What Kind of Credentials Should Your Plumber Have?
Hiring a plumber can be a complicated experience. Oftentimes, it’s an emergency and you need one fast. You don’t necessarily have time to call friends for advice and recommendations, or even call multiple plumbers. What should you look for when looking for a plumber?
Having to deal with plumbing is many a homeowner’s nightmare. They don’t know where to start or how to finish. Unfortunately, any home will require quite a bit of plumbing work to be able to even be inhabitable. There are professionals out there who can take care of the job in a safe and efficient manner such as Plumber Salt Lake City. If you are on the lookout for one of these to provide you with their services you may be curious as to what kind of credentials your plumber should have. This is a good question to ask yourself because if your hire someone who doesn’t have what they need to behind them, then they can cause damage to your home and you could get left with the bill.
Licensed
A lot of people don’t even know that there are licensed and unlicensed plumbers, but there are – and the difference can be critical to getting a job completed in a well-done and timely manner. One that is licensed can cost more, but sometimes spending a little more up front can save you big time in the long run. Here are some things to consider and why you should hire a licensed plumber for your next plumbing repair job.
You need to have your plumber that is working on your home be licensed. The requirements for this are different with each state. If your plumber is licensed that means they have taken the state exam that says whether or not they know the right information to be able to work on your fixtures. After they have learned their trade there will be an examination that is state approved that they will need to pass showing they are qualified to work on plumbing fixtures. If the plumber you’re considering hiring doesn’t have this you have no way of knowing whether or not they actually possess the knowledge needed to install your new copper piping.
Plumber with a License is Well-Trained
The certification process is detailed and extensive. It is not a simple matter of just paying for a short course and getting a piece of paper. A licensed plumber is a well-trained, well-educated contractor like Plumber Salt Lake City. They are required to take hundreds of hours of school and must train with a licensed plumber for as long as five years in some states. Hiring someone fully licensed as a plumber will have the experience needed to deal with any job.
A Plumber with a License Will Save You Money
An unlicensed plumber may seem like a deal at first, but a plumber that is licensed will save you more money in the long run by doing the job right, doing it with the right tools, and doing it with quality parts. If you hire an unlicensed plumber, you may well end up having to hire a licensed plumber to fix the work after all.
A Plumber with a License is Insured
If, for whatever reason, a mistake or accident happens on the job, a licensed plumber will have the insurance and workman’s compensation in place to cover the costs. With an unlicensed plumber, you will more likely than not be responsible for covering any damage or medical bills.
A Plumber with a License Plays by the Rules – A licensed plumber is to adhere to rules and regulations in order to remain certified. This is particularly important if you are constructing a new home or expanding your current home under code. By hiring a plumber that is licensed, you can be assured that he or she won’t cut corners and that you will get a job that is done up to code.
Insured
One of the other important things you’re going to want to check for when looking to hire a plumber is if they are insured. This will mean the difference between a broken water pipe and a plumber walking away leaving you to deal with the damage and one who will cover the costs. When working with pipes and fixtures any number of things can happen and you don’t want to be left with a big ticket in your hand and a bill to pay. A quality Plumber Salt Lake City will pay for insurance that will cover what they work on in the event an accident happens such as a broken pipe.
Bonded
Bonded is often one of the most misunderstood words of the contracting industry. The first thing you need to know about it is that you want you’re plumber to be bonded. They should be able to show proof of it. When a plumber is bonded it means they have protection that will cover and offer protection for specific jobs. If they have been contracted to put all the pipes and fixtures into your new home that is under construction and they walk away leaving the job undone, you will be able to seek reimbursement to find another plumber to fix it. One of the major differences between insurance a plumber carries and their being bonded is the protection of jobs left unfinished. If you pay a good amount of money for work you expect completed and are left with it unfinished you want a way to recoup this so you can hire someone else.
Difference between Insured and Bonded
Do you know the difference between something that is bonded and something that is insured? The terms “bonded” and “insured” often are misunderstood. Both involve coverage for financial risk or loss, and in some instances there is little difference between the two. Still, it is important to know the difference when assessing your company’s need to protect itself.
Bonding usually refers to a type of surety guarantee that a specific project, service or act will be financially covered if performance is not complete or satisfactory.
Examples would be projects or services involving construction, home health care, electrical contracting, real estate inspection, gardening services, delivery or moving services. Companies or individuals providing these services and others customarily secure a bond from a bonding company, assuring that if a customer’s project is not completed or is not deemed to have been satisfactorily completed, the bonding company will reimburse the customer for financial loss.
Some occurrences covered by bonding include noncompletion of a contracted project or service, cost overruns, not meeting schedule, unsatisfactory quality of work, damage to a customer’s property while a project is underway or injury to customer’s personnel during work.
Some customers will not contract work out to companies or individuals that are not bonded. Large companies and government agencies usually require bonding for their contractors, and many service providers secure bonding for themselves to be eligible to compete for large projects. Often, even customers contracting relatively small jobs (such as home repair or gardening services) will not consider companies or individuals that are not bonded.
Bonding companies charge according to the type and financial extent of risk. Most bonding companies have packages for certain types of businesses and are competitive in pricing and coverage. Policies vary, however, and it’s wise to shop among competing companies.
Ensure that you are Dealing with a Professional
- Steps that you can take to ensure that your dealings with whomever you end up hiring are positive?
- That your problem is solved, the price is right and the work that’s done is to a high-quality?
- To start with you need to know upfront that any Plumber Salt Lake City, you end up dealing with must be licensed, bonded and insured, and this is something that you just can’t afford to compromise on. You see if a plumber isn’t carrying up-to-date insurance you can be held financially liable if he or one of his employees is injured on your job.
Then, another thing you should be aware of is the level of damage to your home that can result from faulty plumbing work, and once again if the person you hire isn’t carrying valid up-to-date insurance and is also bonded you can be left on your own to pay for any repairs that result from water damage due to shoddy repair work. Or if it’s a gas line in your home that needs to be worked on the risk obviously becomes much greater. Homes have burned down and even exploded as a direct result of shoddy work performed on gas lines.
So, the responsibility is on you as the party carrying the burden of risk to verify that any plumber you hire is licensed, bonded and insured; things that any reputable and reliable plumber should be more than happy to verify for you on demand. Now you can check the standing of their state contractor’s license online but you’re going to want to see some paperwork that shows that they are bonded and insured. A reliable plumber will also be more than happy to provide you with a few references, homeowners and business operators who they’ve previously done work for; people who you can contact to verify their credibility.
A reliable prospect that’s reputable and honest should have a short list of previous clients who are happy to put a good word in for them. Now one of the best places today to start your search is an online referral service that’s specific to your city. An online venue that lists licensed contractors in your area along with pertinent information like comments from previous clients.
Then, if you do check to see that they’re licensed, here’s a good tip. Make sure that the person’s name on the license is the person who you’re dealing with when you’re negotiating to have the work done. You need to be sure that you’re not dealing with someone who’s simply working under a friends borrowed state contractor’s license number.