Experiences with bad plumbers are common conversation fodder for neighborhood picnics and water-cooler exchanges, and the stories are unfortunately all too common. Like any trade, from car mechanic to homebuilder, the plumbing trade has both excellent, ethical professionals as well as some questionable individuals whose best skill is price gouging.
Most frequently, unethical plumbers take advantage of unknowing homeowners to recommend unnecessary and extremely expensive repairs. Unscrupulous plumbing companies are by no means the rule, but there are enough to fuel a lot of similar stories. How, then, do you find a plumber who is competent and offers good value?
Ironically, the most visible plumbing companies — the ones who advertise regularly on local television and have a fleet of trucks with expensive logos printed on the sides — can be among the worst choices when it comes to picking a plumber. That's because excellent plumbers usually have no reason or need to advertise. They have all the work they can handle through simple word of mouth passed around by delighted, satisfied customers. Many of the very best plumbers will arrive at your home driving a simple unmarked panel van packed with a wide array of tools and materials to quickly and economically fix whatever problem you're facing.
One good way to find a plumber is to ask the clerk at your nearby franchise hardware store. Most hardware stores keep a file box or bulletin board filled with the business cards of various trade professionals who serve the neighborhood, and the staff makes a point of recommending pros with the best reputation. Describe your problem to your hardware store clerk, and chances are good that they can steer you to an excellent, affordable plumber.
For major plumbing jobs where you expect to spend a considerable amount of money, make sure to get multiple bids. The range of bids you receive from licensed plumbers can be shockingly wide but be aware that these may only be estimates and not contractually binding work orders that commit the contractor to do the work for a set price. Beware of contractors who give you a low bid in order to get the work only to increase the bill when "unforeseen" problems are uncovered.
A licensed plumber should be able to show you proof of the following credentials:
According to national statistics, the average cost for a plumber's house call is $327, but this of course depends on the nature of the work being done. When you hire a plumber on an hourly basis, costs can range from about $45 per hour to as much as $200 per hour. At $45 per hour, you can expect a plumber who is at roughly the handyperson level or possibly an apprentice plumber working under the supervision of a journeyman or master plumber. At $200 per hour, you should be getting the services of a master plumber and a good one at that.
Most licensed plumbers will charge between $80 and $130 per hour — a charge that includes both the plumber's hourly wage and a good deal of overhead cost. Because their services are in such demand, many pros require a minimum number of hours before they will make house calls, or they may charge a flat travel/trip fee to make the service call. This nonrefundable fee is sometimes but not always applied against the cost of the completed work. Depending on where you live, the trip fee just to get the plumber to your home may be as little as $40 to $50 or as much as $300.
Another common business model is for the first hour of service to be billed at a fairly high rate with continued work costing less. Therefore, you might pay $300 for the first hour of work but $45 per hour for subsequent work.
Expect to pay more for after-hours or weekend service — perhaps a lot more. A plumbing problem that involves work on the main drain or sewer line can be very expensive if it involves breaking up a concrete slab or digging up the yard.
A college degree is not a requirement to be a licensed plumber, but the profession requires an extensive training and licensure procedure that takes just as long to complete. The plumbing trade is among the most rigorously regulated of all building trades, and the training involves both classwork and on-the-job training under the supervision of an established journeyman or master plumber. So, when you hire a plumber who holds a state license, you can be assured that they almost certainly has the technical acumen to do the job correctly. This doesn't mean that you won't find an occasional unethical professional who skimps on materials or tries to sell you unnecessary services.
Most plumbers begin their career in a classroom training program at a community college or vocational school. At the end of this program, which generally lasts two years, the candidate receives an associate degree and becomes eligible for an apprenticeship program that typically lasts four or five more years. During this time, the apprentice is supervised by a journeyman or master plumber who teaches her the nuances of the trade as practiced in real life. Sometimes, the classroom and on-the-job training occur simultaneously, with the candidate spending a day or two each week in the classroom and the rest of the work week in the field.
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