A plumbing emergency could send any homeowner scrambling for a plumber to get in touch with. But since some homeowners do not have emergency plumbers in their contact list, others turn to online directories to find a plumbing company.
For instance, most would type “plumber near me” in their go-to search engine to find a plumber who can immediately respond to their plumbing problem. While this can instantly get results, most consumer experts would say that it is still best to vet possible plumbing contractors to hire, before calling them in.
Finding a plumber online
Plumbing Yelp is a good way to find a local plumber. Since Yelp.com aggregates local plumbing services, alongside actual customer reviews, clients would have an idea of the feedback of the plumbing company’s past customers.
Online plumbing reviews are a good source of information on the expertise of a certain plumbing contractor. Homeowners should just be discerning enough to find legitimate reviews on websites and social media.
What to ask a plumber before hiring
For homeowners who have the luxury to do choose a plumber to hire, it is crucial to know the important questions to ask before finally agreeing to hire a prospective plumbing contractor. These questions include the following:
- Ask the plumber if they have the necessary licenses and business permits to operate.
- Ask the plumbing contractor if he has insurance to cover the work that he carries out.
- Ask the plumber if he provides a warranty for all the services that he renders.
- Ask about the plumber’s plan on how to tackle the plumbing requirement, as well as the options available to address the plumbing concern.
- Ask for a cost estimate and a breakdown of these costs.
- Ask for a projected timeline for the project or common repairs.
- Ask if they get the permits for the work that they do.
Choose from at least three plumbers
Homeowners should not hire the first plumber that turns up in their online search, nor should the homeowner base his decision solely on the plumber who gave the lowest cost estimate. Instead, he should at least choose from three plumbing contractors whose credentials he has checked. By doing this, the homeowner gets to weed out plumbers who do unsatisfactory work, r may not have the requirements to carry out their business.