What Makes a Good Plumbing Service? | Newport Beach, CA

When you’re hiring somebody to do work on your Newport Beach, CA, home, it’s important to make sure you’re hiring the right person or company. A lot of companies do low-quality work or run a downright illegal practice, which can be an especially big problem when it comes to having plumbing work done in your home. If you want to make sure you’re getting a legal plumbing job done the best way, you need to properly vet the company you’re hiring. Fortunately, these tips can help you make sure you’re hiring a plumbing company that can get the job done right the first time for a reasonable price.
Licenses
While there are a lot of things that can tell you whether or not a plumbing outfit is legit, licenses are the most obvious way to tell. There are some trades that anybody can do as long as they’ve got the talents for it, but plumbing isn’t one of them. If you want to hire somebody to do legal plumbing work on your home, you need to make sure they’ve got a plumbing license.
The good news is, any reputable plumbing service will be happy to provide you with proof that you’re getting a licensed plumber to work on your home. Licensing laws are generally pretty strictly enforced, which means a good plumbing shop isn’t willing to risk its livelihood to hire one plumber who isn’t properly licensed.
If you ask a plumber or plumbing shop to provide you with proof that they’re licensed and they refuse, that’s a good sign that you shouldn’t hire them. While there are some states where plumbing licenses aren’t actually required, even residents in those states tend to strictly hire licensed plumbers and plumbing services.
Experience
There are a lot of things you can look at to determine how good a particular plumbing company is, but experience is one of the easiest ways to determine whether or not a company can get the job done. While licenses and certifications prove a plumber has the knowledge to do a job, years of experience is the best way for a plumber to prove they do a consistently good job. If you can, you should always hire a plumbing service with plenty of experience.
Before you hire a plumber, make sure you ask about their plumbing experience. You don’t need somebody who’s been plumbing for the past 50 years, but it’s nice to find a plumber who’s seen enough to handle a wide variety of jobs. To that end, it’s also a good idea to ask plumbers about whether or not they’ve dealt with the sort of work you need done. If you’re looking for a custom bathroom or a kitchen remodel, it’s important to make sure you’re hiring a plumbing service that has experience with that type of work before you go spending your money. This is especially true if you care about the way your Newport Beach, CA, home looks.
Prices
You never want to base your decision of whether or not to hire a plumber solely on how much they charge, but it should certainly be a factor. The truth is, there are somewhat standard rates for plumbing services no matter where you’re at. One of the easiest ways to tell if a company is doing something shady is to check their rates against the standard rates. Often times, shady companies will either charge way more or way less than the standard rate.
When a plumbing company charges way more than the standard rate, it’s because they’re trying to make the most profit. What this tells you is that this company has trouble finding work, which is generally a sign that they don’t do good work. In the end, you end up paying more than you should for work that isn’t quite up to par.
When a plumbing service charges way less than the standard price, it’s usually because they aren’t qualified or are doing something illegal and are trying to find work by any means necessary. As is the case with many things in life: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Business Practices
Another great way to tell the top-quality plumbers apart from the others is by their business practices. If you’ve dealt with a lot of contractors in your day, you know how that sort of thing is supposed to work. When you’ve got a company that’s asking you to do something strange or doing something to make you feel uncomfortable, that’s a good sign that you’re working with the wrong plumbing company.
You should never have to pay upfront for plumbing services. The truth is, a plumber can never tell you exactly what’s wrong with your pipes or fixtures, which means they can never give you an accurate estimate before actually doing the work. If a plumber ever asks you to pay for plumbing work upfront instead of billing you for the work after the job has been completed, you should find another plumber.
A plumbing service should also be clear about its billing structure. Make sure you know whether or not you’re paying a lump sum based on the estimate for the job or an hourly rate based on how long it actually takes. This can make a big difference when it comes to the final bill you receive.
The Easy Way
As important as it is to make sure you’re hiring the right plumbing service, it can also be a pain in the neck. Despite that, you need always need to compare your options and make sure you’re going with a reputable outfit.
The good news is, you don’t have to worry about shopping around for a plumber if you’re in the Newport Beach, CA, area. bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of Orange County is here to help you keep your plumbing system in great shape no matter what. Whether you need plumbing repairs or maintenance, give bluefrog a call today.
Photo By kurhan at Shutterstock