Good plumbing is a vital part of property renovation.

Do you hear the pipes shaking when you turn off the water. This is called ‘water hammer’. Is the pressure not strong enough when you turn on the tap or take a shower. A plumber needs to get this fixed. How about the water being either to hot or to hold when you take a shower. This is also something that a plumber needs to fix if you didn’t solve the problem by adjusting your thermostat.

Today we are going to explore how to find a good plumber and more importantly how to avoid a bad one!

Tip #1: Make Sure the Plumber is Licensed

Simple right? But you’d be surprised how many people don’t check this! An easy way to check is to go to ciphe.org.uk and search for the plumbing company that you are hiring. Or just ask to see the plumbers certification card. In the UK every plumber is required to have one. They may not keep it with them at all times so just ask them plumber who will be coming to your property to being it along when they come for the site visit.

Tip #2: Read Reviews

Get online and Google the plumber that you are planning to hire. There are many sites that cover the entire globe such as Google listing businesses in their online maps. You can read reviews there. More specific to the UK is Yell and even more specific to the trades industry is Checkatrade.com. A UK based company that does the leg work for you by actually contacting people who leave reviews for companies on their site to verify the reviews is truthful.

If you find a plumber that has positive reviews and a good number of them on Google, Yell and Checkatrade. Then you should be in good hands that you’ve found a reputable plumber who will do a good job.

Tip #3: Ask Questions

One of the best way to vet a plumber is to ask basic questions. Now we won’t give you specifics here as the amount of questions are endless. But Google your problem and find out the basic idea behind fixing the issue. Then when you speak to a plumber and ask specific question they will see you as educated and you will more then likely get a great service. Plus they will not be able to overcharge.

You will also know very fast if the plumber is experienced in the work that you need completed as you will know the answers they should be giving your form the research.

Tip #4: Get at least Three Quotes

Some plumbers do any kind of work. Other plumbers only do (or like) certain type of work. If you get the later with the plumber you found and you don’t have work for them that is what they generally look for they may charge you double or more. This is a common tactic in business overall all to set a barrier of entry for work a company doesn’t want. And if the person says yes to an absurd price then the plumber is happy to take on the work as they will make double or tipple.

So if you get a handful of quotes you will  know what the correct market rate is for the work that you need completed.

Tip #5: Use A ‘Flat Fee’ Plumber

There are two types of tradesmen and plumbers in general. Those who charge by the hour and provide an estimated rate. And those who quote a flat fee for the work.

It is always best to find a plumber who will provide a flat rate for the work they are looking to have completed. This way you will know what your cost is at the end of the day of the day and there will be no surprises costing you more.

Tip #6: Get a Referral

This should really be tip #1. Get referrals. If you have a friend who has been using the same plumber in your area for a few years and they are happy to keep going back then you can bypass everything that you need to investigate that we are mentioning here today.

Of course you will want to do some basic research before pulling the trigger and paying the plumber. But getting a referral from a friend holds a lot of weight!

To expand on this point. If you have had work done by another tradesman then why not ask them for a referral? The trades industry is very word of mouth focused. Tradesman often help each other out with passing on business this way and think about the logic for a moment. Do you think someone would risk referring you to a bad plumber? No way! As then you won’t come back to them for the work you need them to complete in the future.

That is is for our finding a plumber article for today! We hope you found this helpful and end up finding the right plumber for your job.