1. All plumbers need to be licensed
Plumbers, like builders, electricians and gasfitters are what you could call ‘essential’ trades, in that they have to be licensed in every state/territory to operate. Sure, there are other trades out there who also need to be licensed – but these all do work that is critical to the health and safety of a building or installation. The licensing of plumbers is a way of ensuring only qualified people can go out and advertise themselves as a plumber. Hiring an unlicensed – and potentially unqualified – plumber could result in some serious issues for your home or premises. Just imagine if a drain or piping in a bathroom is not installed correctly – you could be stuck with a very expensive repair bill. It’s as easy as asking to see their plumbing licence or running an online check on their licence number.
2. Your plumber needs to be insured
This brings us very neatly to the next thing you need to know about plumbers. Any plumber – or tradie for that matter – who carries out work in your home should be insured. Why? If they have an accident or make a mess of your job then you could be saddled with footing what could be a very exxy bill. Check to see if they hold public liability insurance, which protects them – and you – while working on your project.
3. There are different types of plumbers
You may think any plumber can do any sort of plumbing job? You are 99% right – a qualified (and licensed) plumber should legally be able to do practically any plumbing related job – but not all of them! Depending on which state you live in some plumbing jobs – like roof plumbing or drainage are a dedicated and often separate licence or endorsement. You should also check if you are getting any gas work done, that your plumber is qualified to do this type of work. All licensed plumbers are issued a photo ID card which details the types of work they are qualified to carry out – so just ask them to produce it or run an online check to confirm this.
4. Understand what a Master Plumber is
Seen a plumber advertising they are a Master Plumber and not sure what this means? In short it means this plumber is a member of the Master Plumbers Association in the state where they operate. It also means they are likelier to care about their reputation as they have gone to the trouble of joining this (voluntary) group. To qualify as a member you to be qualified and meet a number of practice and trade standards. It also means your plumber is likely to keep up with developments in the industry. Will they do a better job than a ‘normal’ plumber – not necessarily, so don’t feel you have to find a Master Plumber for your job.
5. Get at least three quotes
Tempted to take the first quote you get from a plumber? We would advise getting at least three quotes, especially for larger jobs – you may be shocked by the difference in prices. Why? There is no law telling plumbers what they must charge – luckily we live in a democracy where the market takes care of that. So if you find a difference of a couple of hundred dollars, or more for larger jobs, don’t be shocked. There are lots of different reasons for this – like plumbers with more experience often charge more to reflect this; while others (with less experience) could simply try their luck and hike their prices. Others may simply want to provide a decent service, with quality workmanship and reasonable costs for labour and materials. You can start by getting an idea of what your job may cost by reading our cost guide section – where you find articles like, How much does a plumber cost? or How much does a bathroom renovation cost?. The info in these will give you a ballpark idea of what a tradie could charge, or the overall cost of a project like yours.
