Hiring a plumber for your home is a vital decision that shouldn’t be made in haste. There have been horrific stories of unqualified plumbers messing up great plumbing systems in homes. Ensure you invest your money in the right skills and you wouldn’t have to incur more costs due to recurring problems. So no matter how small your budget is, ensure you hire one with professional qualifications, doubled up with experience.
But that isn’t enough, here is a list of the 6 most essential things you should consider before contracting a plumber;
1. Academic Qualifications
As much as there exist, good self-taught plumbers, having one with a professional qualification is a plus. This way you get some kind of reassurance that they actually know what they’re doing. Like other major and minor technical providers, plumbers also have a detailed curriculum that they should complete. This also comes with first-hand industrial training courses that ensure they get the basic skills to handle work the moment they graduate. The requirements in most parts of the world include a certification that paves way for the issuance of a practicing license. So if the plumber you intend to hire is licensed as they claim, then you can easily retrieve their records from the official license provider’s website in your state/location. Take time to verify.
2. Their Reputation
Nowadays, with the presence of the internet, differentiating between reliable and unreliable plumbers has become much easier. You can simply conduct a background check on them and receive tones of information regarding their industry reputation. It gets even better if they have a website as the reviews you get there can guide your decision-making process. You can also rely on family and friends for referrals. Remember a good reputation spreads faster, but so does a bad one. So if there’s anything not adding up, you can be sure to hear about it. Just be sure to remain objective.
3. Competence
The technical prowess of a plumbing agency is one thing that most dictates its competence. How reliable is the plumber? How modern and updated are their tools? And what about the overall experience of the agency and employees in your kind of problem? The management team should be easily accessible in case you need to report a misunderstanding or need to see if your issue can be rectified. Consider all this when choosing the best plumbing contractor. Their specialty, company mission and vision should be a perfect match for your needs.
4. The Price
Before hiring any professional plumber, you should first ask for their quotes. If possible, ask the same from various plumbing agencies and get to compare. Be careful, however, as sometimes the price resonates with the quality of service you should expect. Instead of focusing on how low the price is, concentrate on it is fair and competitive in the current market situation. You don’t want to risk hiring an inexperienced plumber for a shoddy job at a low cost. Beats logic, right? Be smart and make smart moves.
5. Warranty
If you thought that it’s only specific products in the market that have a warranty to their names, then you thought wrong. Most qualified professional service providers also do offer warrants for their work as a way of reassuring their clients and showing confidence in their work. So before you make that final call to your selected plumber, ensure you ask them about their warranty details. Always ensure that they are willing to stand by their work and offer free services in case things go wrong within that period.
And if they do, ensure they make it in writing. Yes, you might be tempted to take their word without any sort of documentation, but please don’t. You will need to produce some sort of evidence before the law if unfortunately things go wrong and they refuse to take up responsibility. You will be obviously doomed if you don’t have any. So insist even if that makes you seem imposing.
6. Terms Of Work And Insurance
Lastly, always ensure the plumber with the contract that has a clearly laid down plan of the terms and conditions of their work. This should include payment, communication strategies and their schedules on how they plan to carry out the task/project. Ensure everything falls within your anticipated time frame.
Additionally, if it’s an agency, let it provide its workers with a liability and compensation insurance. This is for work-related injuries and damages. Remember, if they don’t have, you will have to foot the bills.
When hiring a plumber, it’s advisable to look beyond their word promises. Instead, focus on finding out if they’re truly academically qualified, have industrial experience and good reviews. A good professional plumber should also have up-to-date equipment, a fair pricing and be ready to warrant their work. Refuse to be dubbed!