Cut through the information overload and focus on the
important criteria for choosing a plumber for your next repair job. Read on to
learn the truly important criteria for judging the qualifications and
experience you should expect from your next plumber.
There are many people out there advertising themselves as
being a plumber and all of us want to have a good plumber when we have problems
with our plumbing systems in our homes or businesses. The problem is knowing
how to sift through the information out there and the people competing for our
business to find the good ones. We need to know what the criteria is for
judging the qualifications and experience of the people claiming to be
professional plumbers in order to make the best choice possible for our homes.
We all know that, regardless of the profession, some people are just better at
their jobs than others.
The absolute first criteria that you should be using to
evaluate potential plumbers is whether or not they are certified by a legitimate
body. There are many handymen out there that advertise their services as a
plumber, but saying you are a plumber and actually demonstrating your
qualifications to an independent oversight board are two entirely different
things. For example, in Florida any person who wishes to be licensed as a
plumbing contractor has to pass a very tough set of tests that were designed by
the state to test the applicant’s knowledge across all areas of plumbing. By
insisting on using a state licensed plumbing contractor, you can be sure that
your plumber has the knowledge to handle the job.
But knowledge alone isn’t enough. The person you choose
should also have been in business for at least five years in order to have had
enough time to have experienced most types of plumbing systems and problems
with those systems. You need to choose someone with a solid combination of
knowledge and experience. But not all experience is the same. It is also
important to properly assess the scope of the past work in which the prospective
plumber has been exposed to over their time in the trade. If the person you are
evaluating has only been doing one thing, for example installing water heaters,
they might not have the skills at other plumbing tasks to do your job. You
should ask questions of the prospective plumber to make sure they have a good
background across a wide variety of repairs.
Once you find the plumber that has the certification and
demonstrated experience, it is time to make sure that the plumber is also
insured and offers a guarantee on the repairs being made. When a plumber comes
into your home and is making a repair, in some rare instances, there is a
chance of damage to your home. One example would be a plumber who forgets to
shut off the water before making a repair to a pipe and he inadvertently floods
your home. If the plumber is not insured, good luck on getting him to pay for
the cleanup costs. Plus make sure that the repairs are backed by at least a one
year parts and labor guarantee. If not, you may be paying again to fix the same
thing. Â