Many people wait until they have a crisis on their hands before they think to find a reliable plumber. Unfortunately, that is a set up for failure and additional stress, added to an already stressful situation. If the basement of the house is slowly filling with sewage due to a pipe peaking, the last thing a person needs to do is to go through plumber after plumber, trying to find a local plumber who is the most qualified one and gives the best quote. Even worse is to find a plumber at the time of the emergency, think the issue is solved, and then find out later that it wasn’t done properly and has caused more damage to the house or office.
Keeping a List Handy
It is important to have found local plumbers beforehand and have a list of local plumbers readily available in case of emergency. The reason that there should be more than one plumber on the list is that it is always good to get more than one quote on a particular job so that there are options to choose from, while still being fairly certain of the quality of service. It also makes the plumbers more likely to compete with each other on pricing, thus ensuring the best possible price on the market.
Friends, neighbors and family members can all be great resources to finding a local plumber. Be sure to find out what type of plumbing job was done and how satisfied they were with the quality of work, cost and customer service. Another resource is to look online for some plumbing comparison sites, since there are often reviews of different plumbing companies’ service.
In addition, it is good to find out what types of qualifications different plumbing companies require of their plumbers when finding a local plumber. A Tradesman license is the lowest level of plumbing license, yet it still requires that a plumber train as an apprentice under a Master or Journeyman plumber for a minimum of two years before taking the state licensing exam. Even with a Tradesman plumber, an individual can be fairly certain of the experience of the plumber, especially for smaller jobs.
A Journeyman’s license requires two more years under the supervision of a Master plumber before taking the exam. Therefore, a plumber with a Journeyman’s license has had at a minimum four years of experience, as well as taking a more difficult exam. A Master plumber has the most experience, other than a plumbing inspector. They have to have been licensed as a Journeyman and practiced for a full year before applying for the Master licensing exam. The exam is also more difficult, requiring the plumber to be able to plan the plumbing system of a three story building as part of the test.
