Quick answer: To pick a good plumber, check their NSW licence, read recent reviews properly, and get the price before any work starts. Be wary of anyone who wants to replace a whole system when a part would do.
I’ve been plumbing for over 20 years, and a good chunk of my work is fixing jobs someone else already charged for. Sometimes the first plumber just had a bad day. More often, the homeowner went with the cheapest quote or whoever picked up the phone first, and paid for it twice.
So here’s what I’d check if I was hiring a plumber for my own house.
1. Check the licence
Every plumber in NSW needs a licence from NSW Fair Trading, and gas work needs its own endorsement. Ask for the number and look it up on the Fair Trading website. It takes two minutes. Ours is 369979C. If someone gets cagey when you ask, that tells you plenty.
2. Read the reviews, not just the stars
A five-star rating is nice, but read what people actually wrote. Did the plumber turn up when they said they would? Did they explain what was wrong? Did they clean up? Did the price match the quote? Check the dates too. Ten great reviews from five years ago don’t mean much today.
3. Get the price before any work starts
A good plumber looks at the job and tells you what it’ll cost before picking up a tool. If something changes once they’re in there, like finding tree roots through the sewer line, they should stop and talk to you. You shouldn’t find out at the end.
Be wary of anyone who wants to replace the whole system when a part would do. Hot water is the classic one. Sometimes the tank is rusted through and has to go. Sometimes it’s a thermostat or a valve. You deserve to know which one it is before you spend a couple of thousand dollars.
One more thing: who’s actually turning up?
With a lot of bigger outfits, the person who quotes you isn’t the person who does the work, and the person who does the work might be gone by next month. GT Plumbing is a family business. You deal with us directly, and we stand behind every job we do.
If you’re in Ryde, Epping, Eastwood or nearby and want an honest opinion on a plumbing problem, give me a call on 0451 001 503.
Quick questions
Ask for their licence number and check it on the NSW Fair Trading website. GT Plumbing’s is 369979C.
Turning up on time, explaining the problem, cleaning up and charging what was quoted.
