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The Star Group Specialty General Contracting sign at the site bears contractor-license numbers. However, the Bunker Engineering & Construction Services sign has no license number. Does construction services imply construction contracting? Contractors and architects are required by state law to include their license numbers in advertisements. If the engineer is contracting, that would violate the law, but if he and the firm he is associated with were just doing engineering, he does not have to exhibit his license number. Chapter 471 of the Statutes of Florida defines engineering as work engineers are trained to do: such services or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of engineering works and systems, planning the use of land and water, teaching of the principles and methods of engineering design, engineering surveys, and the inspection of construction for the purpose of determining in general if the work is proceeding in compliance with drawings and specifications, any of which embraces such services or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, and industrial or consumer products or equipment of a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or thermal nature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health, or property. Chapter 489 states that , Contractor means the person who is qualified for, and shall only be responsible for, the project contracted for and means, except as exempted in this part, the person who, for compensation, undertakes to, submits a bid to, or does himself or herself or by others construct, repair, alter, remodel, add to, demolish, subtract from, or improve any building or structure, including related improvements to real estate, for others or for resale to others; and whose job scope is substantially similar to the job scope described in one of the subsequent paragraphs of this subsection (general contracting and several specialties are defined). Contractors and architects can do incidental engineering tasks, and engineers can do incidental architectural tasks, without a license in the incidental type of work. Engineers are required to have seals. If I were an engineer, I would want a facsimile of my seal on all my advertising copy, and I would proudly state my license number thereunder, even though the statute says just calling myself an engineer is sufficient.
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Perhaps they scoff at the law since it goes unenforced. There is little or no consequence when it is enforced, because the enforcers say that the objective of the law is compliance not punishment. And it may be that some contractors and architects do not even know they should put their license numbers on their signs, if they are indeed licensed. Although they had to pass a test to get their license, if they do have one, their ignorance may not be limited to signage laws. Do you want to do with business with real estate sales organizations that do not follow the simplest law regulating their trade? Do you want to do business with contractors and architects who do not follow or know about even the simplest of laws regulating their trade? The state may allow local code compliance officers to enforce the state code in respect to the requirement that contractor signs exhibit license numbers. George Castell, Code Compliance Administrator, said the design review process for temporary construction signs might permit only contractors signs with licensing numbers. He has not gotten back to me yet on how he will follow up to see if that may be done.
A sign on Alton Road placed in a window by South Florida Restoration indicates that its qualified contractor is rightly proud of the fact that he is licensed by the State of Floridaso proud that he may have violated that local ordinance that a construction window sign may not cover more than ten percent of a window area. His sign would be great advertising if only the
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