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When searching for a plumber to carry out repair or installation work in your home or business, it is important that you hire a professional. The official body for the plumbing industry is The Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (IPHE) and their recommendations in respect of finding a plumber or heating engineer are as follows:
- Use a member of their recognized body (IPHE) which represents the plumbing trade.
- Consult with your friends, family and neighbors in case they have recommendations.
- Try to get at least three quotes and clarify whether or not there is a call out fee on top of the cost of the work.
- If there is more than one plumber required to carry out your work, ask if the hourly price includes all the people working on the job or if more is charged per plumber.
- Always ask for a quote in writing and ensure that any unforeseen costs are discussed with you upfront before the additional work is carried out so that the final bill is not higher than you are expecting.
- Explain clearly all of the work that is needed to be done and ideally put it in writing so that your plumber or heating engineer has a record of it.
- Ask for an estimate of how long the work will take to complete.
- On completion of the work make sure that your plumber or heating engineer supplies you with a detailed invoice with a breakdown of all the costs.
Water bylaws
Here in the United Kingdom there are water bylaws which are in place to ensure that work on plumbing installations are controlled. If you are not sure whether you need permission to commence with installation work at your home or business it is a good idea to contact your local Water Board who will be able to advise you.
Compulsory inspection and certification of certain works
Plumbing work can quite often involve working around electrical installations like plugs and sockets. So in this respect it is therefore also necessary to comply with the IEE (Institute of Electrical Engineers) Wiring Regulations and any relevant Building Regulations currently in place. In particular, the IEE Wiring Regulations govern the earth bonding of plumbing installations and it is very important to follow these.
It is vital that all metal plumbing is bonded to earth. This can easily be overlooked, however its importance can be crucial in avoiding serious accidents often resulting in injury and even fatality. A example of this is as follows: a section of copper pipe is replaced with plastic, or say for instance you were to use a plastic fitting in order to branch off a water supply to a domestic appliance like a dishwasher or washing machine, it could mean that the continuous earth bond has been broken and that part of the pipe work will no longer be bonded. To resolve this issue the continuity of the earth bonding can be reinstated simply by linking an earth wire to a metal earth clamp on either side of the break.
As you can see from the above, the earthing arrangements of your plumbing installations are well regulated and this is for a very good reason having been designed to protect your safety. Hiring a skilled, competent properly qualified plumbing engineer will ensure that all these regulations and safety aspects are adhered to and will ultimately give you peace of mind.