5 Things that SUCK About Being a Plumber
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- I do a lot to try to recruit people into plumbing. But to be honest, there are some things that SUCK about being a plumber! In this videos I'm going to tell you 5 Things That SUCK About Being a Plumber.
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Thanks for watching! I'm Roger Wakefield, LEED AP, The Expert Plumber and welcome to my channel. On this channel I teach homeowners how to save money on their plumbing by doing DIY plumbing projects. I also teach plumbers and plumbing company owners how to be the best plumbers in their area and run successful plumbing businesses. My goal is teach you everything you need to know about plumbing.
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I asked my dad why he taught me plumbing asking if he wanted be to take up his trade. He said "hell no I taught you so you can do it yourself and not pay anyone for it."
Facts
Yes! My dad did this too. I now rough plumb his new construction. And he bought my house through his company. I scratch his back and he scratches mine
@@jakel.1724 sounds fucking cherry
I’m an electrician and I love watching roger’s videos when he takes cheap shots at us haha. Deep down he knows it’s us and the plumbers who are the smartest ones on any job site.
If electricians are so smart why can’t they pick up their trash
We are just jealous cause you walk out the jobsites as clean as you walked in.
N these 2 trades make the most
You are right, but I would add HVAC to it as well.
Eh
I make $435 per hour.
$166 travel to and $166 travel from even if it’s 30 mins away.
$200 if I stop at the store.
Most guys bill out at $30-$50 per hour in this trade.
Folks it’s not what you do…..it’s how you do it.
No I’m not a plumber or electrician
I use a half inflated leather football to prop myself when I work under a sink. You should see the looks I get when a homeowner sees me walk into the home with my toolbox and a football!! And oh the questions I get. But after they see me laying on that football instead of the toe kick of a cabinet I get nothing but praise for how ingenious I am. The football is the most comfortable prop I have ever used ( the key is to have it half inflated)
I love how plumbers and electricians hate each other. They fight to be the first in a house so they dont have to work around the other guys wiring or plumbing
Plumbers in first! I do both, I can bend a cable around a 4" pipe, I can not bend a 4" pipe around a cable!
Same thing working in the shipyard. A gang of sparky's came in one day and hung a big old electrical panel right where I was going to run some pipe 🙄
I love how no matter the Nation, Plumbers always have beef with the electricians. Here in Germany, we call them Cable apes. Even here we believe we have the bigger brains, even though we only do that to tease them, they do the same to us but in reality, we get along well.
That is so true to bad I am both
CABLE APES! I LOVE IT! BOOWAHAHAHA!
Cable apes, I love it! In Australia they are called sparkys
I’ve been a union plumber for 2 weeks now, no plumbing experience prior to my employment. Gotta day, I love your videos! Super helpful to a first year apprentice
Gotta say*
What local?
Man, how did you go straight into apprenticeship? Don’t you have to complete a certain amount of vocational courses?
@@swisscheeseplease97 I got sponsored by the company I work for
@@Bchizzlethemc 582
Any sucky days ive had as a plumber only made me a better plumber. I embrace those days
We learn from the tough jobs
That was a life mentor straight talk. We need more people like you in the world.
Roger, being from Missouri, I laughed when you said "30 degrees". I stopped laughing when you said "113 degrees".
Lol
Montana here. Same reaction at both points lol. We have summer highs of around 105 ish. And that's too damned hot for me.
I've found that as I've gotten older, I can deal with the cold easier than the heat. You can dress for the cold, but you can only do so much in the heat.
ya, florida doesnt get as hot or cold, but its so humid, that it feels 120-130 in summer
Same. As an Ohioan, I thought "30°F? That's not bad. Why's he complaining?" Then he said "113°F" and got that respect back 😂
Take care of yourself!!
Physically and mentally. Great advice. I've been a plumber for 37yrs, stretching out and think about what your doing. 57yrs young, I'm in decent shape 5'11" 180lbs.
Really can't convey enough.... Take care of yourself! Be safe. I like plumbing, my work is play.... mostly 🖖💰
It’s bittersweet at times but just about 9 times out of 10 it’s good to be a plumber~
could you elaborate? I am interested...
Torakashi basically everything he just said in the video. Plumbing is good stuff, but sometimes you can open a can of worms.
Eric Saldana very true
I Feel the same way about Being HVAC. Im also glad I got a job on the HVAC team of a massive government facility.
Yeah, but I haven’t missed a day through this mess. Let the snowflakes stay home.
Not only a good job, an essential job. I'm so proud of myself: I changed the seat on the cold water faucet. Successfully. If you have a plumbing problem, Roger has the answer.
He said....”My hurt HURTS!” 😂🤣💀💯 #lovethisguy #plumbingbrother
this got me
I was an electrician up here in Saskatchewan, Canada. One winter I had to work outside at the airport in -45c(-49f) changing out lights, which required working with very delicate little screws, which meant you couldn't wear gloves. Within 5 minutes your hands would go numb and you'd have to run inside to warm up your hands, which was excruciatingly painful. Needless to say that winter I decided to make a career change and am now planning on going to university. Trades aren't easy people, know the challenges before you start.
Update bro?
@@SOUR_OG he’s dead 😢
Just like the end of "Good Will Hunting" he made something of himself.
Plumbing doesn't suck,..... it's just draining !
I wish when I entered the trades safety was more of a thing like it is today. I "Manned up" far too much.
Me too...and I have the bad back, neck, lungs, ears and knees to prove it.
@@eyellgeteven9928 my coworker’s hands are fucked up from never wearing gloves, always using electrical tape to cover his fingers when they crack and start bleeding because “gloves aren’t for men”🤣🤣
@@benjamintorres9211 Yeah, mine too...lots of scars, but then I have scars all over my body from work, lol.
@@eyellgeteven9928 tradesmen always have fat/ thick hands and fingers too
I want to be a plumber but i will fill myself with knowledge, read, listen and ask questions. Retirement plan.
Lol I always ask to use a customer’s restroom. Our company is small me and my boss. But we have 3000 customers we do work for. We haven’t taken new customers in 6 years. We have that type of relationship with our customers
I love your content. I'm a third day plumber with a very small company. My good friend works in the union as an electrician in new resident homes and he said the plumbers are his favorite, they are always quick with a joke but don't play when it comes to the work they do. I'm blessed to have the owner that's my friend so I don't need to buy any of my own tools. One of the employees said because he don't want you to accumulate your own so you don't fly away. Much love and respect.
I did drain cleaning and plumbing on the side for 3 years while working as a mechanic at a local Glassworks factory. I worked at the factory almost 16 years until they closed the doors. I am solo now and completely on my own with the business. I am 40 years old and I haul my 300 lb drain cleaning machine in and out of basements. I feel this more than I used to. I need to teach my son the trade and hopefully get him to help me as I get older.
You are such a wonderful mentor!!! Thanks to all the plumbers who serve our communities!!!
5:29 aaaahh. The classical plumber electrician fight. We actually get along just fine in my country so im gonna let that slide :)
As a plumber.. Ive been taking shits in buckets in the truck before it was cool to complain about peeing in bottles working for amazon.
Great video! I worked in San Francisco for 6 years. That by itself was rough. You hit the nail on the head with everything you mentioned, but I'd like to mention the people you come across. I've noticed that as a service plumber you get to really see people for who they are at their core. Their hygiene, their values, their manners, their morals. The single worst job I've come across was a Geberit WC that fell off the wall. It laid there on the floor of the women's ADA stall in this high dollar yoga studio (ironic much?) for a week. We happened to be the vendor to finally show up. I walk in the ladies locker room and open up the stall which has big OUT OF ORDER sign plastered on the door. There lays the WC, on its side. It was absolutely overflowing with... sanitary napkins and related items. Used. Some fresh. Some not. It was a crime scene. Blood everywhere. It was a matted, tangled God awful mess. I won't elaborate further, but that was the job that almost made me hang up my wrenches. I lost faith in humanity for a few days. I've been everywhere man. 30 foot lift stations. Backed up garbage rooms. Busted overhead sewers in malls during lunch hour that just can't be shut down. That one toilet was what did it for me. I'm a boiler man these days, but I'll never forget the surprise left for me by those nice, sophisticated, well mannered gals in that yoga studio.
I did a boiler today and I walked around the whole day complaining that I want to do service. It’s vice versa on service days lol
Women are fantastic
Wow that sounds awful mane thank God you made it through .
I don't know what it is with the ladies room but it don't fit the image. I'm a plumber too and those are the worst restrooms. I too switch focus to more boiler/ Mechanical/HVAC side but the experience of being a plumber has been invaluable.
Omg! That's soon interesting! Haha and disgusting..
He said it was “cold” it was 30 degrees! 🤣 I’m an electrician in the north east. We were running 800ft of 4in parallel when it was negative 10. We both are in the same boat. We beat the shit outta our bodies and we do the stuff no one wants to. One of the good things is I never pay for plumbing work and my plumber buddies never pay for electrical work. Gotta scratch each other’s back!
My husband is a plumber and he says poop smells like money! The worst job for him was working under a kitchen sink, on the faucet, and roaches falling down on him. He had his helper remove the tool bag so they didn’t’ t come home with him! Yuck! Here in Louisiana it’s not the cold that’s hard, it’s the insufferable, oppressive heat that he has to work in, 100 plus degrees with 6 million % humidity!
You remind me of my high-school after school electrician teacher. He was one of the best people i know in person. Keep doing what you are doing. Im learning a lot
#5 brought back memories of a similar job I went on 35 years ago. I look into that bathroom, gently shut the door, and told the lady “ I need to get some parts” Drove off and never went back. For all I know, she’s still waiting
Mr.Wakefield,been in the industry 37yrs not counting my apprenticeship.l am turning 62 July 5.Recently injured both my
Shoulders,(rotater cuffs). Glad you
Are preaching taking care of yourself, my father always said,"what has to be the Sharpest
Tool in the tool shed,YOU!
As a plumber one of the things I hate the most going to the house with lots of dog and cat feces and the ammonia burns my eyes.
Service plumbing is the worst.
I guarantee you'll come across a homeowner that imported some fancy foreign shower valve or faucet & humiliate you by saying " aren't you a plumber? What can't you fix my shower from Spain? "
I really enjoy your videos! They’re also inspiring. I’m NOT a plumber…I’m actually a Hairstylist/Salon Owner. The things you advise about constantly learning and studying applies for so many trades. You said you’re 58 and still enjoy learning…I too am 58 and done this for 25 years now and love learning as well. I tell fellow stylists some of the same things you say. SIR, YOU ROCK!!
Thanks for the motivation 👍🏾💯👊🏿... I love the video
Great insight and advice Roger!
So funny and informational at the same time...haha thanks man!!
I changed out a gas reg on top of a restaurant when it was -21 out talk about wanting to find a new career asap 😂
Although I don’t see it anymore I used to love seeing work I’ve done as an apprentice I can still remember that crooked drinking fountain ha ha.
Well said, Roger. To the point and honest.
Nastiest call me and my boss went on was a backed up sewer line inside the house, going up stack. Pipes shifted outside could not get machine from there. Cast iron sweep was cemented into foundation wall in basement, no clean out. Had to get open, so started melting lead joint, when that broke free, it was heated and cooked raw sewage. Spewing and dumping into plastic bin. Cleared out that basement quick. Memories! Thats when it sucks!!
After 30 years in the business I can say you nailed it!
Lol I suck a plumbing because I’m not a plumber, But let me tell you Roger, I’ve been a subscriber since July 2019 and yoo guys had like 500 subs - Now you’re at almosta 40,000!!! You gonna be the top dog in plumbing you tube before u know it man! Good job 👏
Great content!
Great advice!
I use go to a plumbing job at 7am after being at a hot working fire for 8 hours the night before.. and put 4 daughters and son through college and one through law school.. So at age 68 I'm all fucking wore out but it was well worth it..
Sound advise Roger, it's a good job in the UK that central heating servicing, breakdown repairs is a job in itself. Doesn't require much physical strength but requires years of knowlege and if you are good your phone will never stop ringing. It's 50/50 plumbing V electronics
I can think of a few common additions or modifications to your list; Crawling into tight and awkward spaces requires the skills of a contortionist, but sometimes those spaces are dangerous enough that you need to suit-up with a HAZMAT suit, goggles, gloves, boots and a respirator to protect your health. The SH*TY jobs are not only gross and repugnant, they also can expose you to E-Coli and a variety of other germs and bacteria, which in some cases have been career ending. As a plumber, your working with water....so expect to get wet. Getting soaked at 9:00 AM makes the rest of your day pretty uncomfortable, especially if it's adding to your sweat in a very hot environment or you begin to see your clothing start to freeze hard in the extreme cold. Assembling a coupling that's 20 inches below the water surface in a flooded pit can ruin your day. People complain about what a plumber charges to change a few washers, but when the real plumbing needs to be done, the experienced plumber is worth his weight in gold.
Your a great man Roger!
Lol aye those Illinois weathers suck too 😂 appreciate the videos. I’m a year from being licensed but still learning a ton.
Great video and message! Some plumbers I know try to be macho men when replacing water heaters and other heavy appliances/fixtures. I have no qualms asking for a hand or grabbing a dolly or hand truck
I always try to help my workers with
Heavy lifting, most of the time the
Guys on my crew have more balls
Than brains and refuse any help, I
Just let them blow out their gizzard
Then tell them wait till you are my
Age!
Great video
Love the video.
Love the voice man respect your videos
I love my job, but yeah all these are pretty spot on.
Love your videos!
Thank you!
Coldest day I had on a job was -25 degrees. Wisconsin. That was a long half day of work!
Always the subtle electrician jab lol.
I’m a lil diff. If I make a mess plumbing, I get a towel. I’m scared of voltage. Ain’t no towel for that
I'm 51 and change my career and went to school for plumbing and on my 2 year as an apprentice i almost got my hours in and studying for my NC licenses test . Super Excited 😄
I will be 50 this year, been working with plumbing in my jobs for 20 years, and im starting my apprenticeship in a few weeks, Im nervous but positive, I am also excited too, to have a trade ticket?….yes sir ill be proud, good luck to you.
Loved that electrician jab
great vid thank you.
Starting my apprenticeship in a few weeks. Thanks for the advice
Best of luck! Let me know how it goes
I just got my apprenticeship in North Dakota. Not looking forward to winter. It's got down to -30 ambient with -50 windchill before
You're a Dakotan, tougher than most 👍
If you’re open shop. Talk to a financial planner and look at your options with a simple IRA and Roth IRA, it’s good to have each one, and you can choose how much you want to put into it each month.
Plumberproud💪
Still lovin it!!
Grtz from the netherlands
2:25 picking up 6 inch cast iron pipe up a ladder !? Man i felt that.
Yup good ol local 130 here in Chicago we still use cast iron. Absolutely hate it lol
Every job has something that sucks thank you for always sharing your widome my man!
using a snap cutter on a piece of 4 inch cast on a renovation job and having decade old dried shit dust slowly float its way down and land itself all over your forehead is fun
This made me laugh out loud
Been there bro
LOL best comment right here!
Sound advice Roger. 6" cast up a 10' ladder? Dang! Hurts to even think about that. That's coming from a guy with 5 years in plumbing and 10 years in concrete and masonry!
I am nowhere near a plumber but can usually figure out how to make repairs. I worked for a general contractor who put me on a job at the local crack motel. There was about 4 feet between the back of the building and then fence which is where the sewer line was. The plumbing was collapsing and the entire fence line was bushes which caused clog after clog so they decided to run a new line. The motel owner refused to tell the tenants to not use the toilet, shower, or sinks which should have been my first clue to walk in away. We got the old line dug up and started removing it at which point at least 1 toilet was flushed. As I'm standing there a see corn, a syringe, and a condom come pouring into the trench. I stuck the shovel in the trench and caused a splash that hit my face. That was the moment I dropped everything and raced home to shower. I didnt go back.
I have done some diy plumbing and it's hard! Lots of respect for the plumbers.
Great advice for those considering the trades. The trades can be rewarding if you plan your future right.
Very true!
young ones listen up. old ones here is a refresher. lot of solid advice to be had here.
Nah, we still carry 6 inch pipe on our shoulders and hold it for a welder half up a ladder with no harness. Unless the GC says OSHA is coming, and then we all hide.
im not a plumber or an electrician really i don't have work yet but my thing is networking and i.t. but i have a lot of respect for plumber and electricians without ether and everybody's world falls apart
Plumbers are the water benders,
Electricians are the fire benders.
Lawn guys are the earth benders
Refrigeration and Heating guys are the air benders.
are carpenters the wood benders?
@@TheGuzdar that sounds dirty
@@TheGuzdar prob earth too?
you are a master thank you.
I am a retired plumber who worked in a hospital for many years. You haven't lived until you come across a plumbing stack that is backing up out of a toilet with 10 floors above you feeding into it.
Hey man I been subscribed to you for a while and I love your videos I just had a question which is , is there really any limit to what a plumber can make? There’s so many websites and charts saying the average is this or that but there’s so many thing to account for when talking the average pay of a plumber
I make 75$ an hour but it's feast or famine either there is a ton of work or there is none got to save and be good with money. Make 200k per year for a few years then hardly anything for a year or two rinse and repeat
I went through apprentice technical training for wiring and electrical work in the Navy. The class was very easy and I actually graduated early, yet I didn't learn anything. Definitely can't be an electrician. I don't retain all that stuff.
Plumbing apprentice in iowa just a few months ago we were trying to squeeze in ground works with frozen ground while working in freezing conditions and drilling out buildings while it’s 10 degrees can make for some pretty shitty days
i love this channel
My father told me of a story when you was a plumber early on when he came into the bathroom he was freaked out he said the people had been using the bathtub for a toilet for I'm not sure how long but it seemed like it was way longer than it should have been and I got a feeling that that's one of the top shity stories of all time
My fears as a.young apprentice, I think I would walk out on that job and refuse
There’s some jobs you just have to walk away from
sometimes its best to not know
If my uncle told me of a story one time he was under a house and saw an army of cockroaches. He said I'm a plumber not a damn exterminator lmao
Heard and done this job before, absolutely disgusting, and thought I couldn’t get paid enough for it, but she was mentally handicapped and in the end you just feel bad. Sometimes, this job takes brains and a big heart.
You're a good man Roger, you spoke the truth about the Electricians and that deserves an honorable mention. haha🤣 Addtionaly, great tips in the video.
That sparky dig had me laughing!!!!!
Worst thing I experienced, although I’m not a plumber just a dabbler. A long sweep 90 on a toilet broke and they kept using the toilet. Even while it was repaired.
And using a toilet that isn’t mine is a real phobia. I avoid eating just to not have to drop the deuce. If my digestion system is acting up, a no shit pill is instantly on the menu
I am a Brazilian teacher. I don't even know why, but I subscribed to this channel 😂😂😂😂. I had a lot of fun watching this video. My gosh.
Well, I appreciate you watching! Stick around😂
Oh man, uncle had me help him run a snake down the drain out the curb (roots). It was actually surprisingly easy till I was reeling that spinny thing back up flinging backed up poop around. It had no shield and of course I was stupid enough to stand in line will the edge of the reel. Pretty much grin and bear it till the jobs done. But my uncle owes me one now.
Mr.roger I live in texas and I pretty much focus on drain cleaning and clearing but my local plumbers have been giving me a hard time about not being licensed and I'm trying to see how I go about getting my tradesman or journeyman license I ask them for advice but they don't really say much other than they are reporting me to the state any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!!!
I can relate to the Pains of getting under cabinets but you would think that professional plumbers would have a 3/4 inch Gap piece of foam rubber that would make laying down in a cabinet just go swimmingly
one more thing to drag back and forth from the truck, but yeah i guess
Great video! much appreciated and much respect. 113 degrees is way hotter than what we see up here! wow. Although, we saw -25 Celcius once!
I plumbed fulltime for three years after apprenticeship, I saw the writing on the wall everytime I went to the supply shop and saw the og plumbers with their backs and knees blown out. I said no was and got hired at a sewer municipality now I have pension, 457, and medical. Plus you know county work is better than private sector.
Besides the various working conditions, the thing the sucked most for me was dealing with customers.
I hate how all the framers and hvac and electricians think the plumbers have it easy, they dont see the service side of it just the new construction part, they dont see the crawling and digging and lifting and putting steel and black iron together twisting and turning and making sure everything is tight
As a Truck driver, I've learned that 30 degrees is warm compared to 15 and below.
lmao "my hurt hurts" Am 70 and a little skinny guy and stuff still hurts. Especially under that cabinet.
30 degrees. Cold? In New York. I was doing a ground rough for a 400 unit apartment in February. It was 5 degrees, minus teens with wind chill. I pray for 30
Right. A winter day at 30 degrees farenheit is a Godsend in the northeast.
I do get a bit of a chuckle. I have worked from -43.6°F
to 93.2°F here in Canada. The thing I hate the most about plumbing is insulating my pipes with fiberglass.
-43.6*F?! Do you even have toes anymore?
@@ProfanityMan420 Yea, got all 11. I actually try not to work in that kind of weather but those days happen. I know some that do very well even further north.
We don't insulate fuck all. It's all contracted out due to the unions, they have separate pipe insulators on these big condo jobs we do. I hate insulating, let those monkeys do it lol. Good pay but shit work.
Tile guy here. And boy do we love our plumbers. 😍😍
Oh yeah, Number four is so true. I remember to have worked for a company on a construction near Frankfurt and the apprentice was... not the sharpest tool in the box. The plumber leading the team showed me this by putting two lose lengths of copper pipe in a curved fitting in the vice, both ends leading to nothing but air and asking the apprentice to tell when the water comes out of the lower end. I kid you not, the apprentice stared for five minutes at the lower end and waited for water to come out of it. ^^
For the 5: I am glad to work mostly on heating and airconditioning. Less poop.
Is hvac pretty hard on your body?? I’m
37, was in the infantry for 10 years so my body hurts pretty bad, but I want to learn hvac.
@@chief5981 Since I do mostly service and not construction it is not very hard on the body. You need a minimum of experience with these units to do service (so you can find errors or identify potential to improve). Construction can be more demanding, but only if you do it wrong. There are many tools to make your live easier if you use them. So heavy lifting etc. is not as usual as it was in the past.
@@vanderzarth well keep working smart. I got accepted into my local UA and just waiting to start work now. Hoping to get hvac but I’m sure that will be all industrial so still going to contact some non union shops.
Any advice or opinions?
@@chief5981 Sorry, I work and live in Germany, so I can Give you no advice for the Trades in the US. Just keep watching the vids on this channel. They are packed with info how to get into the trades in the US.
idk about that restroom part. i think it kinda depends on the customer. most customers I've had i felt comfortable asking and they always obliged and i usually followed with a joke like you know we gotta thoroughly test this stuff out before we leave lol. although there are some customers i felt it better not to ask.
A coworker once took a dump in a customer's house. He stunk the house up so bad that the customer flung open windows throughout the house, and complained to the owner, who gave a big speech to all his field techs.
70 yrs old retired civiian SS , retired military National Guard , retired ky. Master Plumber 3 times keep getting begged back to work . can"t seem to stop must Love it Embrace the pain of it all.