Is a Commercial Plumber Better than a Residential Plumber?

Whether you’re remodeling your bathroom or fixing a leak, there are many reasons why you might need to call a plumber. One of the most common questions people have is whether they should call a commercial plumber or a residential plumber.

Whether a commercial plumber is better than a residential plumber depends on the kind of work at hand. Each type of plumber has a different type of skills, and they can therefore handle various jobs. So, a commercial plumber may not be better than a residential one since each can be distinct.

What is Residential Plumbing?

Usually, when any plumbing work arises, most people tend to call any type of plumber available as long as they can fix the situation.

While calling any plumber to do the job is okay, it is essential to note their differences. Usually, both a residential plumber and a commercial plumber have experience in plumbing and are pretty much qualified to do any plumbing work.

However, each one of them has specific skills and knowledge that make them unique. Even so, they both tend to focus on the same problems such as leakages, flooding, installations, and burst pipes. But, what is the specific work of a residential plumber, and why are they called so?

As the name suggests, residential plumbing mainly focuses on offering services to residential areas such as homes. The residential plumber will deal with drain lines, installing pipes for gas, and other plumbing fixtures that the home requires. Residential plumbers are also responsible for dealing with leakages or any other repairs that homes need.

One thing that residential plumbing involves is creating freshwater lines. If there is an issue with the water lines, residential plumbers know how best to fix it. They will install the plumbing system where freshwater will pass and fix the faucets that the homeowners will be using to get the freshwater.

For residential plumbers, they will spend most of their time in people’s houses fixing things. Their skills will cut across anything that revolves around a residential building, whether it is a one-bedroomed house or maybe a four-bedroomed one or duplexes. Their line of work is also pretty easy.

Residential plumbers do not deal with complex things like what a commercial plumber encounters. Most residential plumbing systems are pretty easy to fix and are not complicated like those of commercial buildings. Also, residential plumbers deal with the homeowners directly, making it easy to communicate when communicating.

If there are broken fixtures or leakages in the homes, it is the work of a residential plumber to fix them. While finding a leak at home can be challenging, a residential plumber can quickly identify the area with the leak and fix it instantly. Most plumbing systems at home are usually closely connected in a small space; therefore, the leak can emanate from anywhere.

Other than dealing with pipes, residential plumbers also fix other home appliances that require plumbing knowledge. Such include gas cookers and dishwashers. They do things such as installing the dishwashers and repairing them in case of any problem.

Generally, there are specific skills that the residential plumber needs to have for them to do their work effectively. Some of these skills include communication skills, mechanical skills, and talent.

What is Commercial Plumbing?

Commercial plumbing mainly involves doing plumbing works on commercial buildings such as hospitals. Commercial plumbers are interested in doing commercial plumbing, and they do all the work in such establishments, including doing maintenance works, repairs, and installing plumbing fixtures.

The work of a commercial plumber is almost similar to that of a residential plumber. However, there lies a vast difference between these two. Usually, commercial plumbing is complex, and the plumbers here are likely to deal with complicated volumes of work.

Usually, commercial buildings are complex and have multiple floors. For this reason, you expect that their plumbing system is also tricky. When the plumbing system is different, it makes such places have huge plumbing problems more often.

The plumbing system for a commercial building can be hard to understand. It may often involve many pipes connected, and the connection may change on another floor. Also, other plumbing systems such as boilers and sewers may be different, and such requires the mind of a qualified commercial plumber to understand and fix well if a problem arises.

Commercial plumbers deal with so much in a day. Technically, a commercial building will have so many people coming in and out of it each day, and for this reason, the possibility of the plumbing fixtures wearing out is pretty high. So, it is common for commercial plumbers to deal with multiple plumbing issues each day.

It is also common for them to work at weird hours of the night. Such is the case since the day, and the commercial buildings are full of people, so the only better time to work is during the night when there are few people. Also, commercial plumbers require more complex tools such as generators and tile saws when doing their work.

Is a Commercial Plumber Better Than a Residential Plumber?

You cannot tell who is better than who, but a commercial plumber will most often be better than a commercial plumber, primarily because they deal with more complex jobs.

Both commercial and residential plumbers have unique skills and experience that allow them to do their jobs. But plumbing knowledge has no significant difference.

You can find that a residential plumber can handle work in a commercial building even though this is not their specialty. The same case applies to a commercial plumber; they can also work in residential. However, both of them may not be in a position to diagnose and repair problems in a work environment where they lack enough knowledge.

If you are to determine who is better, it is best to first look at your needs. If you want someone who will install a dishwasher or possibly unclog a sink for you, then you cannot rely on a commercial plumber. In this case, the best person to do the job will be a residential plumber since they have more experience.

Similarly, any plumber can fix new plumbing systems in a commercial building with multiple floors. But, if you compare a commercial and a residential plumber, in this case, the commercial plumber will most likely do a more efficient job and quickly since they have been doing such work for quite some time.

The commercial plumber will most likely do a better job fixing an issue in a residential place than a residential plumber would do in a commercial building. The commercial plumber deals with more complex facilities and jobs, so working in a small structure with a more simplified plumbing system should not be an issue.

What Is the Difference Between Commercial and Residential Plumbing?

One significant difference between commercial and residential plumbing is the complexity that revolves around commercial plumbing.

A commercial plumber deals with a more complex plumbing system that requires one to be keen when installing and repairing. The commercial plumber typically follows a specific project design when installing the plumbing fixtures, which requires a certain level of expertise.

The buildings that commercial plumbers deal with are usually large, and they all require plumbing fixtures. Unlike residential plumbing, where the plumbing system is easily connected and the chances of them spoiling are minimal. Also, such structures typically hold a vast number of people each day, increasing the chances of things wearing out; therefore, they handle repairs more often.

According to the Environment Protection Agency, the household leaks from residential buildings result in 1 trillion wasted water annually, so commercial buildings may even be higher. Therefore, the repairs in commercial buildings will be more, and the pipes and faucets that will help prevent the leakages here need to be more durable.

A commercial plumber also tends to work longer than a residential plumber. They are also likely to have more unscheduled overtime work to attend to emergencies. Also, their job requires routine inspections and testing, unlike that of residential plumbers.

Conclusion

The work of a commercial and a residential plumber tends to be almost similar, but what sets them apart mainly is the complexity of commercial plumbing. None of them is better than the other since how well each performs depends on the one’s need.

A residential plumber will do efficient work in homes, while a commercial plumber will be more efficient in commercial buildings.