by Gary Mays | Apr 17, 2012 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Insurance, Marketing, Plumber Brisbane, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Whywait Plumbing
Credit card payments to pay accounts is now the most common method of payment our clients use to pay for the plumbing services we provide at Whywait Plumbing. Yes we accept the following credit cards:
- American Express
- MasterCard
- Visa
And NO we don’t charge you any form of surcharge.
Unlike many companies Whywait Plumbing do not charge you a surcharge on credit card payments
From our perspective the fees the bank charges us to accept a credit card are negligible, with the benefits of same day payment far outweighing the bank fees.
This policy is unlikely to change as we continually see other companies charging excessively their own clients to make payment via a credit card. It is increasingly the norm with businesses that charge a surcharge for using a credit card to charge double what the bank charges them. This is disguised as administrative fees that would be incurred whether you pay by credit card, cash or cheque. Far too many companies are making additional profit from their own clients using a credit card.
At Whywait Plumbing we bank with Bendigo Bank and the fees they charge us for processing Visa and MasterCard is 0.72%. Unlike other banks Bendigo Bank deposit credit card payments into our bank account same day. With American Express it is slightly different as we have to pay 1.8% and it can take up to 48 hours for the money to be deposited into our bank account.
Put simply the installation of a toilet suite for a service partner costs $758.02 and if they pay by Visa or MasterCard the cost to us is $5.46. Even if they pay by American Express the cost is still $13.64. Either way you look at it those fees are much less than the administrative cost of sending out an invoice, then waiting for payment to arrive.
At Whywait Plumbing we guarantee we will never charge clients for the convenience of using a credit card to pay. We urge you to challenge the validity of businesses that frequently charge you 3-5% for using a credit card when it is highly unlikely they are paying anything like that to their bank.
by Gary Mays | Jan 23, 2012 | Bathrooms, City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Emergency Plumber, Form 4 notifiable work, handyman, Health Issues, Insurance, licensed plumber, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Legislation, Queensland Government
Cleaners are not plumbers.
A phone call I received last week from a cleaner asking me are cleaners able to legally undertake plumbing work alerted me to the pressures many cleaning contractors face from unscrupulous building owners and property managers. Increasingly there is a tendency by commercial building owners and their property managers to require their cleaning contractors to undertake work tasks that are legally plumbing. Cleaners undertaking plumbing tasks are quite merely breaking several laws as are their employers and supervisors.
The most common plumbing tasks that cleaners who are untrained, unskilled and unlicensed appear to be being required to undertake as part of their cleaning duties are:
- unblocking of drains
- unblocking of toilets
- disconnecting and clearing of traps
- servicing of urinals
What plumbing work can a cleaner perform
The only plumbing-related tasks a cleaner or any other person can legally undertake are:
- cleaning or maintaining ground level grates to traps on sanitary drains
- replacing caps to ground level inspection openings on sanitary drains
- maintaining an above or below ground irrigation system for the disposal of effluent from an on-site sewerage facility
- installing or maintaining an irrigation or lawn watering system downstream from an isolating valve, tap or backflow prevention device on the supply pipe for the irrigation or lawn watering system
- replacing a jumper valve or washer in a tap
- changing a showerhead
- replacing, in a water closet (WC) cistern, a drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cup rubber.
All other work must be undertaken by a licensed plumber and drainer – no ifs, no buts, no exceptions.
Laws that apply to who can do plumbing
Cleaners who are required and frequently forced by their supervisors and employers to undertake plumbing tasks usually at the behest of building owners and property managers are all breaking the following laws and regulations:
- Building Services Authority Act 1991
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011
- Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code
- Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002
- Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003
- Standard Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003
Plumbers and drainers, unlike cleaners, are trained to undertake tasks such as clearing of drains or working on toilets or urinals. All of these tasks require specialised training, diagnostic skills and an awareness of health and safety issues. Above all plumbers are licensed to undertake the work by the Queensland Government plumbing regulator, the Plumbing Industry Council. The latter are legally required to protect public health and safety through Queensland’s plumbing and drainage licensing system.
Standard Plumbing & Drainage Regulation 2003 requirements
Tasks such as unblocking of drains, unblocking of toilets, disconnecting and clearing of traps or servicing of urinals are covered explicitly by schedule 2 of Standard Plumbing & Drainage Regulation 2003 as detailed below:
- work necessary for maintaining, repairing or replacing a fitting or fixture
- work necessary for maintaining or repairing an apparatus other than a backflow prevention device or thermostatic mixing valve
- work necessary for replacing apparatus other than a backflow prevention device, thermostatic mixing valve, tempering valve, water heater, cistern, pump or water meter
- work necessary for maintaining, repairing or replacing fire hydrants or fire hose reels
- unblocking a pipe that is sanitary plumbing or sanitary drainage
- work necessary for maintaining or repairing a solar or heat pump hot water system in a building classified under BCA as a class 1, 2, 3 or 4 building
Work undertaken under schedule 2 does not require the lodgement of form 4 with the local government plumbing & drainage inspectors. Still, all work must be conducted by a licensed plumber or drainer.
A cleaner despite what they are told cannot undertake any of the above tasks. They and those that instruct them to do the work are breaking the law, and all are liable for fines plus leave themselves exposed to common law claims under the due diligence provisions of the new WHS Act 2011.
It is straightforward if there is general cleaning of a plumbing fixture then there is no issue its a cleaning task. Where a component part is replaced or disconnected from the plumbing or drainage system, fixture or fitting for maintenance or servicing it can only be legally undertaken by a licensed plumber.
I reiterate the answer to the question are cleaners able to legally undertake plumbing work is a resounding NO and if you are unsure call Whywait Plumbing any time of (07) 5580 4311 to get assistance.
by Gary Mays | Jul 21, 2011 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Insurance, Plumbers Gold Coast, Whywait Plumbing
Legal DIY or do it yourself plumbing work is extremely restricted in Queensland to protect the integrity of the potable water supply and ensure the high levels of public health. Plumbing laws nationwide safeguard the health of the nation.
Plumbing is and always has been part of the public health solution. This, in itself, has created a level of complacency within the community about the benefits of good professional plumbing practices and the laws that enforce them. Plumbing laws are frequently unappreciated with professional plumbing being a victim of its own past success. Many sections of the community do not appreciate the vital role that plumbing plays in everyday health because we have always had professional plumbing to bring a clean potable water supply into our homes and to remove the used water from our toilets, showers and laundry.
In Queensland plumbing law is covered by the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002, Plumbing and Drainage Regulations 2003, Standard Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 and Queensland Plumbing and Waste Water Code 2010. These acts and regulations are comprehensive and regulate individual plumbing licences and training plus call into law AS3500 for installation.
To be a plumbing contractor in Queensland, a company or individual must also hold contractors licences issued by the Building Services Authority under the Building Services Authority Act 1991. This licence ensures that all plumbing contractors have the correct technical qualifications and occupational license issued by the Plumbing Industry Council. No one other than a licensed plumbing contractor can undertake plumbing work no matter what the value of the work is. The threshold amount of $3000 does not apply to plumbing, drainage or gasfitting that applies to several other trades
So what an unlicensed person can undertake plumbing work on their own home is not a great deal and for a good reason, as outlined above. The Standard Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 outlines quite specifically in Schedule 3 Unregulated Work what this work is. Unregulated work is defined as the following:
- cleaning or maintaining ground level grates to traps on sanitary drains
- replacing caps to ground level inspection openings on sanitary drains
- maintaining an above or below ground irrigation system for the disposal of effluent from an on-site sewerage facility
- installing or maintaining an irrigation or lawn watering system after the isolation valve
- replacing a jumper valve or washer in a tap
- changing a shower head
- replacing a toilet cistern drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cap rubber
And those seven tasks listed above are the only plumbing related tasks that you may undertake without a plumbing licence.
It is not worth the risk to undertake DIY plumbing. It is illegal.
Plumbing is public health, now, and in the future.
by Gary Mays | Jul 15, 2011 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Health Issues, Hot Water, Hot Water Temperature, Insurance, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Legislation
Queensland law since 1995 has been that hot water delivered to bathrooms be regulated so that it does not exceed 50°C. The most common method to achieve this is by installing a tempering valve.
At 60°C, a severe burn can happen in 1 second.
At 55°C, a severe burn would take 10 seconds.
At 50°C, a severe burn would happen after 5 minutes.
If your hot water unit has a valve that looks like the one pictured on the right, then you have a tempering valve installed. The most common valve installed has a blue cap, but valves used on gas units frequently have a green cap and those on solar or heat pump units have an orange cap.
It is almost a guarantee that your valve has never been serviced as most homeowners do not realise they even had such a device or that they are required to be tested and certified annually. Very simply a tempering valve blends hot and cold water to deliver hot water at a constant temperature and thus reduces the risk of scalding accidents.
Recent litigation places a deed of care to ensure the safe delivery of hot water in domestic situations. Very simply this means you should be having the tempering valve serviced annually whether you are a homeowner or a property investor or a real estate property manager. To ensure your hot water delivery is safe, you need an annual report signed by a licensed plumber that states:
- the model, manufacturer and identification of the tempering valve installed
- the temperature of the hot water recorded during the test
- details of the test undertaken, details of what maintenance was undertaken and what parts were replaced
- the location of the valve in the property
- a reference to the test method undertaken being compliant with AS 4032.3, Appendix C
Duty of care provisions applies to us all and without an annual test and a written report you leave yourself liable if anyone suffers a burn from your hot water. Most electric hot water units heat water to 70°C, so that has the potential to produce a severe burn in 1 second without a correctly working tempering valve.
Whywait Plumbing is contacting clients to book in compliant testing, maintaining and reporting of your tempering valves but if you have any concerns over the temperature of your hot water, contact us now to schedule your service.
