Clogged drain? Running toilet? God forbid – a faulty boiler?
Plumbing issues come like a bolt from the blue and cause troubles or significant damage to your home. So, when they happen, you need to be ready and act fast. A skilled plumber near you is what you need before the plumbing issue turns into a significant hassle.“But how to find a local plumber I can trust? What should I look for?” we hear your voice. Fear not!
The “trick” is to do quick research to avoid unreliable “experts” whose mere intent is to do a half job. Follow this approach to filter out the closest to you real professional who will guarantee a job done right from the first time.
Table of Contents
Why is it essential to hire a trusted local plumber?
Did you know that water waste in the UK amounts to ~460 million litres each year?
There’s a simple fact behind these stats. Britons put off leaky issues over a month before calling a plumber. Not only leaks are “water torture”, but they can cause severe damage to your home, neighbours, and have a negative impact on the environment. At the end of the month, expect massive expenses. The problem can even escalate if you call the first-seen pro on an ad, community board, or wait for a callback for days.Our point?
To find the closest reliable plumber is worth every minute. Here are 5 reasons it’s best to look for a plumber in your area:
- Fast response time. To know that a plumber serves your area gives you the peace of mind that he can get to your site in a jiffy. Imagine how easy it will be to arrange a preliminary site visit, extra services, convenient time slots, and sourcing materials. And the list goes on…
- Good understanding of your local-specific needs. Locally based plumbers are familiar with the area, traffic situation, hardware stores, and come along with fruitful business contacts. The technician can use all these advantages to meet your individual needs in the best way.
- Valuable advice. Apart from the repair works, a local expert will always give you advice on how to prevent issues from happening again (and what to do next). That said, you receive long-term value for your money.
- Better for you, better for the environment. With local service, you won’t be charged for tradesmen travelling to the job. Plus, fewer miles means fewer carbon emissions.
- You support the local economy. When you book local plumbing services, you help the specialists in your region to grow. This means you solve your problems and help more hard-working people to find jobs.
Consider the above not merely as reasons to hire the nearest plumbers. They are seals of quality.
Check also:
9 Essential Tips for Choosing the Right Locksmith
Company or local plumbing repairman?
It’s not hard to approach plumbers in your area. But getting them to work and building a long-lasting relationship is. That’s how we distinct individual businesses from a well-established company. When you feel you are in a dilemma, consider:
Pros and cons of a one-person business
Pros
- Low marketing costs & simple business model means affordable price;
- Open for price negotiations;
Cons
- Longer time to complete a complex project;
- Less control over work;
- Some are too busy to take on regular jobs.
Pros and cons of a recognised company with district experts
Pros
- Large crew ready to cover evening hours, weekends, bank holidays;
- Online reputation and easy check of the company’s track record;
- Geared to growth: focus on skills, qualifications, certificates, licenses;
- Proactive communication with you (no voicemail messages);
- Strict control over plumbers’ health during epidemic/Coronavirus pandemic.
Cons
- It might be a higher plumbing rate;
- Different pros for different projects can be intrusive for some people.
Need a Plumber Near You?
Enter your postcode to view our rates and availability in your area.
For questions about the services we offer visit our main site or you can always call us at 020 3404 4045
The Challenge: How to Find a Local Plumber You Can Trust?
We all call plumbers when we face a plumbing emergency. With growing anxiety, you can call a random company or any available specialist at the moment. Don’t opt for this route. To avoid an unforeseen mishap, follow these simple instructions and make an informed decision.Step #1. Call the right local tradesman
Before you approach a local specialist online, make sure your need is in the specialist’s range of expertise and experience. While both plumbers and heating engineers work on pipes, the difference can often be significant. Wondering who the right specialist for your issue is?- Consider a plumber when you have a leakage, blockage problem, or fixture installation. To handle these issues, plumbers are not legally bound to have a special qualification. Better still, pick trained and supervised local professional.
- Find a nearby gas-safe engineer for work on gas lines/appliances, boilers, and unvented cylinders. Focus on their accreditation and experience to cope with boiler and gas line jobs.
- Membership with the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers (CIPHE). .
Step #2. Word-of-mouth
To ask for referrals is “old school” but still one of the best ways to find plumbers near you. References will help you to determine their work ethics, reliability, and punctuality. So, here’s how to find recommended plumbers and judge their reputation:- Ask those who you trust. For instance, family members, neighbours, friends, and colleagues. If they have a plumber they like, hear their story about how the job has worked.
- If you settle into a new home, meet your neighbours. Ask them who they book for plumbing repairs and installations.
- If you are scarce of ideas where to find a nearby plumber, the neighbourhood hardware, plumbing-supplies or fixture stores are gold mines. You can even meet a plumber on the spot.
- Ask for advice from other local tradespeople and builders. People in the trades branch know themselves and often work together. So, why don’t you ask them for recommendations?
- Harness the power of social networks — request feedback from strangers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. A minus here is that you can waste an hour (or more) on reading not authentic reviews. Still, it’s worth trying.
Step #3. Research online
Google Portal is the best place to go on a self-directed Internet journey with near-instant access to information. Start by typing “plumber near me” and build a shortlist of a dozen companies in your area. Go through their websites and presence on Google Maps. Then, match all the features and benefits the plumbing candidates offer. As you need to match so many options, you might become sceptical in your research.Here’s one tip that will save you a TON of time.
Step #4. Read on-page reviews, success projects and testimonials
Some can say, “Our local plumbing services are the best”. Ignore them! If not connected with benefits and customers’ unbiased feedback, these are only meaningless, self-appraisal, overly promotional (un)descriptive words. Believe them if proofed with realacknowledgement.So, make extra efforts to scour:
- Testimonials, authentic reviews, success stories and project pages that talk up the benefits. They will build hefty-social proof in your mind and give the EXACT information onwhat, why, and where the others book this service.
- Websites that set personality.That’s how you will meet your local plumber online for the first time. Top-rated plumbers expose teams, real photos, activities and trades at a central place on their pages.
Step #5. Search in directories and rating sites
Chances to find reputable plumbers increase when you look into online business directories, rating sites, local forums and niche-specific blogs.Bad news: Sometimes, it’s easy for rogue traders to get listed in online directories. That’s why search for credible rating sites/directories checked for authenticity. Listings shouldn’t allow anonymous reviews.
A few good classic examples are:
- YellowPages.com – among the biggest directories;
- Yelp.com – here you can check reviews, find lists, events, and contact other Yelp-ers;
- Houzz.co.uk – show up company projects to select a plumber out of the crowd;
- Truspilot.com– enable search by rating stars;
- Threebestrated.co.uk – here you can find top 3 plumbing service providers for your specific location.
Step #6. Pick from reasonably priced plumbers
First, before you pick a plumber in your borough, try to receive at least 3 quotes. It’s not only about the money you will pay but for the works included [or not included]. An unwritten rule is, the more complex the project, the more quotes you need.Second, you may find a cheap plumber with almost no effort. But in most cases, highly focused professionals come with expert authority and higher service costs. Before you assume the price is too high, we remind you that the professionals know exactly how to help you. Hence, know-how is what saves you money down the road. To take good care of your finances, this information will give you an idea of the best (or hidden) plumbing price practices:
- “The lowest rates” are sometimes the trickiest. Double-check for omissions of specific works, specialist’s knowledge, and possession of licenses (usually not cheap).
- “Pay me by the hour, not by the job” offer comes with a plethora of benefits. The biggest plus is that you only pay for the time spent on a job. To avoid overcharging for the small task, direct your efforts toward a company with half-hourly rates. Though, always ask for an upfront price and invoice upon finished work.
Check also:
The Nuts and Bolts of Choosing a Handyman
Precautions you should take to ensure you find a good plumber
Many services, price items and alternatives bring confusion and are overwhelming. Even worse, you can come across a “cowboy” plumber.Well, you want to know what those factors for finding a good plumber around you are, don’t you?
Whether you are struggling with a leaky tap, faulty shower, blocked toilet or an issue that causes an interrupted freshwater supply, Fantastic Handyman can help you out. So, don’t hesitate to book your convenient plumbing service to keep your home running smoothly as it should.
Need a Plumber Near You?
Enter your postcode to view our rates and availability in your area.
For questions about the services we offer visit our main site or you can always call us at 020 3404 4045
Takeaways
- To find a nearby plumber and deliver your plumbing project on time and budget, first, identify your needs and start thorough research.
- The best results come when you choose a risk-free, secure, and insured service from a company that will never leave you unsatisfied.
- When you find a good plumber near you, be proactive. Book your service early to prevent monumental problems. And don’t forget to save the contacts!
Make sure all aspects are on paper and that will go far plus do not go for a job that is okay as it is cheap, yes, good advice. Unless you have reviews from homeowners attesting to the fact that the cheap price was not at the expense of quality.
Good article with an excellent way of presentation. Keep it up. Thanks for sharing.
I loved that you mentioned hiring a professional plumber will provide you valuable advice after fixing your plumber. My husband noticed that the sink in our kitchen is not draining properly, and we are looking for advice about what to do. I will let him know about the benefits of hiring a professional plumber to help us.
Hi everyone, I am planning to fix our water faucet in the house before and I wanted to make sure I choose the right one now. My husband has planning it the last few months. I think this is the best time to find a good one. Can anyone recommend?”
Nice article for finding good plumbers.
Thanks for the tips.
I love the tips written in the article. they are so useful and practical. Thank you so much for it.
Thanks for sharing this article, it helps a lot. It’s a well-written blog and it is very informative. Keep on blogging.