What to Look for when Hiring a Plumber in Salt Lake City?

March 28th, 2018

What to Look for when Hiring a Plumber in Salt Lake City?

Several things can make up a bad plumber, and the results will amount to not only a hole in your pipes, but more so in your pockets.

Here are the Top 10 things to look into before calling a plumber out to your home or business:

  1. Licensed and Insured – Each plumber should have a plumbing license issued by the state. The company itself should have a license in the state and city of their business. The plumbing company must also be insured to cover damages should anything happen during repairs. You definitely want a plumber who is both licensed and insured.
  2. Drug Tests and Background Checks – If you are hiring a plumber to come to your home, drug tests and background checks are essential. Nobody wants a potentially dangerous or untrustworthy person in their home.
  3. Knowledge and Experience – Plumbing is not just a job that includes providing clean pipes or drains. Knowledge and experience with plumbing can directly affect your safety. A drain repair gone wrong could mean further backups. A water heater vented incorrectly could be very dangerous, and we see this too often.
  4. Warranties and Guarantees – All paper work should have the warranties and guarantees (or the lack thereof) clearly explained on the paper you are signing. If you have a hot water heater installed or repaired, having a warranty clearly explained to you by your plumber will save time and money in the future should it fail to work again.
  5. Service and Courtesy – Your plumber must be polite and nice. Good service is essential. If repairs or installations stop working that day or start leaking again, the professional should provide the service of coming back the same day to fix it.
  6. Explain the job thoroughly – After diagnosing the problem, you must give approval of the work to be done. In that process, the plumber must explain to you what went wrong with your plumbing, what they are going to do to repair it, and how much it will cost. They should provide a disclaimer explaining situations such as needing to rent a backhoe should they come across rocky dirt while making a big repair. You should also have your questions fully answered and details explained by the plumber.
  7. Pricing – Do not get ripped off. Be cautious of companies that charge by the hour. As the customer who is likely to be less informed about plumbing services and the general length of time to fix repairs, slow business and few calls can mean taking time on the job. Straight-forward pricing is an alternative route which is fixed on the type of work that needs to be done, not how long it takes. Expert Services- Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical provides fixed pricing for plumbing repairs.
  8. Cleanliness – Clean plumbers do exist. First, make sure they are in uniform. Professionalism and a clean uniform is the least you can ask for the business you’re providing. Second, the truck should be relatively new and not leak oil all over the driveway. Third, the plumber should clean up after themselves and wear clean shoes or at least have shoe covers.
  9. Fully Stocked Truck – Unless you have a serious project or repair with significant damage, your plumber should not have to keep leaving the job site for parts. This, of course, takes longer to fix the unusable toilet and is not necessary.
  10. Established Physical Address – This in itself is the best start to ensuring the previous 9 are fulfilled. Beware of any product, service or company you pay into that doesn’t have an established physical address. If you do come across a plumber who charges a price that sounds too good to be true and does not have an established address, this will likely mean there are no warranties or insurance involved with the plumbing repairs and you could possibly have shoddy work done.

Overall, be careful who you hire, and do not be afraid to call around and ask about the above recommendations.