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Richard Rickey

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To successfully hire a plumber somewhere, maybe where you are? You need to do a little research or save some time by getting a recommendation from experts who recommend the best plumbers for home needs and commercial plumbing. Here are some steps you can take to make sure you get the right plumber for your specific type of plumbing service.

Some plumbing service providers provide the best installation services, some provide the best replacement and repair services, so you need to choose the one that best suits your specific needs.

Maybe you do some research and come up with a list of employees in your area that you want to hire and then you are confused as to how to choose one from the set. The best way to do this is to ask for a quote. Based on the quotes received, you can make your final choice, but you should be wary of dangerously cheap plumbers.

There should not be any hidden fees in the correct assessment of the work to be completed. You should also avoid plumbers who force you to pay in advance, as such plumbers are inferior to charging you a little upfront and adding extra after work. Ready to save your time and money? We will be our best help in finding the right plumber for you and there is no charge for this advice.
 
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Sylvan

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"Some plumbing service providers provide the best installation services, some provide the best replacement and repair services, so you need to choose the one that best suits your specific needs."


TERRIBLE

A decent master plumber will be licensed in the area they provide services and are insured and do
all aspects of plumbing

Would any normal person go to a car repair shop that specializes in spark plug replacement?

One call should do it all if the plumber is qualified

Asking for upfront deposit is normal if the materials such as a special order or color of fixtures are required and how large the job is.

I had deposits over $300,000 called "mobilization" funding to supply 10" cast iron and related fittings along with 8" diameter copper

Regarding "Hidden fees" unless the plumber has X ray vision how do they know what is behind the walls or under ground?

A video inspection is useless if the sewer, waste or storm lines have waste or filled with water as this will hide any defects

When working on older systems it is common to find lead waste and even some branch work that used lead pipe on the potable water system

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WorldPeace

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I agree with you that Richard didn't give the best advice. Most of what you said was true. But, there were a few that I respectfully disagree with.

Hidden Fees
You mentioned hidden fees. Actually, this is a very common way that contractors scam their customers. It's so common that in real estate classes, it's taught as something you need to look out for. Contractors will deliberately write the scope of work so it excludes work they know is likely to occur. For example, in mold remediation, the scope of work will state cleaning the floors although the contractor knows that mold will likely be found beneath the floors as well.

Contractors will also make their bid/estimate low so they can procure the job. Later, the contractor will more than make up for the low bid by charging high rates for the work change order. (You can threaten to sue the contractor for bad faith but lawsuits are usually costly and stressful. It's rarely worth it.)

This "scam" works because it's almost impossible for the customer to look for another contractor when "hidden" work appears due to time constraints and costs. Even professional real estate developers will fall for this "scam". For example, the scope of work for the Empire State building didn't include the final floors. So, when construction reached the top, the developer was furious but was forced to pay exorbitant rates for the work to be completed.

One way to combat this is in the contract, to stipulate hourly rates for additional work. But, this will only lessen the cost of the scam; it won't eliminate it.

Upfront Deposit
I agree that it's sometimes normal. Contractors may not trust the customer to pay. And, deposits are actually mandatory for big jobs. However, this should be a red flag for smaller jobs because this is another very common way for scammers to take your money. Some contractors on hard times will take the money and not do the work. Some will even take the money and run. It shouldn't be the sole reason you don't hire a contractor but it should be something that makes you wary.

For smaller jobs, the deposit shouldn't exceed more than 1/3 of the cost of the job.

Finding the Best Plumber
This is actually an extremely difficult task because there is no good method for doing so. People recommend getting referrals but to be honest, this isn't a very good method because what does the person doing the recommendation know? And, frequently, the person will recommend someone they already have a relationship with. For example, it might be a friend.

Reviews are almost meaningless these days. We all know that most of the reviews on Google are not genuine.

To truly determine if the person is a good plumber is to test their technical knowledge and their integrity but how is an unknowledgeable customer supposed to do this?

One method that I use is to pretend to be stupid and ask the few questions that I already know the answer to. It's not the best method but it's similar to throwing a dart at a dartboard. There is a chance you'll hit something. So, you might be able to assess their integrity, kindness, and expertise. For example, last week, I played dumb and the guy tried to upsize a new HVAC installation without doing any heat load calculations.

Unfortunately, scamming people is rampant in construction and almost every industry in our society. Lawyers, doctors, utility companies, retailers, employers, employees, etc. We all try to scam each other on a daily basis. Makes me sad.


"Some plumbing service providers provide the best installation services, some provide the best replacement and repair services, so you need to choose the one that best suits your specific needs."


TERRIBLE

A decent master plumber will be licensed in the area they provide services and are insured and do
all aspects of plumbing

Would any normal person go to a car repair shop that specializes in spark plug replacement?

One call should do it all if the plumber is qualified

Asking for upfront deposit is normal if the materials such as a special order or color of fixtures are required and how large the job is.

I had deposits over $300,000 called "mobilization" funding to supply 10" cast iron and related fittings along with 8" diameter copper

Regarding "Hidden fees" unless the plumber has X ray vision how do they know what is behind the walls or under ground?

A video inspection is useless if the sewer, waste or storm lines have waste or filled with water as this will hide any defects

When working on older systems it is common to find lead waste and even some branch work that used lead pipe on the potable water system

index.php

 

Sylvan

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If you live in a civilized area where the contractors are licensed and insured there should be no problem.

Unlike NJ /NY that has best polititions money can buy

There is something called the plumbing industry board which fines the master plumber, or revokes their license and in some cases has the LMP incarcerated

Also being an expert witness I did testify against unscrupulous contractors where the victim was well compensated and in some cases not only received a full refund they right repairs were paid for by the crooked contractors
 

WorldPeace

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Sylvan,

You might be right. I have no clue since I only have experience in the NJ area.

But, I don't know if crooked politicians would have an effect on the integrity of contractors. People rarely sue others because of the hassle so people continue to scam each other. It's a sad state of affairs. I know it was probably worse 100 years ago and worse in other countries, but I wish people would be honest and fair with each other. It would make the economy work more smoothly.



If you live in a civilized area where the contractors are licensed and insured there should be no problem.

Unlike NJ /NY that has best polititions money can buy

There is something called the plumbing industry board which fines the master plumber, or revokes their license and in some cases has the LMP incarcerated

Also being an expert witness I did testify against unscrupulous contractors where the victim was well compensated and in some cases not only received a full refund they right repairs were paid for by the crooked contractors
 

Reach4

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"Richard" was SEO, but I expect the link was moderated out.
Don't expect a response from "Richard".
 

Sylvan

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Sylvan,

You might be right. I have no clue since I only have experience in the NJ area.

But, I don't know if crooked politicians would have an effect on the integrity of contractors. People rarely sue others because of the hassle so people continue to scam each other. It's a sad state of affairs. I know it was probably worse 100 years ago and worse in other countries, but I wish people would be honest and fair with each other. It would make the economy work more smoothly.


If the contractor is licensed and has insurance there are safeguards in place to take action.

Also before hiring anyone contact the building department or consumer affairs and ask if the contractors is licensed.

Over 40 years I was called to Old Bridge NJ to redo a sprinkler system some incompetent contractor did along with the related plumbing

The job was inspected and passed the inspections. The inspector asked where I was licensed I said LI, Westchester and NYC but my foreman on the NJ Job had a NJ plumbing license so there was no problem

Most people have home insurance prior to having any type of work it may help contacting your insurance company

This Sunday my Lexus LS stalled on a parkway and several lights came on including Check engine and ACS I managed to start the car several times and made it home

I called the Lexus dealer in White planes and Englewood and having heard their prices I decided to call my Allstate agent and he gave me the name of a car repair shop and I dropped it off without asking for a price

Less then 2 hours later they said the car is ready $245.00 labor and materials it said "Replaced #2 ignition coil L&M"


I Charge $350 to snake a main sewer and it takes about 20 minutes so I was really grateful for their outstanding prices and service

When I went to a BMW Dealer for my 750 M sport I never walked out of there for less then $800

The manager of BMW said off the record "German cars your lease never buy Japanese cars you buy"

Both cars have 8 cylinders except the BMW is twin turbo charged and parts are really expensive over $2,800 for a shock absorber and $1,800 to replace both batteries front and rear preventive maintenance as the batteries were almost 4 years old.
 

WorldPeace

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Sylvan,

I appreciate your point of view. It's good to get different opinions. I'm a property manager so I deal with contractors on a daily basis. I don't think licenses really matter. It's more due to culture and lack of probing by people. Most people just blindly hire contractors so contractors have no incentive to learn and try their best. This applies to all industries.

For example, the same applies to car dealerships. Most people just blindly believe that car dealerships are going to do the best job. I have a good friend who's worked at Lexus and BMW. He tells me that his co-workers regularly do not actually do the work that they charge for because they are backed up with work. But, since the customer can't tell, there is never an issue. Furthermore, when he first started, his co-workers used to get mad at him for working too fast and doing too good of a job.

If we want things to change, I think everyone needs to change their mentality.
 

Sylvan

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I Bought three Lexus cars . My first was an ES 350 FWD I HATED IT and brought it back to Prestige Lexus in NJ and said please get me the hell out of this as I only had it for 3 months.

The salesman Scott said calm down how about the GS 350 AWD I bought it and then when I brought it in for my first oil change and said I want to see the sales manager and he introduced me to a young lady and I spent the better part of Saturday talking to her and ended up trading it in.

7 PM I Drove off the lot with a Lexus 460 - L AWD with all the options

Then I brought it in for my 3rd oil change and spoke to Mike Cercone the service manager and as we sat drinking coffee I said the LS is an amazing car and in the sport mode it is fun to drive but not that exciting

So After speaking to him I ended up buying my first BMW 750 I X drive in 2014

The car SUCKED so I traded it in for a BMW 750 M Sport 2016 a really fun car to drive BUT certainly not worth the $128,000 and even worse its a death trap in the snow or wet roads even though it has X drive but the Pirelli suck

I ended up keeping the Lexus 2011 and it has 31,341 miles as of today the BMW have over 46,000miles on it as it is my spring and summer car

The difference in price was over $20,00 and its sad to say the BMW 0 -60 4.4 seconds while the BIG
Lexus with no turbo 6.6 seconds

Needless to say you do not always get what you pay for

Every time I brought my BMW's to White planes BMW they found something wrong and I found an amazing mechanic that only works on BMW's and he is a 3 man operation


When I was a union apprentice I was told "Your working too fast". My top employee was in America just 3 years when I started paying him $125 per hr less then a year later I was paying him $175 per hr Now I gave him 49% of one of my companies and he is even more productive working 7 days a WEEK and sometimes 14+ hours a day

Hopefully he will soon be given his citizenship papers ALSO he learned to speak English with in a year over moving here with his wife
 
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