A Tradie Explains: 5 Reasons to Not Attempt Your Own Plumbing

Do you think no-one will notice if you attempt to do your own plumbing? Well, think again...

If you’ve caught the renovating or building bug, there’s a chance you’ve researched information online about how to start the process. There are a lot of decisions to be made, from the design and planning stage, to ordering materials and hiring trades. It can take time to decipher which parts of the project you can do yourself to save money, and which areas need to be handled by the professionals. But there are certain parts of the renovation that must be completed by a licensed tradesperson, including plumbing, drainage and gas-fitting.

Plumbing is a licensed trade that must not be attempted by an unlicensed person. Plumbers are trained to conduct plumbing work so it complies with local, state and national regulations. They are also trained in and tested on installing systems that protect the health and safety of the community.

Unfortunately, plumbers are seen as expensive and this prompts some people to attempt their own plumbing. But the ramifications can cost more than the original quote from a licensed plumber. If you’ve ever been tempted to do your own plumbing, here are some reasons why you need to rethink your decision.

1. DIY plumbing is against the law

It’s against the law to install, change and in some cases maintain the plumbing to your home.

“Most consumers are unaware of the legal and health risks in installing and maintaining their own plumbing works,” says Penny Cornah, executive director of the Master Plumbers’ Association of QLD (MPAQ).

“Ultimately, we are saying only ever use a licensed plumber.”

If plumbing work is found to have been done by an unlicensed person, the fines and penalties can be substantial. Each Australian state has its own authority that will pursue people who have conducted their own plumbing without a license. How do the watchdogs find who to penalise? Plumbers who identify illegal work will notify their relevant authority to report unlicensed work.

Social media and online forums also make it easy to identify many people doing their own plumbing. So those proud posts boasting ‘I installed this myself’ may land you in hot water. To avoid a costly fine, hire a licensed plumber who has been trained to do the work. Let their work be judged for compliance, not yours.

2. DIY plumbing will void insurance

When plumbing is performed by a licensed plumber, they will have insurance to cover the work they do, even if they make a mistake. It’s important to check your licensed plumber has insurance before they do any work on your premises.

An unlicensed person cannot be insured for work they are not legally allowed to carry out. And building insurance will be void if a claim is made against work that was not legal in the first place.

One of the most common DIY plumbing fails is the connection of multiple flexible hoses for water connections. This typically is not legal. Secondly, if the hoses haven’t been tightened correctly, or have been cross-threaded, they will blow out and cause major water damage.

When unlicensed plumbing work is identified, the damage to walls, floors and furniture is paid at the owner’s expense. Damage can be thousands of dollars and can usually be avoided in the first place by hiring a licensed plumber to do the work.

Tip: Request a valid license and insurance certificates from a plumber or gas-fitter to ensure they are qualified and have the correct license to undertake the work.

3. DIY plumbing can affect people’s health

No-one wants to smell or see effluent flowing through a stormwater drain, but this can happen when a licensed plumber hasn’t been involved in the connection of plumbing services.

In Queensland, if the sewerage is found installed to a stormwater drain, the home owner will be given 24 hours to get a plumber in to fix the problem. Too bad if a plumber can’t come in time or if it’s a job that can’t be fixed because the services are all underground. If the issue is not rectified within the timeframe, it will be escalated, which is a cost that could have been avoided had the work been installed by a professional plumber.

When sewerage is connected to stormwater, it’s a health and safety issue and the narrow time frame shows how important it is to community health to direct waste water through the right channels. Situations like this can be stressful on a home owner, so avoid it at all costs by requesting all compliance certificates after work is completed, to ensure your home’s plumbing is certified.

4. Homes with non-compliant plumbing can’t be sold

When a house is sold, a solicitor and building inspector will do necessary checks to protect the buyer from purchasing an unforeseen lemon. It’s these checks during the conditional sale period that will uncover illegal plumbing.

If your solicitor can’t source a compliance certificate for a bathroom extension or for a kitchen that’s had services reconfigured, your local authority will request notification of the changes you’ve made. Many sales fall through in these situations, as no-one wants to buy a home with building work that wasn’t council approved. It also begs the question of why the local authority wasn’t notified of the plumbing work in the first place.

Tip: When selling your house, ensure you have all compliance certificates for any renovations or extensions you’ve completed while living in your home.

5. Installing plumbing appliances voids their warranties

Plumbing appliances such as a dishwasher, hot water unit and chilled/boiling filtered water taps should be installed by a licensed plumber as per the warranty instructions. If the appliance is found to have been installed by an unlicensed person, the warranty can be void.

Dishwashers’ warranty booklets detail whether a flood-stop valve and/or water pressure limiting valve is needed for the installation. A plumber understands the vital importance of these valves. If a dishwasher hose blows out or has a fault due to water pressure, any warranty for the appliance will be void.

Tip: Always read appliances’ warranty instructions to determine if you can legally install it yourself.

The training involved to become a plumber is extensive and the current requirement to gain this qualification is similar in each state of Australia.

To become a plumber in Queensland, a person must conduct an apprenticeship, which takes four years to complete. When the apprentice has completed their training and their employer and their Registered Training Organisation (RTO) have signed off on their qualification, they must hold their provisional license (which is issued by the licensing body) for a minimum of 12 months. After this period, they can transition to a full license for plumbing and drainage. To receive their contractor’s license, they need to complete 10 subjects from the Certificate IV in Plumbing, Drainage and Gas.

Any plumbers who received their qualification overseas need to get in touch with their local Australian licensing organisation to find out if they can get a local plumbing license.

Australia is known for its extensive training and licensing requirements for their plumbers. Currently, there is a skills shortage in the trade – we need more plumbers and it’s a job that can suit both men and women.

The cost to hire a plumber takes into account the skills shortage, but also the price to maintain licenses and insurances to cover professionally completed work.

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, ‘If you thought hiring a plumber was expensive, try paying the price for not hiring one,’ and that couldn’t be more true.

*This article originally appeared on Houzz - https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/a-tradie-explains-5-reasons-not-to-diy-your-plumbing-stsetivw-vs~111599014