When Do You REALLY Need To Hire Plumbing Contractors? Toronto Plumber's Advice

Some people in Toronto don't rely on plumbing contractors and prefer to do plumbing in their homes by themselves and save some money. While it's perfectly OK in some cases, some situations require that they involve plumbing contractors due to a number of reasons.

If you’re thinking of doing renovations by yourself, you’ll quickly discover that there are a lot of complexities to the process for which you may need a certified plumbing contractor. 

In fact, there are many very good reasons to look to a licensed contractor to guide your project to a safe and successful completion.  

Better And Cheaper Plumbing Supplies

One of the biggest advantages financially is that plumbing contractors have connections with suppliers where they can get high-quality materials at far lower prices than you can at retail. This means that your finished plumbing project can utilize better products that have greater endurance and efficiency and can even save on energy bills. Bear in mind that even if you intend to install the products yourself, the contractor has hourly rates. His or her fee will very likely be compensated by the prices they find for your project’s components.

Following Recent Trends And Best Practices

Another excellent reason for engaging a contractor boils down to experience, training and an awareness of new industry trends and tools. If you describe your project and the way you intend to complete it, they can offer you the eyes of an expert and resulting recommendations, many of which can help you avoid damages or offer new options in materials. For example, if you were replacing shower pipes there are now flexible forms of piping that makes running lines much easier.

Legal Requirements

Some projects in your home actually legally require using a certified, licensed plumber for the work. 

Always check with your local building department regarding zoning ordinances. At this juncture either you or your contractor can obtain the necessary permits. 

At the end of these types of home improvement projects, a representative of the building department will inspect the work and check your contractor’s credentials.  If the work is not up to code, the contractor is responsible – not you. 

I did hear the story from the engineer who did his own plumbing and had to redo it upon inspection. He overlooked plumbing code on the type of joints where pipe bends, and installed T-joint instead of Y-joint. Inspector pointed it out, and the whole plumbing had to be redone. 

Don't let this happen to you. Consult with a certified, licenced Toronto plumber.

Safety Considerations

There are also two more very important considerations regarding plumbing contractors: safety and warranties. Contractors have far more specialized equipment than the vast majority of do it yourself'ers, and that includes safety items. When a contractor works in your home, they have insurance coverage in case of any accident. This saves your homeowner’s policy or your medical insurance from a potential wallop if a “handy person” or you yourself get harmed while doing the work. 

When doing your own plumbing there are no guarantees of how long you can depend on that renovation or repair. If something goes wrong, you’ll have to fix it yourself or call in a professional to see what went wrong. The plumbing contractor, on the other hand, spells out their warranty in writing along with all fees and the specifics of the range of their work before they lay one hand on a pipe. With all this in mind, hiring a plumbing contractor sounds like great common sense.