Plumbing
Verify the license, and do it out loud
New Hampshire licenses plumbers through the state, and a licensed plumber will give you the number without hesitating. Ask for it on the phone. It is a short, normal question and the reaction tells you as much as the answer.
Ask about insurance in the same breath, specifically liability and workers compensation. If someone is injured in your basement and the company carries no workers compensation, that exposure can land on your homeowners policy.
What belongs in a real quote
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who pulls the permit | On water heater replacements, gas work and repiping, the permit and inspection are part of the job. A quote that is silent on it is either cheaper because it skipped it, or about to surprise you. |
| Code work the job triggers | A water heater swap commonly brings an expansion tank, a pan and drain, and a correct temperature and pressure discharge line. These are not upsells, they are what the inspector looks for. |
| What happens if the shutoff fails | In older Manchester housing stock the main shutoff is frequently seized. Ask what happens, and what it costs, if it will not hold. |
| Make and model of what is being installed | Two quotes for "a 50 gallon water heater" can be two different warranties and two different recovery rates. |
| The warranty, split between parts and labour | A manufacturer parts warranty is not a workmanship warranty. Ask who covers the labour in year two. |
The questions worth asking
- Is the person doing the work licensed, or supervised by someone who is? Both are legitimate. Not knowing which is not.
- Will you give me the price before you start the work, in writing?
- What did you find that you were not expecting, and what did it change? Ask this during the job, not after.
- If this fails in six months, what happens?
What plumbing in this city actually involves
Manchester’s housing stock is old enough that most jobs turn up something. If you want the detail on what that means in practice, we wrote it up separately in plumbing in Manchester, NH. If this is already an emergency, go to emergency plumbing instead.
Our Manchester work runs out of the branch on our Manchester page, and the trades are covered by one licensed team: plumbing, water heaters, drain cleaning, gas line repair and repiping.