Different Types of Plumbing Professionals by Tahl Kopel

What are the different types of plumbing professionals? Different types of license? What each type of plumbing professional is licensed to do?

The choice you make on what type of plumbing professional you should hire to do work for you is often contingent on what kind of work you want done.

Some plumbers specialize in installing new pipes into new houses while other plumbers may specialize in installing new pipes into new commercial buildings. Some plumbers specialize in fixing pipes in residences while others may specialize in fixing problems in larger buildings. Some plumbers may have very focused specialization such as a plumber who excels in working on fire suppressing sprinkler systems. And some plumbers specialize in installing natural gas lines, installing natural gas appliances and fixing natural gas lines. Plumbers that specialize in natural gas line work are sometimes called gas fitters.

Most plumbers know how to unclog a drain. But if you are looking to hire a plumber to do a big job, it is smart to look for a plumber who specializes in the kind of work you need done. No matter what kind of plumbing work needs to be done, people should always make sure the plumber they hire to do water pipe work of gas line work has been licensed by the state or the appropriate local authorities.

In most states there are several levels of a plumbing license an individual plumber can hold. In some states a plumbing license states the holder of the license is certified to work on water pipes and on natural gas lines and in other states separate licenses are awarded for water pipe work and natural gas line work.

The different levels of plumbing license indicate the amount of experience a plumber has. Many states award a master plumbing license, a journey pluming license and an apprentice plumbing license. Master plumbing licenses are awarded to plumbers who have held a journey license for a certain amount of time and have accumulated a certain amount of hours working as a licensed journey plumber. In order to get a master plumbing license, the plumber also normally has to pass a state-sanctioned test. In most states, a journey plumbing license is awarded to those who have held an apprentice plumbing license and have trained for a certain amount of hours with a master plumber. A state-sanctioned test must be passed in order to receive a journey license in most states. An apprentice license normally is awarded to those who have just begun training as a plumber and often the only requirement that someone needs to get one is that they have to be of a certain age.

Licenses to become certified to work on natural gas lines and install natural gas appliances work much the same way that plumbing licenses do. There are master natural gas fitter licenses, journey natural gas fitter licenses and apprentice natural gas fitter licenses.

Some states award separate certifications for propane gas fitters and natural gas fitters.
Master natural gas fitters and master plumbers are certified to work on most any project that an average person will ever need a plumber to do. Journey plumbers often work with master plumbers and can do some work themselves.

Author Resource: ©Dapeem.com 2006. To find a plumbing professional in a city near you, please visit the Dapeem.com Yellow Page Directory located at http://plumbing.dapeem.com.

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