Finding the right Scarborough plumbing service can be frustrating. There are a lot of choices and if it’s your first time dealing with a plumber, it can be overwhelming. Just like any other service, there are a handful of key areas to look at. When it comes to plumbing repairs, there are 4 areas you want to consider:
Insurance Cover
One of the critical things you want to look for in plumbing service in Scarborough is whether or not their plumbers are insured. Having an uninsured plumber working in your home could lead to huge liability issues. For example, a plumber who cuts his hand deeply enough that he’s unable to work while replacing leaking galvanized piping with copper pipes and fittings could then sue you for lost wages and he would win. Of course, the chances are good that everything goes smoothly and nothing happens and you’ve saved a few bucks. But the odds aren’t in your favor here and the risk isn’t just a matter of a couple of bucks, it could be thousands of dollars.
Licenses
Plumbers keep our cities moving, and that means a legitimate plumbing service provider will take pride in ensuring all employees are fully licensed in their trade. Asking to see your plumber’s license isn’t an insult or sign of lack of trust—it’s a perfectly acceptable request and one that you should always make.
Billing
Another thing to consider when looking into Scarborough plumbing services is the billing.
There are two main ways a Scarborough plumber will bill you:
- Time and Material (T&M): this includes all the time and all the materials they spend on the job and then they mark it up with a flat rate. This can include everything from drive time to get to your house or the time it takes to drive from one project to the next. The majority of plumbers are paid hourly and they don’t stop getting paid just because they leave one job to go to another. Thus, this cost has to be passed onto you, the consumer and isn’t included in the markup.
- Flat Rate: A flat rate is pricing is exactly what it sounds like. There’s a flat rate charge for all the different services a company provides. This can be both good and bad as it might be lower than if you pay T&M, but it could also be more for a small job that doesn’t require a lot of time and materials.
All that being said, an experienced plumber will be able to give you an accurate plumbing estimate (assuming there are no surprises during repairs). It’s always a good idea to get estimates from at least three different companies.
Warranty
It’s also important to take into consideration the warranty on products and services. All plumbers should guarantee their work and so if you come across one who refuses to, walk away. Like most warranties, theirs should cover up to one year.
References and Reviews
Ask for contactable references and follow them up personally to ensure you’re getting a reliable plumbing service. Also, you can often look online for reviews about the companies you’re considering and see what their record is for both work done and responsiveness to complaints.
Finally, the last thing that you should do is conduct your own research into the plumbing issue you’re having. Find out popular methods of repairing it, the types of materials needed and the length of time so that you can ask better, more specific questions of the plumber. That way you can have a better understanding of what your Scarborough plumbing service is talking about and have some kind of base knowledge to help you in the process.
