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Benefits of a Career in Plumbing

Residential Plumbing

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There are several benefits to a career in plumbing, and at Wisler Plumbing and Air, we’re always hiring. If you’re interested, you can check out WislerJobs.com. Keep reading for a few of the reasons you might want to consider it.

Stability

Plumbing is a very stable career. I don’t want to say it’s economy proof, but it’s definitely economy resistant. We provide essential services.  That’s creates a lot of stability, no matter what is going on in the world.

We’re Problem Solvers

When you go into someone’s home, it’s usually because they’re experiencing a problem. They’ve got a leak or no hot water. Maybe the toilet isn’t working. It can be a very scary and frustrating situation for a homeowner.

When you solve their problems, you get to be the hero. You can take someone’s major concern and resolve it. It’s a direct impact that changes lives in that moment.

It’s Hands-On

Plumbing is very hands-on and is typically an outside job. Some can’t imagine sitting at a desk inside all day, so the trade can really speak to those who don’t like to be cooped up.

And Ever-Changing

Unlike a factory job where you do the same thing over and over, plumbing is ever-changing. Each home is a little different, each client is a little different, and there are new technologies coming out regularly within the industry. That’s a tremendous learning opportunity. When someone is learning, generally speaking, that increases their value and income potential. So that can be very exciting as well.

Like I said at the top, we’re always hiring. And most of our plumbers come to us with zero experience. We teach them the trade and increase their value at a career level, then they reap the income rewards.

If you’re looking to get into the trade, go to WislerJobs.com and start the process there. For anything else, call us at 540-483-9382.

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At Wisler Plumbing and Air, we choose the best products we can get our hands on for our sewer and water mains. Once you put them in the ground, you don’t want to be digging them up frequently. There are several options, all with pros and cons, when it comes to main line materials.

When we’re talking about a main line, we’re referring to the sewer line that goes from your house to the street or septic tank, and the water line that comes from the meter at the street or from the well to your home. For the most part, those lines are underground. We use trenchless technology for both water and sewer lines. That can be pipe bursting, pipe lining, and then we pull water lines through the yard.

When it comes to water line product, the first one is what we call a poly pipe, which is a flexible black polyethylene pipe. We use the top PSI version, so that means it’s much thicker and more resilient to rocks, cuts, and leaks.

Another type of water line pipe is copper. It’s not frequently used, but it is a good pipe. It’s just much more expensive and doesn’t offer a tremendous value over the poly pipe. Some advantages are that it’s metallic, so it would be less susceptible to crushing or kinking. With poly pipe, if you get a really heavy rock or you’re driving over it repeatedly, it might crush because it’s a plastic product. However, the advantage to that is not having to excavate, because as it turns it the ground, it can bend and ply to different contours.

For sewer lines, there is SDR 35, which is a very thin wall. Many times, city sewer systems will use that pipe. There is Schedule 40 PVC, and then we have the HDPE pipe, which is a heavy-duty polyethylene. And if we do pipe lining, that’s done with wool, epoxy, and polyethylene.

The advantage to the SDR 35 is it’s less expensive and it’s easier to handle because it’s thinner and lighter. But it can be compromised much easier with rocks and can get holes. It’s also not a glued joint. It’s a gasket joint, which means roots can grow into those and cause problems.

With a Schedule 40 PVC, it’s much more rigid and not going to collapse. It’s going to be sturdy enough to handle going under driveways or sidewalks where there’s traffic. And it is a glue joint. So, if it’s installed properly, you won’t have root issues. It is probably one of the more expensive products that is used for sewer lines, so one of the disadvantages is just the sheer cost of it.

Some of the advantages to the epoxy lining system is that it’s seamless, so it doesn’t have fittings or anything in it. That causes the flow rate to be very high. One of the cons is that you wouldn’t want to put it in unless you can’t gain access.  You probably would just use pipe bursting or excavation to do that.

As far as the HDP pipe, which we use for pipe bursting, a disadvantage to it is that it’s not as rigid as the Schedule 40, but it’s still better than the SDR 35. It is fused, so you have to have special equipment to be able to put together that pipe. We heat it up and actually fuse it together instead of gluing it. It’s very resistant against roots; there are hardly any cracks to it. It’s also flexible, so we can pull it in and match the contours of the sewer line.

All in all, you need to be able to rely on the professional that’s coming to your home to look at your situation and assign the correct products. A lot of times, you might benefit as a consumer by going with the cheaper option. The materials are a very small portion of the overall cost. So, we’re going to use the best materials: the highest PSI poly pipe for water lines, Schedule 40 PVC for excavation jobs, and HDP pipe for our pipe bursting.

Like I said in the beginning, when you put them in the ground, you don’t want to dig them up. We choose the best products possible for sewer and water mains.  If you have any questions, you can reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air at 540-483-9382.

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“Flushable” wipes might be very convenient in the short-term, but they probably won’t be in the long-term. Many are advertised as flushable, but they’re still not healthy for your plumbing system. If you Google it, you’ll see that even public sewage disposal systems have had to adapt in the recent years to take on a high level of fiber-type material that’s in the sewage.

A septic system works because of bio material that breaks down biodegradable materials like toilet paper. Wipes are generally much stronger and thicker than toilet paper. So yes, they may be flushable, but it’s not toilet paper. They’re going to sit in the storage tank, and if you’re using a lot of them, they’re going to build up and cause problems.

They aren’t too common in the United States yet, but one thing to consider is a bidet. They have tremendous benefits, especially around hygiene. Using a bidet is cleaner than toilet paper, and if you’re caring for someone sick or elderly, they can be very handy.

I think of a client I had one time that had a cancer patient in their home that was constantly getting sick. They were using a lot of wipes and causing problems with their system. If you’re dealing with that, you definitely want to look into other solutions. One of them might be a bidet, or if you need to use wipes, put them in the waste basket instead of flushing.

If you’re interested in a bidet, you can reach out to us at Wisler Plumbing and Air. We generally use what’s called a bidet seat, which essentially transforms your toilet seat to second as a bidet. If you’d like more information, you can call us at 540-483-9382.

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A sewage backup is one of the worst things that could happen to someone’s plumbing system, short of a huge water rupture that just floods the entire home. What makes sewage worse than a water rupture is all the nasty stuff in it. It’s very likely disease-ridden and full of bacteria and viruses. Plumbing systems are designed around making sure sewage is safely contained and ensuring there’s no crossover into the drinking water or living space. If you’ve ever heard the saying, “Plumbers protect the health of the nation,” that’s why.

First, take it seriously.

If you have a sewage backup, do not procrastinate. It is a serious issue that should not be taken lightly. It can become a very expensive issue to resolve if it gets worse. For instance, if you saw a small amount of water around the basement’s floor drain, you’d need to get it checked out before it became 10” of water.

Next, decide whether to repair or replace.

Sometimes a backup isn’t fixed by running a snake or cable down the line to get it clear. You’ll find yourself in the situation where you have to decide whether to repair or replace the sewer line. It might seem like a no-brainer to repair, but what if it backs up again in a year? Then you’ve wasted money. Fortunately, there are several options when it comes to repair and replacement.

We can do a pipe lining in the basement or front yard in some situations, preventing us from having to bust up the floor or ground. If someone has a finished basement and a pipe underneath is causing the problem, sometimes we can do a pipe lining without having to bust up all the concrete. The other possible solution might be pipe bursting, where we dig holes at either end of the pipe. Then we put in a cable and pull a new sewer line through. This is really advantageous because we don’t have to dig up all the dirt and damage the landscaping or sidewalk.

Of course, then there are the traditional ways of excavating or busting up someone’s floor, which we’ve done for many years. This is one of the more invasive ways to deal with the issue, but sometimes you don’t have another choice. The cost might make this a no-brainer, especially if we don’t have to dig very deep.

Regardless of what decision you make, these are all very complex, difficult jobs. You need to make sure to hire someone skilled, experienced, and competent. That’s the best way to give you peace of mind that the job is done correctly. While house shopping, you might want to ask whether the sewer line has been replaced. You’ll generally be able to see the condition of the HVAC system, roof, water heater, etc. But because the sewer line is out of sight and out of mind, it’s easily skipped over. I’ve actually seen homes put on the market solely because the sewer line needed to be replaced. If that information isn’t disclosed, it’s definitely something you want to find out before buying a home.

If you want an inspection, we’ll find out pretty quick whether there’s a problem by running a camera down the sewer line. To learn more, reach out to Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Tankless water heaters are often considered as a potential option for homeowners. First, I want to talk about some of the disadvantages:

Con #1: Upfront Cost

A tankless water heater will simply cost more than a tank water heater. That upfront cost can be a significant challenge to overcome.

Con #2: Installation in All-Electric Homes

If you don’t have LP gas or natural gas in your home, it’s really not a good option to go tankless with electric. There are some electrical tankless water heaters that we put in, but a home’s environment will very rarely allow it to happen, usually due to the size of the home or limitations in the electrical supply’s power output.

Con #3: High Complexity

A tankless water heater is definitely much more of a complex system than a tank water heater. Therefore, it takes a trained, competent individual to work on it. If it breaks down, you can’t just go to the nearest Lowe’s and swap out a replacement part.

That being said, I have a tankless water heater in my home and I love it. There’s a tremendous amount of benefits in making the decision to go tankless:

Pro #1: Space Savings

Tankless water heaters can potentially free up a large amount of space. For instance, because I have a tankless water heater on the wall in the mechanical area of my home, I can do other things with the floorspace in this area.

Pro #2: Endless Supply

Probably the biggest benefit from my perspective is the fact that no matter how much hot water we use, and no matter how many times we want to use the shower, we’ll never run out of hot water. It’s an endless supply as long as you have power and fuel going to the heater. When guests are staying or the kids have friends over, we really love how handy this is.

Pro #3: Life Expectancy

The life expectancy of a tankless water heater is going to be much longer than a tank water heater. After all, there’s no storage tank that could rupture due to expansion and contraction.

Pro #4: Total Cost of Ownership

Even though a tankless water heater has a higher upfront cost than a tank water heater, it has a much lower total cost of ownership. Let’s compare a 50 gallon electric water heater, which will cost about $600 per year to operate (in terms of electricity). The tankless water heater will cost about $190 per year, which comes out to $410 yearly savings. In terms of energy efficiency, that’s a really big deal. The savings aren’t as great going from a gas tank to a gas tankless system, though—you might see a yearly savings of about $150 to $200. The bottom line is, electric is the most inefficient way to heat water. LP or natural gas is much more efficient than electric, whether it be tank or tankless.

With high BTU appliances, we have to make sure the gas line is sized properly and externally vented. But aside from those two requirements, we can pretty much put them anywhere if a home is equipped with LP or natural gas. The Navien brand tankless water heaters we install do a really good job of making it easy to retrofit in homes, so it’s possible to install in a lot more situations than it was ten years ago. If you want to learn more about choosing a water heater for your home, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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Underground drain pipes tend to deteriorate over time, especially in older homes. Pipe lining and pipe bursting are both trenchless technologies for replacing drain pipes. With pipe lining, we insert a liner into the existing pipe. We’re able to reline the pipe so that it looks brand new by the time we’re done. Even if the pipe has broken or the bottom has rotted out, putting in a liner will restore it completely back to new condition. We can usually do this without having to tear up the floor, which would be really messy for homes with hardwood or tile. Unlike pipe lining, pipe bursting doesn’t actually use the existing pipe. Instead, we use the channel to pull a new pipe into its place.

Generally speaking, pipe lining is used inside the home. It might be a slab home that doesn’t have a basement or crawlspace, or a home with a basement that has a concrete slab with pipes underneath. We usually use pipe lining with cast iron pipes, but it works with PVC or other materials, too. Pipe bursting, on the other hand, is mainly used outside the home. It might be from the home to the city connection or from the home to a septic tank. Pipe bursting can be an awesome option to spare the nice landscape, sidewalk or driveway and prevent tearing up the whole yard. It’s also generally less labor-intensive, more economical, and less time-consuming than pipe lining.

If someone is trying to decide between pipe lining, pipe bursting, or traditional replacement, I think it all depends on the specific situation. Each option has different pros and cons. For a homeowner who doesn’t want to tear up the yard or house, pipe lining or pipe bursting are two great options. Lining is a phenomenal option for finished spaces. Sewer lines can sometimes be as deep as 10 to 11 feet in our area. It takes a lot of space to displace that much dirt and it’s very challenging to get the job done safely in a small yard without significant scarring. Pipe bursting might be a good option in that case.

Regardless of your choice, it’s a good idea to contact an experienced company. Lining is a very technical process, and sometimes mistakes will happen. It involves careful timing and the epoxy needs to be mixed with precise ratios. (The ambient temperature determines how quickly the epoxy sets up.)

If you have any questions about pipe lining or pipe bursting for your home, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air today. Contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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