What qualifications/accreditations should you look for?

It is important to use a properly qualified plumber to ensure that their techniques and knowledge are top-notch.

Recently qualified plumbers will have a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). It is widely recommended that they have a Level 2 NVQ as a minimum, with a Level 3 being an advantage.

Plumbers who qualified a little less recently are likely to have City & Guilds qualifications in plumbing at the Advanced Craft level. In fact, experienced older plumbers may well have started off as an apprentice and progressed in this manner. If this is the case, they may not hold any qualification whatsoever, but will have lots of experience and should be very competent.

The easiest way to ensure that your plumber is sufficiently qualified and up-to-date with relevant advances is to use a plumber who is a member of the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering. All members of the IPHE are vetted to ensure that their qualifications and work experience are adequate.

In addition to this, if you hire a plumber to undertake any work with gas, they must be a member of the Council of Registered Gas Installers. This is a legal requirement. You can search for a CORGI-registered plumber on CORGI's website

Cost

Unfortunately, there is no standard hourly or job-specific rate when dealing with plumbers. The cost will often be split into three components: call-out fee; hourly rate thereafter; cost of replacement parts. Some plumbers will charge a job fee, which might be better value – with an hourly rate, there is no incentive for them to finish the job quickly.

Prices will vary massively depending on where you are in the country, the plumber's own overheads (such as hiring tools or ordering parts), and the urgency of the job. A typical hourly rate is £40 for the first hour and £30 for subsequent hours, though this will vary massively.

London and the South East are the most expensive areas in the country with the North and the Midlands representing far better value.

If your problem is not urgent, and you are prepared to wait a while for a plumber to come to perform a job for you, the cost will be a lot cheaper than using a 24-hour emergency plumbing firm, whose hourly rate and call out charges will be far higher.

Guide prices for plumbing jobs can be found on this website

It is very important to get multiple quotes as prices can vary wildly. It is recommended that you obtain at least 3 estimates.

As well as this, you should always get a written estimate with a breakdown of where the costs are before hiring a plumber for a big job. The final price should not deviate greatly from this guide price (provided no unforeseen problems surface).