Find the Perfect Plumber: 9 Essential Questions to Ask
Hiring a professional plumber can be daunting. Asking the right questions ensures you get a qualified professional for your plumbing needs. Do you want to make your nightmare overflowing toilet worse by hiring the wrong plumber? How do you know when you’ve found the right one? Ask these questions BEFORE you hire your next plumber and save yourself a lot of headaches money!
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1. Is the Plumber you send to my home Licensed and Insured?
Even though plumbers don’t always have to be licensed, it’s a good idea to work with plumbers who have made that level of commitment to their careers. A good plumber may be unlicensed, but don’t ever hire a plumber who isn’t insured for liability or doesn’t carry workers compensation. You’ll be responsible if an uninsured plumber is injured on the job, and as unlikely as that may be, one accident could wipe out any money you saved by hiring a guy without a license or insurance.
2. Do I get a detailed, written estimate before you begin work?
Professional Plumbers should be able to provide you with a detailed estimate that outlines all the costs involved in your project. If your future plumber refuses to put it in writing, do you want that person as your future plumber? You don’t want any surprises before during or when you get that unexpected bill!
3. Do you charge a flat rate or an hourly rate 24-hours a day?
Some plumbers work by the hour and others work by the job. Find out what type of plumber you’ll be dealing with. An hourly plumber can get expensive quickly if he runs into unexpected problems, but if your plumber is very experienced, hourly rates could save money, too.
Plumbers who do provide 24-hour plumbing and emergency calls often charge a premium for those after-hours and weekend trips. Find out how much they charge long before you need to call, and you won’t have two big problems on your hands.
4. Do you charge for travel time?
There aren’t many standards in plumbing charges. Some plumbers will charge you from the moment they leave their home or office until they return there after completing your job. Unless they’re nearby, charging for travel time can get costly fast — so make sure to ask if travel time is included in the base charge.
5. Is cleanup an extra charge?
Cleanup is another gray area. You would think a plumber would clean up when the work is done, but that’s not always the case. Some plumbers are simply too busy or don’t have enough time to clean up after finishing their work, so they will charge you for the privilege. Whether or not it’s worth the price is up to you, but it’s better to know up front.
6. Do you offer 24-hour emergency service?
Not all plumbers offer 24-hour service, but the one you call at 2 AM should. Hiring that plumber before you have an emergency will save you a lot of surprise expenses when the inevitable failure to flush occurs.
7. What kind of warranty do you offer on your service and parts?
You hired a plumber to take care of your existing plumbing issues or install some new appliances, but a week after the job was over, your water line broke and the plumber won’t answer your phone calls. Make sure you find out what kind of warranties your plumber offers ahead of time, and get them in writing.
Depending on the source of the parts, they may or may not come with some sort of manufacturer’s warranty. Ask about the warranty. If your plumber says they’re not covered, see if they have upgraded parts options that are. After all, if your new toilet starts leaking due to a defect, it would be nice not to have to pay for a replacement toilet.
8. Will you provide a written guarantee?
Whatever the plumber of your future says the guarantee is on parts and labor, that person or company needs to put that guarantee into writing. If they won’t give you that little convenience, don’t give them your business. After all, how can you enforce warranty work if there’s no proof that they made you some sort of promise?
Choosing a plumber doesn’t have to keep you up pacing the floor at night. Just make sure you’re armed with plenty of the right questions and ask them of each plumber you contact until you find the one that’s right for you and your home.
9. Do you have any references I can contact?
Ask for references and contact them to find out what it was like working with the plumber in question. Friends and family are also great people to ask for advice about plumbers in the area. Any plumber that’s worth their salt should have a few customers happy with the service and at Precision, we have thousands! Check out our Google Reviews!
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