7 tips to find a reliable plumber in your area
Plumbing is one of the most essential and fundamental services that you may require in your home from time to time. Most common plumbing services that you may require range from diagnosis of water outages to broken and burst pipes as well as replacement of old and rugged pipework. When seeking the services of a plumber, emphasis should be put on ensuring that he or she can deliver good, high-quality work that will last for long. Finding a reputable plumber in the market today can be quite complicated and too involving. To set you off, however, here are 7 important tips on how to find a reliable plumber in your area.
Look for recommendations
When looking for a reputable plumber who will render you quality service, it is important and advisable to first seek recommendations from other persons around you. Recommendations can be obtained by questioning your friends and colleagues on whether they have any reputable plumber that has previously served them. You may also opt to seek recommendations from other kinds of commonly hired experts in homes including electricians and HVAC systems repair experts. Such experts can provide information that may help you land in a good deal with a reputable and seasoned plumber.
You may also opt to use the network of friends on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to ask for recommendations on where to locate a good and qualified plumber. The high networking capacity that social media provides will certainly ensure that you get referred to an individual who will meet your plumbing needs.
Check the reputation of the plumber
A plumber’s reputation in regard to the quality of service delivered in previous engagements can give you an idea of whether he or she is competent to provide you with good service. When looking for the plumber’s reputation, various options are available at your disposal. One of the key channels you can use to gauge a plumber’s reputation is using the internet’s various platforms that can give you an idea of how reputable a plumber or plumbing company is. Using Google, for instance, to search keywords such as plumbing company Canberra gives you a list of companies that provide plumbing services in the Canberra area of Australia.
Google provides additional information relating to the respective companies’ ratings and reviews from previously served customers. A company that has been rated relatively well on Google is a testament to its reputation and ability to deliver equally good services to you. You may also opt to check the plumbers’ social media pages for reviews and ratings and whether there exist any customer complaints on previous services.
Licensure
A reputable plumber who is professional and serious with his profession should be appropriately licensed to practice within a given area or at least in a given country. Checking the plumber’s license is highly important as it determines whether the plumber is recognized or not. Licensed plumbers generally tend to operate more responsibly and deliver better services than those who are not licensed. If a plumber is a holder of a government license in the field of plumbing, then that is a direct sign that he or she is bound to deliver quality services.
When looking for a plumbing company, licensure is equally important. A company operating without a license is generally unprofessional in the delivery of its day-to-day services. Such a company may also tend to avoid liability in instances where the plumbing fix does not hold and leads to further technical complications and errors.
Insurance cover
Insurance coverage is also highly important and should be appropriately determined. A plumber who operates without a proper insurance cover may cause an unnecessary liability upon you in certain instances. Cases may arise, for instance, where the plumber may get injured while rendering plumbing services in your premises, thereby demanding to be paid for workplace-related injuries.
Depending on the insurance coverage that the plumber secures, the insurance company may even pay you in cases where the plumber delivers faulty services leading to property damage in your home. Plumbing companies that are insured in the type of service they deliver generally tend to operate more responsibly and deliver better quality services whenever hired.
Warranty of service
A good and professional plumber should be able to give you a guarantee that his or her services would last for relatively long. If the plumber doesn’t give you a guarantee that the kind of fix that he does on your plumbing system would last for between 6 and 12 months, then you should seek to steer clear of his services as chances are that you will be poorly served. A warranty serves as a guarantee that the quality of service that the plumber will render you is of the highest possible standard.
Cost
When looking for a reliable plumber, another factor to consider is the plumber’s charges. The plumber should charge you a fee that is neither too high nor too low. To ensure you are not fleeced by unscrupulous plumbers who charge incredibly high fees, you need to be well aware of what the market charges are for similar plumbing services. You should, however, beware of plumbers who charge you ridiculously low amounts for delivery of plumbing services as that may imply that the plumbing service would be equally poor.
Flexibility and availability
Sometimes when looking for a reliable plumber, you have to ensure that he or she is flexible and available to deliver the services that you desire. A plumber may possess all the necessary criteria yet still be unavailable and not flexible enough to meet your specific needs. The plumber, for instance, should be able to come to your home and fix your plumbing issue whenever you need him or her to. Some plumbers may commit themselves to help you fix your plumbing issue on a specific date yet fail to show up for the work.
Such unreliability can be avoided by asking your preferred plumber whether he will be able to meet your specific plumbing issue by the stipulations that you demand. Taking such due diligence and following the above-outlined steps ensures that you hire the services of a reliable, reputable, and professional plumber in your area.