...except the most rural counties. This may come as a surprise, but I live in a rural county, and the house we're talking about is in an even more rural county

...except the most rural counties. This may come as a surprise, but I live in a rural county, and the house we're talking about is in an even more rural county. It's curious, that on HN we Americans are always reminded not to assume anything about other cultures (and rightly so), but we're eager in turn to assume all sorts of things about other states we've never seen. You've got some strong emotions about how remodeling should be done and paid for, but not everyone feels the same as you do. Certainly not everyone felt that way decades before you even thought about construction. California (or whatever other state you're referencing) is not a microcosm of the rest of the nation. Anyway, you're wrong about that state too. Lots of remodeling gets done there, too, without the involvement of licensed general contractors.