How do you get a plumber?

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Sylvan

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Mr Blog I dont know why you recieved poor service , But many Techs , mechanics, Plumbers, learn mostly from experiance or entirely from experiance and picking up a few tricks from someone else who learned the same way. In my Area Southern Ca. we have good apprenticeships for union plumber but very much geared toward construction. A good plumber could finish training and turn out journeyman and still be really green in many aspects might know high rise work but not be proficent at layout and plumbing a new custom home or be able to hang doing repairs.
There definatly is a void in good service and repair men .

When I was accepted to local plumbers 2 I realized staying in one shop would be a big mistake so decided to quit each shop after a year to get all-around experience

One of the companies did strictly hospitals which was a great experience learning to install an autopsy table BUT how many does an average plumber get to install? I also installed chemical and acid waste system using Pyrex and Duriron which again was different then most plumbers get involved in BUT it helped me get more experience

Moving on to brand new constriction highrises 47 stories commercial spaces and I even did a stint at the World Trade towers for a shot time BUT that was boring.

I worked in a shop did strictly commercial and industrial work where I had to improve my welding skills.

My last year as an apprentice I went into residential new work and repair (jobbing) and realized here is the real money maker not in new work even though the union pay scale was less a decent jobbing plumber would stay busy all year long

Because of my training when I passed my first master plumbers test I did commercial, industrial, residential and institutional and picked up the USPS and nursing homes and factories but hired 9 people just for jobbing such as drain cleaning and repairs and fixture replacement.

I started another company strictly boiler installations for apartment buildings and my partner has a class A oil installers license so he handled that part of the company

Then oil leaks became "Toxic" and the liability was not worth it so I closed it down and having A master fire suppression license I opened another company strictly sprinklers in office buildings which I still have in operation along with my plumbing company.

I took in a partner for each company and I do not believe in micromanaging them so this gave me more time to become more proficient at being an expert witness although I still do my water Jetting in April - September weather permitting.

Thankfully the unions never got involved in repair work and the shops that do have class "B" so-called mechanics that have no training what so ever and their lack of knowledge allows nonunion shops to thrive

When the offices were shut down in NYC there were massive union layoffs on new construction and my company picked up several more nursing homes because we were able to not only do plumbing , heating but we also offered sewer and drain cleaning including my license to work and install and service grease traps and proper disposal of grease.

We have been working 7 days a week and hired more helpers and picked up more churches as many are well over 100 years old and their steam and condensate lines are corroded and have to be replaced.

We are now certified to do the new gas inspection requirements which is another potential for generating new accounts

https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/safety_profexams/fg_content.pdf

Many plumbing companies state we do residential or commercial work which limits their access to much more work

Ideally, a journeyman class A had at least 1050 hours of classroom studies plus the 10,000 hours of OJT and can braze medical gas lines such as oxygen type L copper dehydrated and has the certifications along with the backflow testing and installation certifications plus OSHA of course and has a copy of their local plumbing codes on hand plus the energy code and NFPA 13 if they install sprinklers and continue taking classes and never think they know it all as that is impossible

This child was burned by a heating pipe No place in the "plumbing code" is there any regulations on the piping to a radiator BUT the energy code did have a paragraph stating all heating lines "Shall be" covered to and from a radiator up to the supply valve.

This little known fact I brought up at a deposition and it proved negligence on the part of the installer and landlord as both were responsible (Even though personally I think the mother should be jailed)

I work for the personal injury law firm and it is dirty work but someone has to do it...

Today everyone is a victim and no one is responsible like "no-fault car accidents" so knowing various codes separates the professionals fro those who just look for a fast buck being a parts replacement specialist












 

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Tuttles Revenge

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One of the companies did strictly hospitals which was a great experience learning to install an autopsy table BUT how many does an average plumber get to install? I also installed chemical and acid waste system using Pyrex and Duriron which again was different then most plumbers get involved in BUT it helped me get more experience

One.. exactly One. And it wasn't even an Autopsy table, it was a Necropsy table in an animal testing laboratory. We got the project from the Mayor who asked us to do the project off the books, no permit as a favor.
 

John Gayewski

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I think there is some confusion as that what plumbing is. Which is defined in the upc (not sure on ipc). People who clean drains are drain cleaners, they can clean drains, some do it well and some do just enough, when there is a problem with your plumbing they call a plumber as he is licensed to work on (alter) your plumbing.

Lines between these two get blurred only in the area of business. Sometimes there are plumbers who decide to take up drain cleaning as a way to make money and widen their income potential. For the most part a plumber won't clean your drain and a drain cleaner won't work on your plumbing.

So if you want to find someone to fix your problem you would start with reputable companies in your area and ask for a licensed journeyman plumber or if you have a smaller job tell them to send whomever as there are apprentices who are capable.

If you want someone to clean your plumbing you'd call a reputable company in your area who cleans drains, and ask for someone who will stay until it's done. If the drain cleaner recommends you have a plumber out to fix your drain then you should do that. Asking a plumber to come unclog a drain that a drain cleaner can't clean will just cost more money than you want to spend.

As a plumber I regularly use drain cleaners. When I want to make sure I have a clear picture as to the "root" (no pun intended) cause and a "best solution" to a problem, I stay there with the drain cleaner and make sure he's cleaning and watch his camera with him to game plan.
Here is how it looked form the main line BTW, if you interested in that kind of thing.


He-he, fair enough. I did my best to convey it, but probably failed. Sorry for that. I don't hate on the industry. In fact, I firmly believe any industry has plenty of knowledgeable, honest people who are proud of their craft and my goal is to be able to find them. Heck, I loved one of the two guys who showed up - he definitely went above and beyond. My second goal is to understand why I was given a boot. Sure, some of it had to do with the skill, but a lot more - with constant stress, liability, vanishing profit, unwillingness to take on a harder job, and an attempt to upsell an unnecessary service. This is no different from going to a mechanic for an oil change and being sold a replacement of a perfectly good part. There are amazing mechanics but most people dread taking a car for a service, don't they? If you understand the underlying motives though - it is much easier to make an informed decision.

I would love to get someone like Sylvan above - not only he convinced me of his skill, but pretty much convinced me to move into plumbing! :)
 

Sylvan

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I think there is some confusion as that what plumbing is. Which is defined in the upc (not sure on ipc). People who clean drains are drain cleaners, they can clean drains, some do it well and some do just enough, when there is a problem with your plumbing they call a plumber as he is licensed to work on (alter) your plumbing.

Lines between these two get blurred only in the area of business. Sometimes there are plumbers who decide to take up drain cleaning as a way to make money and widen their income potential. For the most part a plumber won't clean your drain and a drain cleaner won't work on your plumbing.

So if you want to find someone to fix your problem you would start with reputable companies in your area and ask for a licensed journeyman plumber or if you have a smaller job tell them to send whomever as there are apprentices who are capable.

If you want someone to clean your plumbing you'd call a reputable company in your area who cleans drains, and ask for someone who will stay until it's done. If the drain cleaner recommends you have a plumber out to fix your drain then you should do that. Asking a plumber to come unclog a drain that a drain cleaner can't clean will just cost more money than you want to spend.

As a plumber I regularly use drain cleaners. When I want to make sure I have a clear picture as to the "root" (no pun intended) cause and a "best solution" to a problem, I stay there with the drain cleaner and make sure he's cleaning and watch his camera with him to game plan.
Yesterday I did 2 one family homes Jetting a total of 7 - 3" leader lines and 1 yard drain and snakes 2 main 4" sewers.

Total time with travel time was 3 hours and we billed out $2,800 (Thanks to Brandon) I added a gasoline "surcharge" as I used a gasoline Jetter instead of the less powerful electric


If you think about no materials other then a CO plug /cap are needed in sewer or drain cleaning and its is all profit once the machines are paid for. My General 90 series are over 40 YEARS OLD with the original 3/4" cables.

Less time and a heck of a lot more profit then installing a boiler and a lot less liability and I can hire less skilled labor (less pay)
 

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John Gayewski

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Yesterday I did 2 one family homes Jetting a total of 7 - 3" leader lines and 1 yard drain and snakes 2 main 4" sewers.

Total time with travel time was 3 hours and we billed out $2,800 (Thanks to Brandon) I added a gasoline "surcharge" as I used a gasoline Jetter instead of the less powerful electric


If you think about no materials other then a CO plug /cap are needed in sewer or drain cleaning and its is all profit once the machines are paid for. My General 90 series are over 40 YEARS OLD with the original 3/4" cables.

Less time and a heck of a lot more profit then installing a boiler and a lot less liability and I can hire less skilled labor (less pay)
In our area a drain cleaning is around $250. A new boiler job around 20k.
 
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