4 Factors To Check Before Hiring A Plumbing Contractor
Are your plumbing pipes leaking? Is your toilet clogged? If you’re experiencing any of the two or anything in between, it’s time you hire a plumbing contractor.
A plumbing contractor is well conversant with everything related to plumbing and will come to your rescue. However, not all service providers who claim to be plumbers are ideal for your plumbing issues. It begs the question, what should you consider before hiring a plumbing contractor?
Here are the factors to check:
- Qualifications
When looking for a plumbing contractor, they should have the right qualifications for the job.
The qualified contractor should have the necessary educational qualifications. They should have undergone training in plumbing too. A certificate of completion should prove this. It’s best if the plumber has furthered their plumbing know-how and gotten certified by plumbing regulating bodies.
As part of the qualification, experience is key. Experience allows a provider to perfect their skills, hence its importance when vetting one. It’s best to hire a plumber such as Dan’s Plumbing, who’ve offered their services for many years.
Also, they should have experience tackling your specific plumbing issues because plumbing is broad.
- Customer Protection Measures
As part of satisfying customers, a provider needs to protect their clients in any way. In this case, the plumbing contractor should protect you from damage, poor services, and fines and penalties.
How will you ensure this?
Check to see that the contractor has insurance coverage and a bond. The ideal insurance covers are the general liability and workman’s compensation.
The general liability covers you if the plumber damages your property as they fix your plumbing issues. For instance, they could damage your walls as they tried to access the damaged pipe.
On the other hand, a workman’s compensation will cater to any injuries the contractor and his men might incur as they meet your needs.
That aside, a bond will ensure you receive quality services from the plumbing contractor. You can seek compensation if the contractor fails to meet their end of the bargain. A third party, often a financial institution, is the one who’ll compensate you.
A bond best works when the contractor has a Service Level Agreement (SLA.) It stipulates the services to expect from the plumber. And it’d help to sign an agreement for easier implementation of the bond.
- Service Costs
You don’t want to spend a fortune as you seek plumbing services. It’s considering you have other needs to finance. Therefore, it’s important to check the service costs of your preferred plumbing contractor.
The best way to vet these charges is by first researching the average cost of your plumbing issues in your area. You’ll better know the price you should be paying, allowing better comparison.
Create a budget for the project as well; it’ll guide you on the limit you should spend on the services.
Next, request quotes from several plumbing contractors. Compare the services they’re offering and the price they’re charging. The two should go hand in hand. You shouldn’t pay a lot of money, yet you aren’t receiving few services. The aim is to get value for money.
Regarding costs, you want to inquire about their payment terms. Some contractors charge a fixed fee for all the work, while others charge per hour. The choice should depend on your plumbing needs. Where the scope of work is big, please select a provider whose fees are fixed. Seeking a per-hour contractor might become expensive in the long run.
- Availability
Plumbing issues know no time or day. They’ll happen in the middle of the night or during a holiday. Based on this, it’s important to consider your plumbing contractor’s availability.
One way of vetting a contractor’s availability is checking their customer support. How easily do you reach them over the phone? Do you have to wait five minutes for them to return your call?
The other way to vet is by checking their working hours. Are their services available 24/7, or do they have limited working hours?
Suppose they don’t offer 24/7 services. Can they still meet your needs in case of emergencies, no matter the time of day? Do they have a contact person for emergencies?
Lastly, you want to inquire about the locations in which the plumber runs their operations. As stated earlier, plumbing issues know no time. Hence, the plumber should be able to reach you as fast as possible. Based on this, it’s best to hire a plumber near your location.
Conclusion
Plumbing issues need to be handled with the utmost care during the repair process. Errors could make the problems worse. Henceforth, working with a plumbing contractor is ideal. This discussion has made the identification process easier by highlighting the factors to check when vetting.
