Do need help finding a plumber? When you need plumbing repairs, it can be a serious bummer, and finding a plumber can be really overwhelming. If you’re in a rush for emergency plumbing services while finding a plumber, you might end up with someone who does shoddy work. You might end up being charged a lot more than you should have to. You might end up having to make bigger and more expensive repairs down the road to straighten out the work that wasn’t made properly the first time.
If you need help finding a plumber and hope to avoid the nightmare of choosing the wrong one, check out our list of things to make sure you look for in a plumber:
Five Qualities of a Great Plumber
- Make sure your plumber is licensed.
This might come as a surprise, but not all states require that a plumber get licensing in order to set up shop and work on the critical pipes in your house. That’s right, a person can slap “Smith and Sons Plumbing Services” on the side of their pickup truck, and sell themselves as a plumbing professional.
Before hiring a plumber, make sure to ask about licensing and contact the state board that administrates it to verify that the plumbers credentials are in place. If any complaints have been made against a plumber, the licensing board will have record of it. This is a great way to avoid a plumber that will do you wrong. - Verify the plumbing services insurance and bonding.
This is a very important factor for both you and the plumbers protection. Insurance protects you in case a plumber is injured on your property. If he is not properly insured, you could be held liable for his medical bills. This will either turn into a property insurance claim that will drive your premium up, or will be money out of your pocket. When a plumber is adequately insured, if anything happened to him on the job, his business insurance will cover the cost.
Being bonded protects your property in case anything is damaged while your plumber is working. Let’s say that your plumber tears out your kitchen sink and then never returns. The plumber’s bond will pay to remediate the damage and leave your home as good as new. Also, in order to maintain their bond, the plumber has another reason to not tear out your kitchen sink and hit the road.
As with the licensing, you should always contact the insurance and bond service and verify that the plumber’s coverage is active. It’s easier to say you have insurance and bonding than it is to actually have it. - Look for experience.
A plumber who wants your business is going to present their best side and make you think that they are qualified for the job, regardless of if they actually are. However, you cannot fake years of experience. If a plumber has been in business for decades, keeping their clients happy and maintaining a good reputation, it’s a good sign that they’ll do a good job in your home. - Get several estimates.
For big jobs, you want to make sure you get an estimate from at least three plumbing services. We aren’t saying that you should just go with the cheapest estimate — this will just give you a good idea of the market rate for the work you need to get done. Obviously, don’t go with a contractor who wants to charger a lot more than the rest of the pack, but also, if a plumber is charging an exceptional amount less than everyone else, there’s a probably a reason why. They can’t stay in business long if their prices are so low that they’re losing money. More likely they’re cutting corners and using cheap parts. Those are things you don’t want for your home’s plumbing system.
And always get estimates in writing, to verify the estimate you’re given will resemble the final bill (barring any huge unforeseen circumstances). - Review the warranty offered.
Any plumber worth his bill will offer you a warranty. Ask if the warranty covers parts and labor, or just the parts. Ask how long the work is covered with a warranty. If the plumber won’t offer a warranty to guarantee their work, you might not want to hire them.