T
tomcorrigan
When booking a plumber, what qualifications and affiliations should I be looking for to know I've got someone I can trust?
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How do I know I've found a good plumber?
- Thread starter tomcorrigan
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ask him/her what he has
ask if a member of any guilds or bodies
Ask if they have a portfolio of work, beofre and after pictures
Can any family members or friends recommend any one
ask if a member of any guilds or bodies
Ask if they have a portfolio of work, beofre and after pictures
Can any family members or friends recommend any one
N
newbie1
paper qualifications are not really worthwhile at the end of the day
if hes good/polite/tidy and fair on price then thats a good plumber
if hes good/polite/tidy and fair on price then thats a good plumber
P
Puddle
Well if his land line no ends in 605 and his mobile 291,would say that is an indircator that you have a very good plumbers number
Other than that, word of mouth is by far the best way,do not wait for something to happen ,ask around now and get some recommended numbers of plumbers and other tradesmen for when you need them,after that the Institute of plumbing has a charter for members and qualification requirements to join, so in my opinion a good pointer
If gas work, not only check they are gas safe but also they are qualified to work in the field required,ie cookers boilers, warm air ect but remember gas safe looks after safety not costs charged
One thing I would advise is stay away from full page and half page adds in the directories, you maybe lucky and get work done ok but someone has to pay the thousands it costs to advertise there and that in part will be you
Another way of telling a good plumber or any tradesman is by his/or her tools,if quality tools and tool bag full of them, good sign, if they walk in with a B&Q screwdriver and grips, you should be on your guard
And do not be afraid to ask lots of questions about his experience and the work it self
imho
Other than that, word of mouth is by far the best way,do not wait for something to happen ,ask around now and get some recommended numbers of plumbers and other tradesmen for when you need them,after that the Institute of plumbing has a charter for members and qualification requirements to join, so in my opinion a good pointer
If gas work, not only check they are gas safe but also they are qualified to work in the field required,ie cookers boilers, warm air ect but remember gas safe looks after safety not costs charged
One thing I would advise is stay away from full page and half page adds in the directories, you maybe lucky and get work done ok but someone has to pay the thousands it costs to advertise there and that in part will be you
Another way of telling a good plumber or any tradesman is by his/or her tools,if quality tools and tool bag full of them, good sign, if they walk in with a B&Q screwdriver and grips, you should be on your guard
And do not be afraid to ask lots of questions about his experience and the work it self
imho
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S
secret squirrel
Someone who turns up on time is polite, tidy explains what they have to do, someone who has a landline number not just a mobile.
Someone who doesn't mind popping around to have a look and give a price.
But how do you find a good customer?????
Someone who doesn't mind popping around to have a look and give a price.
But how do you find a good customer?????
B
Blackcatgas
Ask your friends and family Tomcorigan, one of them at least will have used the services of a plumber in the last 18mnths, plumbers get a lot of bad press because of these "builders from hell" type programe.
My old college tutor Eric used to be one of the "experts" the programes called on to inspect the work that these rouge traders had done, hes stopped doing it now because the way the programes were rigged.
They basicly get the names of 10 plumbers who have had complaints made about them to trading standards... so your off to a bad start already, then get them round to do a job, a few wont turn up, some will turn up and do a reasonable job for a reasonable price, then 2 will turn up and do a bad job for silly money.
The truth is that if you were to phone up 10 plumbers from the little one line ads in the yellow pages, J Smith and sons etc, 10 of them would turn up and do a good job for a reasonable price.
When ever I go into a new custards house they are usauly on thier gard and suspicous of me becuse theyve seen these programes, it makes it very hard for me to gain thier trust, some of them will question everything that I say and somtimes I really dont want to tell them that thier boiler etc is beyond economic repair because it sounds like Iam making it up even though its the truth.
Sorry for the long rant, the crux of my post is, the chances of you having a bad job done for an extortianate price are alot less than you may think.
My old college tutor Eric used to be one of the "experts" the programes called on to inspect the work that these rouge traders had done, hes stopped doing it now because the way the programes were rigged.
They basicly get the names of 10 plumbers who have had complaints made about them to trading standards... so your off to a bad start already, then get them round to do a job, a few wont turn up, some will turn up and do a reasonable job for a reasonable price, then 2 will turn up and do a bad job for silly money.
The truth is that if you were to phone up 10 plumbers from the little one line ads in the yellow pages, J Smith and sons etc, 10 of them would turn up and do a good job for a reasonable price.
When ever I go into a new custards house they are usauly on thier gard and suspicous of me becuse theyve seen these programes, it makes it very hard for me to gain thier trust, some of them will question everything that I say and somtimes I really dont want to tell them that thier boiler etc is beyond economic repair because it sounds like Iam making it up even though its the truth.
Sorry for the long rant, the crux of my post is, the chances of you having a bad job done for an extortianate price are alot less than you may think.
H
hiretools
Fair and resonable comment/book 🙂 Blackcat most plumbers want the repeat business so the y do a good job for everybody like others have said the people who turn up when hey say they will are tidy and polite and reasonable rates that's a good plumber geezer trust us!!!!!!!!!!! 😉
O
oldplumber
good plumbers arent afraid to sign write their vans and give out their home contact number. They turn up on time or call you when delayed. they know how to use a dust sheet etc etc. Finally they repair your boiler etc first time normally (cant all be perfect though)
B
Bernie2
Find out a bit about domestic Plumbing and its Regulation, then you will know if their jobs are any good or not?
Lets be fair a cowboy is going to tell you they are the greatest Plumber going and may even produce a shed load of qualifications.
But you will never really know unless you know something about Plumbing yourself.
Its not all that hard to find out the relevant regulations and standards for a domestic job.
However its usually how the job is done and the finishing standards that matters to most customers.
After all you can install an installation that is rough, without breaking the rules and regs. How many times have you seen a copper pipe bend with more ripples in it than Cadburys make? And how many times have you seen pipework bright green with verdigris because the flux has not been washed off.
How many times do you find a system has been commissioned on first fill?
You have to know something about how things are done properly to know if your getting a good job or not.
Lets be fair a cowboy is going to tell you they are the greatest Plumber going and may even produce a shed load of qualifications.
But you will never really know unless you know something about Plumbing yourself.
Its not all that hard to find out the relevant regulations and standards for a domestic job.
However its usually how the job is done and the finishing standards that matters to most customers.
After all you can install an installation that is rough, without breaking the rules and regs. How many times have you seen a copper pipe bend with more ripples in it than Cadburys make? And how many times have you seen pipework bright green with verdigris because the flux has not been washed off.
How many times do you find a system has been commissioned on first fill?
You have to know something about how things are done properly to know if your getting a good job or not.
check the work before you pay is the best way
You wouldn't buy a car with out checking it
So if your not happy dont refuse to pay just be polite and say that your not happy with this or that
You wouldn't buy a car with out checking it
So if your not happy dont refuse to pay just be polite and say that your not happy with this or that
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