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The benefits of hiring a plumber

When things aren’t flushing or they’re flooding, that’s a situation you need fixing as soon as possible. Plumbers provide specialized skills that might seem expensive initially but are worth paying for, in place of attempting repairs yourself.

• Plumbers are faster at identification and correction. 
  A plumber will be able to correctly identify your problem and fix it the first time. Imagine if your toilet isn’t flushing – there are many reasons why this might be, but you could spend hours of your time trying to fix it on your own. A plumber can find the actual problem in a fraction of the time and fix it correctly.
• Plumbers save time.
  A flooded house or lack of hot water are immediate problems. Even if you feel confident you can fix a minor leak or running toilet, it’s going to take you far longer to diagnose and treat the problem than it would a plumber. There’s a reason the hourly rate of a licensed plumber costs what it does; they only need a few hours to complete the work. If you try on your own, it might take all day (and you still may never figure out the issue).
• Professional plumbers can find other problems.
  If you find your sink leaking and a plumber comes in, he may find that your pipes are corroded or not up to water safety codes. Paying for a set of professional eyes now can save you money in the long run; consider how expensive it would be to fix ruptured pipes instead of preemptively replacing them in a controlled setting.
• Professional plumbers are insured.
  It might be tempting to work on your own plumbing problems but what happens if you destroy a pipe or create a leak that causes structural damage? Or imagine if you lose control of a heavy fitting and damage your home in some other way – you’re going to cost yourself quite a bit of money. Professional, licensed plumbers are required to carry insurance, and as such, if there are any mistakes or accidental damage, it will be covered.
• Working with hot water and sewage is dangerous.
  Plumbers are equipped and protected for the highly dangerous and often unpleasant work of fixing toilets, bathtubs and water lines. You very likely do not have any of the necessary equipment to protect yourself or your home from the damage and grossness that a plumber faces every day. The image of fixing a toilet should be reason enough to hire a professional.
• Water problems are potentially very expensive.
  You might think that you can handle a leak or a loose fitting, but why waste your time and money when in the long run, a plumber is worth the investment? It only takes a short amount of time for wood exposed to water to be irreparably damaged, and a plumber can fix the problem before that damage occurs. Additionally, installing something like a water heater is virtually impossible with a plumber’s skills and tools.
• Plumbers are typically part of a union
  This provides two benefits: union plumbers have stricter guidelines for professional work and require more years of training than the bare minimum, and unions have multiple plumbers working for them. This gives your plumber the expertise and help of many other minds, in the event there’s a serious problem they cannot fix on their own.

What to expect when a plumber comes to your house

When a plumber comes into your home, they’ll only bring a bag with some diagnostic tools and they’ll ask to be brought to the problem area. You’ll leave them alone while they investigate, and then they should be able to come back to you and give you a detailed explanation of the problem and an estimate of the time and cost to fix it.

Assuming you agree, they’ll go back out to their van and suit up – usually some kind of overalls to protect their actual clothes. They’ll also grab whatever specific tools they need to get the job done. Plumber’s vans have hoses, wrenches and a myriad of other tools needed to fix anything water-related. They often also have powered rooters, which are hoses used to flush out water mains and can provide hundreds of feet of tubing to thoroughly complete the job.

As they’re completing their job, the plumber will usually tell you if you need more work or if you should speak with another contractor. This occurs primarily when water damages a subfloor or interior wall and additional work needs to be done that the plumber doesn’t handle.

When the plumber is done, they’ll present you with an itemized list of the problems they fixed along with the bill and anything else they found that might be distressing or need fixing in the future. A licensed plumber will also provide a warranty on their work; if things break down or come undone, they should come back out and fix it. Be sure to ask if your plumber guarantees their work ahead of time – if they don’t, hire someone else.

What training do plumbers get?

Plumbers are highly skilled professional tradesmen with months of training and job shadowing. 

1. Plumbers must have a GED or high school diploma. Plumbing is a highly complex job that requires geometry, planning and measuring that necessitates a good understanding of math.
2. After high school, plumbers enroll in trade schools and vocational training. These courses last usually about a year and teach all of the most fundamental aspects of plumbing as a profession.
3. After vocational training, the plumber will apprentice with a licensed plumber to learn hands-on job skills. This process can take years, and often happens under the tutelage of a guild house or trade union, providing the opportunity to work for said union up completion of the program, which could be 3-4 years.
4. When the work plumber has finished their apprenticeship, they can apply for their license. This requires 3-5 years of training and completion of an apprentice program. From there, these plumbers can take the licensing exam in their state to get fully approved to take on jobs themselves.

References:

• Howtobecome.com
• Explorethetrades.org