The
State Board of Examiners
of
Plumbing, Heating and
Fire Sprinkler
Contractors
History of the Board ‐ 1931
• Our Board was established in1931 to license Plumbing and Hot Water/Steam Heating (Boilers) Contractors
– (Plumbing Class I & II, Heating Group 1, Class I & II)
• Our license only applied in cities and towns greater than 10,000 population
• Permits and Inspection were not mandatory throughout the State during that time (there were inspection departments in larger cities and towns).
Board Members Composition
(As appointed by the Governor of North Carolina)
• One member from a school of engineering of the Greater University of North Carolina, • One member who is a plumbing or mechanical inspector from a city in North Carolina, • One licensed air conditioning contractor, • One licensed plumbing contractor, • One licensed heating contractor, • One licensed fire sprinkler contractor, and • One person who has no tie with the construction industry to represent the interests of the public at large.
Plumbing (Class I or II)
• The system of pipes, fixtures, apparatus and appurtenances, installed upon the premises, or in a building, to supply water thereto and to convey sewage or other waste there from.
Heating Group 1 (Class I or II)
• Heating system of a building, which requires the use of high or low pressure steam, vapor or hot water, including all piping, ducts, and mechanical equipment appurtenant thereto, within, adjacent to or connected with a building, for comfort heating
Heating Group 2
• An integral system for heating or cooling a building consisting of an assemblage of interacting components producing conditioned air to raise or lower the temperature, and having a mechanical refrigeration capacity in excess of 15 tons, and which circulates air. Systems installed in single‐family residences are included under heating group number 3, regardless of size.
Heating Group 3 (Class I or II)
• A direct heating or cooling system of a building that raises or lowers the temperature of the space within a building for the purpose of comfort in which electric heating elements or products of combustion exchange heat either directly with the building supply air or indirectly through a heat exchanger using an air distribution system of ducts and having a mechanical refrigeration capacity of 15 tons or less.
Heating Group 3 (cont.)
• A heating system requiring air distribution ducts and supplied by ground water or utilizing a coil supplied by water from a domestic hot water heater not exceeding 150 degrees Fahrenheit requires either plumbing or heating group 1 license to extend piping from valved connections in the domestic hot water system to the heating coil and requires either heating group 1 or 3 license for the installation of coil, ductwork, controls, drains, and related appurtenances.
Fuel Piping
• The Board shall establish and issue a fuel piping license for use by persons who do not possess the required Class I or Class II plumbing or heating license, but desire to engage in the contracting or installing of fuel piping extending from an approved fuel source at or near the premises, which piping is used to supply fuel to any systems, equipment or appliances located inside the premises.
Fire Sprinkler
• An automatic or manual sprinkler system designed to protect the interior or exterior of a building or structure from fire, and where the primary extinguishing agent is water. These systems include wet pipe and dry pipe systems, preaction systems, water spray systems, foam water sprinkler systems, foam water spray systems, nonfreeze systems, and circulating closed loop systems. These systems also include the overhead piping, combination standpipes, inside hose connections, thermal systems used in connection with sprinklers, tanks, and pumps connected to the sprinklers, and controlling l
dd
f
l
Fire Sprinkler (cont)
• This subsection shall not apply to owners of property who are building or improving farm outbuildings. This subsection shall not include water and standpipe systems having no connection with a fire sprinkler system. Nothing herein shall prevent licensed plumbing contractors, utility contractors, or fire sprinkler contractors from installing underground water supplies for fire sprinkler systems.
Two Classes of Licenses
• Class I – Covers plumbing, heating and fire sprinkler systems for all structures
• Class II – Covers plumbing, heating systems in single‐family detached residential dwellings.
General Statute 87‐21 (a) (5)
• (5) Any person, firm or corporation, who for a valuable consideration, (i) installs, alters or restores, or offers to install, alter or restore, either plumbing, heating group number one, or heating group number two, or heating group number three, or (ii) lays out, fabricates, installs, alters or restores, or offers to lay out, fabricate, install, alter or restore fire sprinklers, or any combination thereof, as defined in this Article, shall be deemed and held to be engaged in the business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contracting; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to restrict the practice of qualified registered professional engineers. Any person who installs a plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler system on property which at
the time of installation was intended for sale or to be used primarily for rental is deemed to be engaged in the business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contracting without regard to receipt of consideration, unless exempted elsewhere in this Article.
Licensure Requirement
(c) To Whom Article Applies.
The provisions of this Article shall apply to all persons, firms, or corporations who engage in, or attempt to engage in, the business of plumbing, heating, or fire sprinkler contracting, or any combination thereof as defined in this Article. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to those who make minor repairs or minor
replacements to an already installed system of plumbing or heating, but shall apply to those who make repairs, replacements, or modifications to an already installed fire sprinkler system. Minor repairs or minor replacements within the meaning of this section
shall include the replacement of parts in an installed system which do not require any change in energy source, fuel type, or routing or sizing of venting or piping. Parts shall include a compressor, coil, contactor, motor, or capacitor.
Licenses
• License can be issued in a corporation, partnership, assumed or designated trade name (must be in the name of business).
• Licenses expire annually on December 31st of each year.
• Licenses expired for more than three years are retired and licensee is required to reexamine.
• Annual license fee is $125.00.
General Statute 87‐21 (i)
• (i) The provisions of the Article shall not apply to a retailer, as defined in G.S. 105‐164.3(35), who, in the ordinary course of business, enters into a transaction with a buyer in which the retailer of a water heater sold for installation in a one‐ or two‐
family residential dwelling contracts with a licensee under this
Article to provide the installation services for the water heater if the retail sales and installation contract with the buyer is signed by the buyer, the retailer, and the licensee and bears the licensee’s license number and telephone number. All installation services rendered by the licensee in connection with any such contract must be performed in compliance with all building code,
permit, and inspection requirements.
General Statute 87‐21 (j)
• (j) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to a person primarily engaged in the retail sale of goods and services who contracts for or arranges financing for the sale and installation of a single‐family residential heating or cooling system for which a license to install such system is required under this Article, provided all of the following requirements are met: • 1. No contract proposal for sale or installation may be presented to or signed by the buyer unless either (i) the specifications for and design of the system have been first reviewed and approved by an employee of the retail seller who is licensed under this Article or (ii) the
specifications for and design of the system have been first reviewed and approved by the person licensed under this Article who will install the system, if the installer is not an employee of the retailer. This subdivision does not prohibit the retailer from providing a written estimate to a potential buyer so long as no contract or proposal for contract is presented or signed prior to the review and approval
required by this subsection. • 2. The person installing the system is licensed under this Article. General Statute 87‐21 (j) (cont)
• 3. The contract for sale and for installation is signed by the buyer, by an authorized representative of the retail seller, and by the
licensed contractor and contains the contractor’s name, license number, and telephone number and the license number of the person approving the system design specifications. • 4. Installation services are performed in compliance with all applicable building codes, manufacturer’s installation instructions, and permit and inspection requirements. • 5. The retailer provides, in addition to any other warranties it may offer with respect to the system itself, a warranty for a period of at least on year for any defects in installation. G.S. 87‐25 Violations made misdemeanor; employees of licensees excepted.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall engage in or offer to engage in, or carry on the business of plumbing, heating or fire sprinkler contracting, or any combination thereof, as defined in G.S. 87‐21, without first having been licensed to engage in such business, or businesses, as required by the provisions of this Article …shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. An employee in the course of his work as a bona fide employee of a licensee of the Board shall not construed to have engaged in the business of plumbing, heating or fire sprinkler contracting, as the case may be.
.0512 EMPLOYES EXEMPT FROM LICENSURE
(a) As used in G.S. 87‐25, the phrase “bona fide employee”
shall mean and refer to an individual who is directly and regularly employed in the ordinary course of business by a contractor licensed pursuant to G.S. 87, Article 2. Factors establishing whether the individual is directly and regularly employed in the ordinary course of business of such contractor include, without limitation, the following list:
(1) whether the individual is on the licensed contractor’s payroll;
(2) whether the licensed contractor withholds taxes from the payment to the individual and performs such other acts as are lawfully required of an employer;
(3) whether the licensed contractor exercises control over the method and manner of the individual’s work, and
(4) whether the licensed contractor, and not the individual, is and remains obligated to the owner for the work.
(b) Persons acting as independent contractors, consultants or sub‐contractors, or paid as such, are not bona fide employees.
• .0501 AIR CONDITIONING FURTHER DEFINED
• (a)Heating Group 2 systems are defined in G.S. 87‐
21(a)(3). Multiple units serving interconnected space and aggregating more than 15 tons are included in the foregoing whether or not separately ducted or controlled.
• (b)All heating systems utilizing ductwork and located in single family residences, and not requiring a Heating Group 1 license require a Heating Group 3 license.
• History Note: Amended Eff. August 1, 2002.
.0506 MINOR REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS
(b)
The initial installation or the subsequent replacement of a hot water heater in any structure requires a license in plumbing
contracting. (c)The installation of a water purification system which interrupts
the potable water supply does not constitute a minor repair or replacement within the meaning of G.S. 87‐21(c).
(d)
Any connection, repair, or alteration which requires interruption of the potable water supply and if poorly performed
creates substantial risk of contamination of the potable water supply is not a minor repair, replacement or alteration.
(e) Any connection, repair or alteration which if poorly performed creates substantial risk of fire or exposure to carbon monoxide,
open sewage or other gases is not a minor repair, replacement or alteration.
• .0507 HEATING: GROUP 1 LICENSE REQUIRED
• A license in heating, group No. 1 is required for the installation or replacement of a boiler in a heating group No. 1 system.
• History Note: Amended Eff. May 1, 1989; August 1, 1982.
.0508 HEATING: LICENSE REQUIRED
(a) A license in heating, group No. 3 is required for the installation or replacement of a furnace, ductwork or condenser in a heating, group No. 3 system.
(b) A license in heating, group No. 3 is required to install or replace a self‐contained fireplace unit if the unit utilizes ducts or a blower to distribute air to areas not immediately adjacent to the fireplace itself.
(c)
A license in heating, group No. 3 is required when air conditioning of less than 15 tons is added to an already installed heating, group No. 3 system.
(d) A Heating, Group No. 2 license is required for the installation or replacement of equipment or ductwork in a Heating Group No. 2 system, unless exempted by G.S. 87‐
21(a)(3).
History Note: Amended Eff. March 1, 2005.
.0402 PERMITS
(a) A licensed contractor shall assure that a permit is obtained from the local Code Enforcement official before commencing any work for which a license is required by the Board. The contractor shall also assure that a request for final inspection is made within 10 days of substantial completion of the work for which license is required, absent agreement with the owner and the local Code Enforcement official. Absent agreement with the local Code Enforcement official the licensee is not relieved by the Board of responsibility to arrange inspection until a certificate of compliance or the equivalent is obtained from the local code enforcement official or the licensee has clear evidence of his effort to obtain same.
(b) A licensed contractor shall not allow a permit to be obtained or his license number to appear upon a permit except for work over which he or his employees perform, over which he will provide general supervision until the completion of the work and for which he holds an executed contract with the general contractor or property owner.
History Note: Amended Eff. December 1, 2003.
.0404 ACTIVE EMPLOYMENT
(a)
In each business location, branch or facility of any kind from which work requiring a license pursuant to G.S. 87, Article 2 is solicited or proposed, or from which contracts for such work are negotiated or entered into, or from which requests for such work are received,
accepted, or dispatched; and from which such work is carried out, there shall be on duty the lesser of 1500 hours annually, or all hours during which the activities described herein are carried out, at least one individual who holds license in the classification required for the work being proposed or performed, whose license is listed in the name of the particular firm or business at that location, and who is engaged in the work of the firm at the business location or at firm job sites and who has the responsibility to make, modify, terminate and set the terms of contracts, and to exercise general supervision, as defined in Rule .0505 of this Chapter, of all work falling within license qualification. Evidence of compliance shall be required as a condition of renewal or retention of license, and falsification shall constitute fraud in obtaining license. The standards set forth in 21 NCAC 50.0512 shall be applied.
.0505 GENERAL SUPERVISION AND STANDARD OF COMPETENCE (a) The general supervision required by G.S. 87‐26 is that degree of supervision which is necessary and sufficient to ensure that the
contract is performed in a workmanlike manner and with the requisite skill and that the installation is made properly, safely and in accordance with applicable codes and rules. General supervision requires that review of the work done pursuant to the license be
performed while the work is in progress. (b) The provisions of the North Carolina Building Code, including the provisions of codes and standards incorporated by reference, to the extent adopted by the Building Code Council of North Carolina from time to time is the minimum standard of competence applicable to
contractors licensed by the Board. Licensees shall design and install systems which meet or exceed the minimum standards of the North Carolina State Building Code, manufacturer's specifications and installation instructions and standards prevailing in the industry. State Board’s Website & Telephone #
www.nclicensing.org
(919) 875‐3612
(919) 875‐3616 (fax)