Hiring a licensed Professional Plumber: Large plumbing projects usually require hiring a licensed plumber to get the job done right and legally. If you have never hired a plumber before you may be wondering how to go about getting it right the first time. Fortunately, hiring a licensed plumber doesn’t have to be difficult as long as you take your time and do a little homework. Every state in the U.S. has a Contractors Board that is in charge of overseeing the licensing of all contractors including plumbers. State Contractors Boards were established for the safety, health and welfare of the public. They are an excellent resource to use when hiring a licensed plumber. Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. The state contractors board for your state can give you the License status of any contractor you plan to hire whether he is an electrical, general or plumbing contractor. Before you begin any job that requires a permit, for your own safety, it is highly recommended that you make sure your contractor is a licensed contractor. Often, you can look up the License status online in minutes. Hiring a licensed plumber protects you in various ways. Being licensed means that the contractor has liability insurance so you are covered if any damage is caused to your property. Plumbers work with water lines, gas lines, drain lines, water heaters, faucets, and more. Any and all of which can easily do damage to you home if not handled properly. When a permit is required like for re-piping a house or installing a new water heater a licensed plumber will be able to keep everything safe and up to code because knowing the code and permit requirements is part of the licensing process. Some states even have a residential recovery fund where you can get money back if you have suffered a loss from a licensed state contractor. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are other risks involved with hiring an unlicensed contractor. For example, an unlicensed plumber and other unlicensed contractors do not carry workers compensation insurance, so if a worker got injured on your property you could be held liable. Also, any contract you make with an unlicensed contractor is null and void, so you don’t really have any guarantee that the job will be completed as agreed. PERMITS When you begin planning a plumbing repair or project one of the first things that should be considered is permit requirements. Many times homeowners think that permits are only required for a major remodels and not for the average small project. This is not necessarily the case. Many seemingly small plumbing projects need to be permitted by the county, so it is important to verify the local plumbing permit requirements before any work is done. Most large plumbing projects will require a permit before the work is done. If you hire a plumber to do the job they will often discuss what plumbing permits are needed. Smaller plumbing work, which is more often handled by the homeowner, may also require a permit to comply with local building codes. There are national plumbing codes to help standardize work done by plumbers. However, the local state and county regulations must be followed since they supersede all others. For this reason you must check the local requirements for plumbing and other construction permits. To be safe check the local building and plumbing codes and laws before starting any plumbing project. Be sure you know what work will require a permit and what can be done without one. Plumbing and building safety codes are put in place for the protection of the public so they should not be ignored. Get a permit whenever it is required for youre plumbing project. The place to check for plumbing permit requirements is the building and safety department for the county where your house is located. Most counties have the permit requirements listed on their website. A quick search for “plumbing permits your county” should take you right to the information you need. The permit information for all trades, including plumbing, will be listed together. If you cannot find permit requirements listed online you can contact the building and safety department by phone or go to the office in person, or your proffesional Plumber will know these codes and permit requirements. Sometimes the wording for the building code is difficult to interpret, so it is a good idea to double check. County regulations are different, but most will require a permit for big plumbing jobs such as those listed below. • Re-pipes: A re-pipe requires changing out all of the water supply pipes in the home so it is a significant project. Re-pipes are usually done by a professional plumber and require a permit. • Drain line replacements: Replacing the drain pipes is a large job that will most often require a permit. • Sewer replacement: Any work involving sewer lines is likely to require a permit because of safety codes that must be met. • Water Heater: Replacing a water heater is considered a large plumbing project and will most often require a permit from the county. There are water heater safety regulations that need to observed. • Moving existing plumbing to a different location: Whenever plumbing is moved from one location to another it is considered a re-model. Building code requirements must be observed and a permit will be required.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 14:48:15 +0000
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