Get Quotes from Top Plumbers in Glendale, CA

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Plumber in Glendale

Though, residents of Glendale pay as low as $2.57 daily on water supplied, you will be doing the city a huge favor fix those leakages on time and running an efficient plumbing system both indoor and outdoor. The Glendale City authority encourage citizens to help with the government's water conservation initiative by optimizing their household water use. Retaining the services of trained plumber in the city will help you achieve this objective effectively. However, before you settled for any plumber in Glendale, ask the following questions to determine the professional is the right fit for you.

Are You Licensed to Practice as a Plumber in Glendale?

As a homeowner, having your plumbing work done by a licensed plumber is vital. Not only does it protect you from home repair and plumbing scams, but it is also prohibited according to Section 32-1151 of the Arizona Revised Statutes to contract without an appropriate license in Glendale, and anyone involved in this activity can be found guilty of a class one misdemeanor.

Through the issuance of licenses, Glendale protects its citizens from fraud by incompetent contractors and plumbers and ensures that only the best and most professional plumbers are available to cater to the plumbing needs of its residents legally. Plumbing licenses in Glendale are issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC), and this agency offers several classes of plumbing licenses.

In order to be licensed as a plumber in Glendale, interested parties must be at least 18 years old with at least four years of plumbing experience, which can be obtained either via Technical College training or apprenticeship training. Once this experience has been obtained, the candidate will be required to write and pass a licensing exam that includes a business management section and a trade section.

Note that these candidates are typically required to submit licensing forms during this process and also go through background checks. You can contact the ROC to get licensing information or to make other inquiries at the following office locations:

Phoenix Office
1700 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ, 8500- 2812
Phone:(602)542-1525
Flagstaff Office
2501 N 4th Street
Room 22
Flagstaff, AZ 86004-3701

Note that phone calls and walk-in inquiries about licenses are from Mondays to Fridays between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The Flagstaff office is open for walk-in inquiries to those who have booked an appointment. You can also use the verify a license feature on the ROC's website to confirm that your plumber is licensed.

How Much Do You Charge Compared to Plumbers in Glendale?

Factors like the nature of the plumbing problem to be fixed, the cost of plumbing materials, and the cost of the permit needed are the major determinants of the cost of contracting a plumber. Therefore, obtaining and comparing estimates from at least three plumbers will not only give you an idea of how much your project will cost but will also tell you whether you require a licensed plumber for your impending project.

Plumber in Glendale earns an annual average wage of $53,810. Below is a breakdown of the Average hourly wages for plumbers in Glendale compared with plumbers in parts of Arizona and other major cities in the country.

Glendale Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$25.87
Arizona Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$25.45
New York Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$35.78
Houston Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$26.71
Detroit Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$33.24
Miami Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$22.66
Boston Plumber Hourly Average Wage
$40.46
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do You Comply with the Glendale Building Code for Plumbing?

The Glendale Building Codes refer to a set of rules that govern the repair, maintenance, installation, building, modification, and design of plumbing systems in the city. This code is meant to safeguard the health, property, and welfare of the residents in Glendale, and it covers plumbing in residential areas, public buildings, piping systems for swimming pools, drainage, fire sprinklers, rainwater drainage as well as the plumbing equipment and materials used in the city.

It is vital for homeowners to contract licensed plumbers in Glendale because these licensed plumbers are in the best position to know the provisions of the plumbing code by virtue of their training. This helps with avoiding building code violations and the fines and penalties associated with this. You can contact the Glendale Department of Building Codes Services by calling (623) 930-3138 or (623) 930-3124 for more information on the requirements of the city codes.

Will You Get the Plumbing Permits as Required by the Glendale Code?

Plumbing permits are usually required before carrying out plumbing projects in Glendale. However, exemptions are made in certain situations, such as:

  • Projects involving the repair and replacement of sinks, toilets, shower heads, rain gutters, and external faucets.
  • Projects requiring resurfacing of countertops and shower walls.
  • Projects that involve adding or altering an irrigation system or installing a fountain or water system filled by a hose.

Permits are issued by Glendale through the Department of Building Codes and Services (DBCS). These permits can be obtained by homeowners or licensed plumbers, and they are usually required to submit either a residential permit application form or a commercial permit application, along with applicable building plans and any other required documents, to the Department of Building Codes and Services electronically or via email for review. Upon review and approval of the application, a permit will be issued to the applicant.

Also, once the plumbing work starts, regular inspections are usually carried out by the city's City Code Compliance Department (CDC). This is to ensure that the work complies with the building plans approved by the DBCS as well as other requirements of the plumbing code. For more information on the permit application process, you can contact the Developmental Service Department via phone at (623)930-2800 or by sending your inquiries via mail to:

Glendale,
Building Safety Department
5850 West Glendale Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85301

What Kind of Plumbing Services Do You Offer?

Plumbing services provided in Glendale include maintenance, sewage disposal, drainage services, repairs and replacement, installing new plumbing ware, gas plumbing services, and water piping services. It is important for a homeowner to be aware of the kind of expertise the intended project will require and make efforts towards getting a plumber with the particular skill. For example, plumbing problems revolving around the installation of water sprinklers and sewage treatments, water and gas piping systems, and solar plumbing liquid systems require the expertise of a plumber with an R-37 license. You can find out the level of plumbing expertise that your project may require by going through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors license classification list.

Below is the breakdown of the costs of common plumbing services in Glendale:

Residential plumbing
$64.71-$83.78.
Commercial plumbing
$89.06-$95.83.
Plumbing for home remodel 
$3,968.80- $5,130.40.
Faucets, fixtures, and pipes
$52.50-$65.00.
Toilet installation/replacement
$139.63- $150.04.
Clearing/fixing of clogged drains
$113.26- $138.67.
Bathtub installation
$650- $1948.68.
Drainline installation
$235.22-$269.10.
Septic system installation
$6,689-$7,948.25.
Septic tank cleaning or pumping
$244.73-$500.
Sewer line cleaning
$157.78 - $241.03.
Sewer installation/repairs
$55.18-$70.66.
Water main installation/repair
$29.04-$48.40.
Well pump installation
$692.12- $821.83.

Do You Offer Emergency Plumbing Services in Glendale?

Plumbing emergencies refer to plumbing situations that, if left unchecked, can lead to significant damage to your property, cause you major financial distress, and may also pose a significant health risk. Examples of these situations are pipe leaks, clogged toilets, blocked drainages, water heater malfunctions, and gas leaks.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 10% of the homes in the United States waste 90 gallons of water daily through leakages that are preventable. Considering that the average family in Glendale generates 6,500 gallons of wastewater in a single month, plumbing emergencies must be resolved as quickly as they occur to prevent further wastage and higher water bills.

Therefore, getting the right plumber with the right skills for your plumbing emergency is very important because it not only helps to lower your water costs but also potentially prevents avoidable future plumbing emergencies. You can use the contractor search feature of the Arizona ROC website to locate plumbers near you, as well as other reputable online search services like the Better Business Bureau. You must also verify the validity of the license of the plumber you intend to contract before retaining their services.

Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Plumbers in Glendale?

It is estimated that an on-the-job fatality occurred every 99 minutes in the United States in 2019. Although plumbers in Glendale are generally not required to carry insurance, it is important that you always hire plumbers with a valid insurance plan. This protects you from liabilities regarding work-related accidents and injuries.

Note that licensed residential plumbers in Glendale and the State of Arizona, as a whole, are required to maintain bonds throughout the validity period of their licenses. The bond amount is usually determined by the license type and expected annual gross earnings of the plumber, and the proceeds of these bonds are paid into a recovery fund. This fund is used to provide compensation to homeowners who successfully institute a claim against plumbers in the State of Arizona. You can confirm the status of a prospective plumber's bond by contacting the Phoenix Office of the ROC via phone at (602)-5424-1525.

How to File a Complaint Against a Bad Plumber in Glendale

According to studies by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, Americans will spend over $380 billion on home repairs and improvements by the second quarter of 2022. As a result, scam artists masquerading as building professionals in order to dupe unsuspecting residents have made inroads into the industry, thereby causing homeowners to lose thousands of dollars in bogus home repairs and inferior construction jobs. Some of the methods employed by these scammers include:

  • Door-to-door solicitation from unsuspecting residents.
  • Asking for full cash payments before commencing work or demanding to be paid only in cash.
  • Pressuring unsuspecting residents to accept and sign contracts on the spot without proper review.

In September 2020, officials announced the arrest of a man wanted on multiple felony home repair fraud charges in Glendale, Arizona. According to officials, this man had performed these fraudulent acts in several counties across the country before moving to Glendale and assuming a false identity. You can avoid being scammed by unscrupulous plumbers by ensuring that you check the license number of the plumber you wish to hire to verify its authenticity and suitability for the intended project. You can also access the AZ ROC's Most Wanted list online to make sure that their intended plumbers have not been convicted for illegal contracting activities.

Other steps that you can take to avoid plumbing scams in Glendale include:

  • Avoid unsolicited plumbing repairs, evaluations, or inspections by strangers claiming to be staff from the Utility department of the city you are resident in.
  • Always document your dealings with plumbers. Insist on a written contract that includes the services you are contracting the plumber for. Other details in the contract should include the plumber's name, business name, license number, and the project sum.
  • Request for a list of references from the plumber and do a background check.
  • Be sure to get at least three estimates from different plumbers before settling for one. The estimate must contain a detailed explanation of the nature of the projects, whose responsibility it is to obtain the permit, and the project sum.
  • Make sure you draw up a contract with your prospective plumber. The details of the project contained in the estimate should be reflected in the contract. The contract should clearly specify the responsibilities of both the homeowner and plumber.
  • Make sure that the plumber's license class matches the requirements for the intended project. For example, if the project is in a residential area, your prospective plumber must possess an R-37 class license.
  • Never sign any documents that you do not understand.
  • Payments to plumbers should always be made in installments and with checks. Never pay cash or pay the entire project sum upfront.
  • Limit advance payments to 10% of the total estimate of the project or $1,000. Whichever is less.

You can file complaints concerning plumbing scams in Glendale with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors either online or by calling the Phoenix Office at (623)-542-5125. A complaint can also be made to the Glendale Police Department by filing a complaint form and submitting it on the police department website. You can also contact the police department via phone at (623)930-3059 or mail your complaint to the address below:

Glendale Police Department
Police Chief
6845 North 57th Drive
Glendale, AZ 85301