Bet You Didn't Know This About Plumbers!

Becoming a professional plumber is not easy. This may surprise you, but plumbers receive as much education as lawyers! It requires a lot of time and dedication to earn this hard-won designation, but even once completed, a plumber continues to learn throughout his or her professional life.

“The path to becoming a plumber requires four years, with a minimum of 2,000 hours each year, under an apprenticeship,” explained Ned Norquist, General Manager of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in Yorkville. “A total of 8,000 hours is needed before an applicant can even apply to take the state licensing exam.”

The state licensing exam consists of three phases. The first requires the applicant to build both a waste-and-vent tree and a copper piping system that have to hold pressure, be completely clean (no messy soldering), and fit the stated height and width requirements. The second phase includes a 100-question test about the state plumbing code, with true/false, multiple choice, and essay questions. Lastly, the applicant is required to draw a three-story waste-and-vent system that includes a substation, fixtures, and other items as if the applicant was going to install it.

“Once licensed, that’s the beginning of a plumber’s education in this industry,” added Norquist. “We frequently come across situations that defy logic, requiring us to become detectives. In this service sector job, we have to be electricians and HVAC experts as well, because a lot of plumbing fixtures utilize electronic wiring and controls.”

Norquist notes that you shouldn’t hire a plumber who isn’t licensed, nor one who doesn’t carry liability insurance. “If you hire someone who is uninsured, and something goes wrong, the homeowner suffers the loss through their own insurance,” he said. “If a plumber is hurt in your home, the same applies. At Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, we carry $2 million of liability insurance so that our customers are covered.”

For more information, please contact:

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

1203 Deer St.

Yorkville, IL 60560

630-553-7186

www.benjaminfranklinplumbing.com