A plumber is a plumber, aren’t they? If you need a plumber don’t you just call one?
Well, yes, a plumber IS a plumber but there are widely different skills and expertise required when it comes to residential and commercial plumbing. If you were the manager of a high rise building and called a residential plumber expecting them to be able to fix your complex onsite issue, you’d most likely be disappointed.
The other side of the coin is also true. A residential plumber is good at their job because they see the same problems every day. Blocked toilets or drains, water leaks, and repairing broken pipes are just a part of a regular day’s work.
Commercial plumbers are solving a multitude of different problems day to day. They need to utilise a wide range of experience with technology and products that residential plumbers have no need for. They may need to work on burst water mains, make repairs to large water or heating systems in high rise buildings or maintain drainage systems for an entire community.
You can already see that the two roles while holding some similar skillsets and knowledge require a different approach and even a different set of tools to do their jobs properly.
Residential plumbers use these tools almost every day:
- Plungers
- Sink Snakes
- Heat tapes and heaters (for frozen pipes)
- Toilet Augers
- Faucet Packing and Washers
If you were to look in the toolbox of a commercial plumber, you’d most likely find all these things plus a few more:
- Generators
- Tile Saws
- Industrial Wet/Dry Vacuums
- Cutting and drilling tools
- Pipe vises and support
- Pipe cutting tool (for plastic, steel, and copper)
- Pipe Bevelling
Simply by comparing the tools required for residential and commercial plumbing you can see that there are a different set of skills required for both roles.
Here are 3 further differences between the two:
Job Volume
Residential plumbing problems, while complex at times, can be solved fairly quickly and easily. They usually involve a single system and even a single floor. As most commercial buildings are multi-level with multiple drainage and water systems the volume of problems also increases.
Problem Complexity
This almost speaks for itself.
Commercial plumbing can throw up almost triple the complexity of problems than in a residential situation. A family home may have up to 10 or 12 people consistently using the plumbing system. When you think about commercial you could be looking at 100’s of 1000’s of people consistently putting pressure on the system every day.
Numerous pipes are connected to different systems in a commercial setting. Knowledge of industrial-grade boilers, pipes, and sewers are a must.
Working Hours
Lots of Residential plumbers have the ability to set their hours for 9-5 weekdays, many offering callouts as well. For commercial plumbers, they are often working outside of general 9-5 hours to lessen disruption to employees or customers using a commercial building during the day.
Here at Limcora, we have the capability to cover all of your plumbing requirements. We have experts in both the residential and commercial arenas. If you’re looking for quality and excellence with solid communication you don’t need to look any further. Contact Us Today!
