmudgeons. So it came as no surprise that when REMODELING posted a query about industry certifications in an e-newsletter read by remodelers, there were some remarks like this one from a remodeler in Florida: “I've always owned my company, and I don't need the piece of paper. I've kept up with everything since I got out [of school].” But those responses were few and far between. Most were positive, and came from remodelers with varying experience and professional goals — from those in the process of getting certified to those whose names are nearly lost in an alphabet soup of certifications.

Yet the scoffers ask valid questions. How important is it to get certified in something you may have been doing for decades? Is certification merely a marketing strategy? Do clients care about those letters after your name? And if certification is not required by a public body, do those letters have bite?

Certification is not necessarily about making more money. In fact, most remodelers interviewed for this article say that their clients have no idea what the letters mean, nor do they care. “In all the years, maybe two clients asked me what ‘CGR' stood for,” says Mike Weiss, CGR, CGB, GMB, CAPS, RCS (see “Designation Decoder,” at right), who got his CGR in the early 1990s and later created the National Association of Home Builders' Professional Remodeler's Experience Profile (PREP) to aid in the designation process. “Certification does more for your business internally than externally,” he says.

Cory Hogan, CGR, agrees. The owner of Provo, Utah–based Upscale Downstairs, he is one of just three CGRs in Utah. Hogan says, “In our market, CGR isn't a designation that prospective clients recognize or seek out. Instead, it's an internal symbol of my commitment to learn more and earn more.” Hogan believes the CGR designation has helped with his company's bottom line, but that the most valuable part of getting the NAHB designation was the peer association. “You got some tips and tricks, but being in a classroom setting where people were sharing ideas was great.”

That an owner is taking the time to continue learning is a powerful thing for employees to see. Hogan, who pays for employees to take courses, says they are excited that he is not just asking them to improve but is working and learning himself. The effects are wide-ranging and affect a company's culture. Says Jim Mirando, CGR, CGB, CAPS, CKD, CBD, NCIDQ, “Continuous improvement is part of our company's core values.” Mirando's Excel Interior Concepts & Construction, Lemoyne, Pa., has an education budget; as of August it had spent more than $11,000. “It's a good investment,” says Mirando, who also believes that having employees with certifications helps attract better hires, “people who want to be the best, who want to keep learning.”

Yet many remodelers do tout certifications in their marketing. Peggy Mackowski, co-owner of Quality Design & Construction with her husband David Mackowski, CGR, CAPS, is working on her CGR and CAPS designations and says she will make use of the fact that she and David are the only husband-wife team in the Raleigh, N.C., area with both designations. She admits that she has to inform and educate clients about the certifications. But she also believes that they will appreciate that she and David are furthering their knowledge and that, in turn, they may show more dedication and professionalism than other local remodelers.

President of Zimmerman Associates, in Lakeland, Fla., G.F. “Sunny” Zimmerman III, CGR, CGB, CAPS, PBD, CGC, LID, GRI displays designations in his ads and on his Web site (www.za-design-build.com), but says the real marketing value is that “happy customers take great pride in telling their friends. That's when designations have great flair.”

The CAPS designation in particular seems highly marketable. Added to the NAHB's roster four years ago, there are now more than 1,100 CAPS designees. With a swell of baby boomers rapidly filling the retiree population, CAPS looks like a good differentiator for remodelers. The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is working on a universal design certification, and has recently begun a green remodeling education program, which will be followed in early 2007 by a green certification program.

And yet, Tom Schliefer, Ph.D., a former contractor and now a professor at Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, is not enthusiastic about certification. “It's hard to prove what good it does. With architects and engineers, there's licensing and it's powerful,” he says. With certifications, the certifying body is often an association rather than a public body. As a result, he adds, “it's difficult [for certification] to have value because people will question it.” As Randy Stephenson, owner of L&R Home Services, Wichita, Kan., puts it via e-mail: “What do all those abbreviations stand for? It must be confusing to the layman.”

It may be that certifications have to take root over a generation, and that consumers must be educated for those acronyms to be truly useful in the public sphere as differentiators and as a way to increase a remodeler's bottom line. To help that along, NARI, NAHB, and NKBA (National Kitchen & Bath Association) each have brochures, available to the public via their Web sites or through remodelers, explaining the certification or designation process. Nancy Stolz, NKBA's manager of certification programs, believes that “the public is beginning to recognize the benefits of working with a certified professional. With HGTV and all those home improvement shows, the public is more knowledgeable about products and trends, and is looking for people with qualifications.”

Certification looks at what you already know and tests you on it. “The exam is a certifying tool,” says Dan Taddei, NARI's director of education. “You show that you have a certain knowledge level of a subject.” Certification is different from a certificate program, he says, “which requires that you attend classes, and if you meet certain established requirements, you get a certificate.”

NARI offers six certifications, all of which require a minimum of five full-time years in the remodeling industry. Candidates answer a self-assessment, and can take courses on a variety of industry topics, such as business management and design/build, to increase knowledge before taking a certification exam.

The NKBA's seven certifications require detailed work-history information, in addition to affidavits of professional experience, and an academic or design exam or both.

The NAHB refers to its three options as “designations.” Candidates first take the Professional Remodeler Experience Profile, which covers core areas of the remodeling industry: marketing and sales; business administration; design, estimating, and job cost; contracts, liability, and risk management; and project management. The PREP results determine the number of courses a candidate should take to fill the gaps in their knowledge — anywhere from zero to two courses in each subject area.

The American Institute of Building Design offers one certification, the Certified Professional Building Designer, which AIBD executive director Steve Mickley says is pursued by “those designers in states that allow people to design homes without being architects. Our certification helps differentiate those who have experienced education and taken a competency exam in that area of the architectural industry that would normally go unregulated.” The exams are given in 12 regions around the country.

Lori Bentley, CR, CKBR, and her husband and business co-owner Bruce Bentley, CR, CKBR, drove four hours each way once a week for nearly four months from their office in Hanford, Calif., to Sacramento to take a class and study with a group for their Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler designation. “Getting it requires discipline,” says Lori, who saw the designation as a milestone in her career. “It not only confirmed what I already knew, but I learned a lot of new things and made great acquaintances who we've stayed in touch with.”

NARI can create virtual study groups for those who can't get enough local remodelers to pursue the designations. For both NARI and the NAHB, classes and seminars are held at various home builder shows throughout the country. The NKBA also holds classes in hotels nationwide.

Not only associations offer certifications. Remodelers often seek certification in areas such as home or building inspection, land surveying, insurance restoration, or sustainable building. And many manufacturers offer some form of installation certification. Some offer on-site training, to builders in particular; others, such as Pella Corporation, have training in stores such as Lowe's; and still others do so through a separate organization. GAF Materials Corp., the largest roofing manufacturer in North America, co-sponsors a nonprofit educational entity called the Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence. Most CARE training classes are free, and and are conducted by dedicated trainers who travel the country.

It's in everybody's best interests — the manufacturer, the remodeler, the consumer — that the product is correctly installed. “We give contractors the tools to be more successful in their business, especially when it comes to proper installation,” says Mike DiStefano, GAF's director of marketing – certified programs. “As a property owner, you don't want to have someone inexperienced doing the installation when you're making such an important investment.”

The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) created a program called InstallationMasters to certify installers of doors and windows in residential and light-commercial markets. Now administered by Architectural Testing Inc., in York, Pa., the two-day program is offered in every state. There's a $300 fee for the program and certification test, or a $200 fee for the program only. Says Ellen Marderness, program manager in the certification services department, “Taking the time to properly install doors and windows will minimize or eliminate the callback issue … and it also sets [that business] apart in its market.”

Whether it's an association- or manufacturer-supported experience, the real value of certifications is “exposure to a learning opportunity,” says PREP creator Weiss. “Education is sort of a personality or state of mind. One of the things any designation does for you is to create an appetite and a habit for frequently checking into what's going on. If nothing else, it makes you look at your procedures … your business, from an inquisitive standpoint.” Naysayers will just have to find out for themselves.

National Association of the Remodeling Industry (www.nari.org) All but one designation requires five years of full-time work in the remodeling industry, a self-assessment, and an exam.

CR — Certified Remodeler

CRS — Certified Remodeler Specialist: for those in trades such as plumbing or electrical who are not necessarily licensed

CRA — Certified Remodeler Associate: for anyone associated with the remodeling industry such as a business consultant or salesperson

CLC — Certified Lead Carpenter

CKBR — Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler CRC — Certified Remodeling Carpenter: 16-week education/apprenticeship program for those who have been in the industry at least 18 months

National Association of Home Builders/Remodelors Council (www.nahb.org) Offered through The NAHB University of Housing; all require continuing education to maintain designation.

CAPS — Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist: candidates must take three required courses

CGR — Certified Graduate Remodeler: five years of experience in the industry; Professional Remodeler Experience Profile (PREP) determines the number of courses required in each of five core areas

GMB — Graduate Master Builder: must hold CGB (Certified Graduate Builder) or CGR designation

National Kitchen & Bath Association (www.nkba.org) All require detailed application, affidavits of professional experience, and a documented specified number of hours of NKBA education or equivalent.

AKBD — Associate Kitchen and Bath Designer: two years of industry experience; academic exam

CKD — Certified Kitchen Designer and CBD — Certified Bath Designer: seven years of experience, client references, academic and CBD (or CKD) design exam

CKE — Certified Kitchen Educator and

CBE — Certified Bathroom Educator: seven years of experience in interior design education, client references

CKBI — Certified Kitchen & Bath Installer: five years of experience, client references, client portfolios, exam

CMKBD — Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer: 10 additional years of kitchen and bath design experience beyond time of candidate's first certification; documented examples of third-party endorsement; already hold CKD and CBD certifications

American Institute of Building Design (www.aibd.org) CPBD — Certified Professional Building Designer: two-day written exam

Other appellations used in this article:

ASID — American Society of Interior Designers: a membership organization that does not offer certifications

CGC — Certified General Contractor: a state designation

GRI — Graduate, Realtor Institute

LID — Licensed Interior Designer: a state designation

NCIDQ — National Council for Interior Design Qualification: founded by American Institute of Interior Designers (AID) and National Society of Interior Designers (NSID) as a credential-issuing nonprofit organization

PBD — Professional Building Designer: minimum six years of verifiable experience under architect or professional building designer; three letters of recommendation from industry professionals

RCS — Residential Construction Superintendent: offered by the Home Builders Institute, an NAHB subsidiary

State Recognition

According to the Federal Trade Commission's Web site, 14 states do not have licensing requirements for remodelers. In those states in particular, certification can play a role in upgrading the profession in the public eye. The 36 states that do require licensing give continuing education credit for pre-qualified courses. According to Mike Weiss, who created the National Association of Home Builders' Professional Remodeler's Experience Profile (PREP), “It takes action to get courses accepted [by the states]. But we are seeing some reciprocity, and we are making significant progress toward having a designation meet requirements for licensing education, for both remodelers and builders.”

Each state's licensing requirements are different. Florida has one of the toughest license laws in the country. To renew a license in Florida, which is required every two years, you need 14 hours of continuing education in courses relevant to the skills of a builder or remodeler. The state recognizes many of the NAHB's courses. However, only courses in technical aspects, business management, workplace safety, or workers' compensation are recognized. Specifically, to qualify for credit for the remodeler, the entity giving courses must be a licensed provider with Florida's construction licensing board, and the course itself must be approved.

In comparison, Minnesota remodelers need seven hours of continuing education; Oregon has a state test but no continuing education requirement.

New York does not require a builder or remodeler to be licensed, says Kristin Legere, director of public relations for the New York State Builder Association. But, she says, the state “has consumer protections through a home improvement contract law and the warranty law for new homes. We still promote the NAHB's program through its University of Housing and find it to be beneficial. It sets remodelers apart from their competition.”