What to Ask Before Hiring a Plumber in the UK

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What to Ask Before Hiring a Plumber in the UK

A quick search online will surely bombard you with those horror stories of unprofessional plumbers who weren’t able to fix the problem, plumbers who just made matters much worse, and plumbing companies who charge enormous bills.

To make sure that you don’t end up regretting your choice in the end, there are several questions you need to ask before you hire an emergency plumber in the UK.

Do You Have a Specific Specialty in Plumbing?

Before anything else, you should first ask about the specialties of plumber prior to hiring their services to be sure that you choose the plumber who best suits your specific needs for plumbing, heating services or boiler services you may require.

Do You Have the Necessary License?

All plumbers are required to have the necessary license for providing plumbing services. The plumbing license is like the official stamp of approval, a proof that a plumber has all the essential qualifications to work on the plumbing system of your home. The Gas Safe Register is a good place to start to find plumbing companies able to work with gas.

If a plumbing contractor doesn’t have a license at all, it will be better to look somewhere else. Plumbers with no licenses might just scam people or come up with unnecessary charges during the job.

Unlicensed plumbers also often don’t have an organization or team that they report back to. This means that if they ever charge extra or take advantage of their customers, they won’t be able to negotiate with anyone later on regarding the services they received.

How Long Have You Been in Business?

Obviously, it is better to choose a plumber with more experience. Through the years, they were able to hone and perfect their skills on the job, allowing them to identify and fix problems in a more efficient manner.

Another thing to inquire about is the experience they have in handling specific jobs like bigger tasks such as fixture installation. If they claim to have enough experience with such, you can ask them to show you samples of their past projects to get some idea if they can really pull off the job.

Do You Charge By the Hour or Do You Have a Flat Rate?

While it is impossible to determine the exact amount of time required to finish a job, it would be better if you can at least receive a rough estimate. There are jobs that might require longer hours due to unknown factors that might only be identified once the work starts. Plumbers that charge hourly rates can easily take longer to finish the job than what is necessary that might cost you more that it really should. For plumbers with hourly rates, you might want to ask for an estimate of how long it will take them to finish the job.

 

Are There Warranties Available?

Finally, before you proceed with any plumbing project, make sure you ask the plumber if they also back their services with warranties.

These warranties are typically time-based, such as 90 days, 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years. There are also lifetime warranties, depending on the specific project, for those instances when a part fails or requires replacement.

Warranties also give you an assurance that the job will be done right the first time since no one would want to come back just to do the job all over again.

Be sure to ask these questions the next time you hire a plumber in the UK.

 

See our previous post here: What is the Safest Pipe for Drinking Water?