Month: July 2017

Think about the last time you bought a car. You may not have consulted the yellow pages, nor selected a dealer at random, or bought your car in the first place you visited. However, many times, this is the scenario that describes the way a plumber is searched, people read the phone book and call the plumber who has posted the largest or first listing on the list. However, just like buying a car, searching for a qualified plumber should be figured out and compared to ensure that you get the best price backed by a competent and quality service.

How to identify a plumber

The first thing you should do to find a good plumber is to ask family or friends for advice about professionals they have hired. Other good sources of reference are contractors, real estate agents and the local plumbing store. City government may even recommend a list of plumbers who are familiar with the codes in your area.

There are two different types of plumbers, those who make repairs and those who specialize in new construction and remodeling. “Plumbers who do repairs should be called when a sink is clogged, there are leaks in faucets or emergency situations,” warns Gage. “The second type of plumber works on larger projects, such as replacing a faulty pipe throughout the house or installing additional pipes.”

When requesting references, be sure to ask what type of work the plumber was hired for. Also, find out if the plumber specializes in residential or commercial work.

There are several qualifications that can differentiate a professional plumber from the rest.

Certification or state license – In many states license or state certification to work in that state is needed. Call to verify that the license is up to date and find out if there are any complaints against that license.

Insurance – Make sure the plumber who plan to hire are insured, have compensation insurance against accidents and liability insurance. The plumber you choose must provide you with a copy of your insurance policy.

Better Business Bureau – Contact the local Better Business Bureau to find out if complaints have been filed against your potential candidate.

Questions to ask

When you have narrowed down the list, have two or three plumbers come to your home to evaluate the work and to give you a written budget that includes a list of materials. The contract should explain in detail the magnitude of the project, the items that are not included and the mode of payment. When you get the budget, one question you should not forget to ask is the type of materials that will be used. Remember, a faulty piece can cause damage to your home or turn your basement into a pool. I searched:

Quality materials

Do not allow the plumber to install products made from cheap materials of inferior quality. Ask your plumber to install quality materials, from recognized brands that offer manufacturer’s warranty to the consumer. You may have to pay more, but then you will be happy to have done so if there is a problem or if any of the parts should be replaced.

Reliability and proven performance

Many homeowners who request the services of a plumber to replace a leaking copper pipe are unaware that alternative materials exist on the market. Why make the plumber make a repair with the same material that has already failed? Ask plumbers you plan to hire if you use any of the proven copper alternatives.

These pipes and connections, of durable chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, offer more benefits than a copper pipe. To begin with, it never corrodes, itches or accumulates tartar, which helps to eliminate the risk of future failures and a costly new installation of the pipes. Compared with metallic systems, Flow Guard Gold CPVC systems also virtually eliminate condensation, reducing the risk of costly damage to walls, structures and contents. From the health point of view, the CPVC alternative offers the added benefit of maintaining water quality, since there is no metal that leaks into tap water.

In addition to consulting for the quality of the materials, you can ask the following questions to the plumber you plan to hire:

Business / Referral experience: Ask each plumber how long he has been engaged in the activity and if not personally recommended, ask him to name several people who can attest to the quality of his work and if he completed the job in the time established within the presented budget.

Permits: Check with the professional plumber if you will be responsible for obtaining all necessary permits.

Service guarantees: Does the plumber offer a job guarantee? This is an important point if there are problems that need fixing after the initial installation.

Safety commitment: Accidents can happen in almost all housing improvement projects. Therefore, ask your prospective candidate what steps will be taken to avoid injury or damage to property. A common problem when installing copper pipes is when the welding torch comes too close to the dry wall or to wooden beams in tight spaces. Non-metallic alternatives, such as CPVC pipes, are solvent-cemented (not welded), thus eliminating the risk of fire.

Cleaning: Ask the plumber how he will leave the work area once his work is finished. You will not want to clean for hours after the plumber has left home. Also ask about disorders during the project. For example, if the plumber uses CPVC pipes, you should not worry about picking up metal / copper chips or oil spills on your carpets or floors.

Prices

Compare prices, but remember that the cheapest quote they offer does not necessarily mean the best job. It is possible that a skilled and experienced plumber charges more for the job, but ultimately, it can save you money if you do a good job with the best materials.

The best time to choose a plumber is before you have a plumbing emergency. Unfortunately, most people facing an emergency have very little time to research a plumber. When the toilet flushes a leak or the roof of the damp basement of a broken pipe on the top floor, finding help is imperative.

Instructions

1. Call a well-known homeowner whose opinion you trust. Most homeowners at one time or another need to hire a plumber and can advise you on one with a good reputation.
2. Try calling a builder or contractor, if you know one. Contractors often try plumbing and generally have well-formed opinions about various local plumbers, the quality of their work and the competitiveness of their prices.
3. Talk to the real estate agent who represented you when you bought your home. Real estate experts often recommend plumbers and other subcontractors to their clients. Because most agents want to keep you as a repeat customer, they will be happy to recommend a plumber to you.
4. Avoid leaving your name and phone number on a plumber’s answering machine unless you are calling after hours. Also, be wary of a child answering the phone. Although reputable plumbers can work outside their home in small communities and rural areas most plumbers who have been in business for a while answer their own phones or have a receptionist.
5. Request a Plumber’s license number before hanging up. If you feel nervous about it, tell him that you are going to convert the claim into his owner’s insurance agent and that is a requirement.
6. Ask for a price before work begins. Most reputable plumbers will give you an offer, or at least a budget with a ceiling price. The exception is when the plumbing problem occurs inside a closed wall or ceiling. In that case, the plumber may be reluctant to quote a firm offer until he sees the magnitude of the problem. In this situation, they ask for a “worst case” price.
7. Consider the plumber’s warranty service before hiring you. If he cannot guarantee work for an acceptable period, he must send up a red flag. If you do not have very old fittings and pipes and your house needs extensive plumbing work, a good plumber will come back to fix a leak or a problem that was your mistake.

Tips & Warnings

• Take the time to find a plumber before an emergency occurs, if possible.

It is very popular to believe that there is no such thing as a “good” plumber who cares about customer service. While it is true that there are plumbers out there who are really only in it for the money, there are also some who are really concerned about the quality of their work and pleasing their customers. The challenge is to find these plumbers.

Instructions

1. Take into account previous experiences with plumbers. Remember if they were courteous or discourteous, discreet or unpleasant. They should be concerned about the work they have done and should take care of customer service. A good plumber should be careful as at home like him in his own, or better still, his mother. When you are looking for a plumber, ask if workers wear plastic booties over their work shoes when they enter someone’s home. If the answer is no, you should raise a red flag in your mind.
2. Make sure the plumber double-checks your work. Also ask a warranty on it. If the answer is no to any of those things, be careful. No matter how desperate the situation seems to be, it is not necessary to spend a fortune for poor service and poor work. In at least one good plumbing service should give a discount on the so-called future pipes.
3. Make sure the plumbing service offers you a tour through your home plumbing system to give you an idea as to why problems have come up and how to prevent them in the future. This type of service is offered by plumbers who do not want tons of repeat business. They want customers, right, but they want to do the right job the first time. It also helps to make plumbing service hours. The really extraordinary ones are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
4. Check if the plumber arrives when she says will and gets the job done over time. A plumber who spends hours in a job, accomplishes nothing and expects you to pay, then goes for two weeks before returning to finish the job, is not going to cut. If they call a plumbing service and say they will send someone right on ask them how much it is going to be, where the plumber is driving from and how much it will cost you just to visit the House alone.
5. Know that a good plumber will tell you exactly what he is going to do and how he is going to do it. He will give you a bill estimate before he performs the service and inform you every step of the way of what is happening to your pipes. He will clean up after himself, and once finished, he will make absolutely sure that the system works now as it should before never leaves his house. In addition, he will leave your card with you so you can contact him.

Tips & Warnings

• When you talk on the phone to the company and it is questions, listen carefully to the response of the person. If there seems to be an antagonistic tone, a red flag should go up and warn you of that particular company.
• Do not attempt to do your own plumbing work unless you know what you are doing. A small problem can easily become a great one so a professional does the work for you.

When installing plumbing in a new construction or during a remodeling, local building codes may require an inspector to perform a pressure control. To avoid having to pay high fees or fail inspection, you can check the pressure of your pipe prior to the visit of the inspector. Even if your pipe is not to be checked, you can check the pressure to verify the quality of your facility, and identify and solve any problems before it is serious.

Instructions

1. Prepare the system. It is preferable that you check the supply of water and drainage system (drainage, waste and vent) when all the pipes are installed, but before they are covered or inaccessible. The pipes must be dry and the main valve closed.
2. Blocks the drainage system. For a pressure measurement, you will need a system without air leaks. It locks the ventilation pipes and empties the T-joints close to the main pipe. Seal all openings, such as drains and water intakes. You can do this using sticky plugs or inflatable connection plugs.
3. Connect the pressure pump and the meter. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, connect the pressure pump and meter to an appropriate part of your drain system, such as a washer.
4. Pressure the plumbing system. Operate the air pump until the meter registers five pounds (2.27 kg) per square inch (PSI).
5. Monitor the pressure. Check pressure gauge constantly for at least 15 minutes. If the pressure is kept constant at five psi, your drainage system is safe and has passed the test. However if the test fails surely you must have a loss somewhere.
6. Check for leaks. Even if the pressure stays constant during the test, you can inspect your drainage system for signs of small leaks, such as a soft hiss or an air leak. If the pressure fails during the test, or if you suspect for any other reason that there is a leak, you can also check the joints by applying a small amount of soap with water and watching for air bubbles.
7. Repair the losses. Once you have identified the source of a leak, you can solve the problem by reinstalling or replacing the loose, defective or damaged parts of the pipes. Then you can perform the pressure test again to verify that the problem has occurred or find out what repair should be performed.
8. Test the water supply lines. Generally, you can perform a pressure test on the supply lines simply by opening the water outlet and controlling the entire extension of the system to detect any leakage that the water pressure reveals. However, if you prefer an air pressure test, you can follow the same steps as with the drainage system.

Tips & Warnings

• You can buy the necessary equipment and tools in a hardware store or plumbing store, you can also rent the equipment for less cost in a rental business.
• Check local building codes, or call a licensed inspector to find out if a pressure test is needed, and find out about any specific requirements, such as pressure and time testing.
• When performing an air pressure test, wear safety goggles and other protective equipment. Be extremely careful, especially when checking seals and seals. High pressure could cause the joints to come off at high speed, or create other potential hazards.