Can anyone help me regarding being a Pipe fitter welder becoming a Plumber?

[nick99]

Hi, i'm a fully qualified pipefitter welder and have covered lots of plumbing duties both on commercial and domestic jobs. However i'm thinking of starting self employment as a plumber (just wet plumbing to start with as ive enquired about Gas Safe and have been told i'd have to work with a gas fitter to build up a portfolio ie work completed with photos before i can go on a gas safe course) and need to know if i have to go back to college (couldnt bare doing that again).
I only want to work on the basics at the moment ie pipework alterations, leaks, bathroom fitting etc etc....
I've been in the job for over 20 years and feel a basic plumbing course would not achieve me anything as i know what to do, it's just if theres any red tape i'm unaware of at the moment.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading.....
Nick

 

[gaspastemania]

None whatsoever worked with lots of pipe fitters on site who are better than most plumbers to be honest .quite often do pipe fitting myself if plumbing works is quiet . As long as your insured then jobs a good un , I know lots of builders who act as if they can plumb at least you have head start .
As for the gas thats a bit of a joke as many i know have done hardly any training with an engineer but just took photos near fires .boilers water heaters etc then have some one say they've worked withy them .

 

[nick99]

Thanks mate, its frustrating when you want to do things the correct way and you hear of cowboys out there who somehow get the certificates. I guess i'll have to get my camera out and stand next to boilers, gas mains with a cheesey smile and a wrench in my hand!!!!! LOL....
So all i have to do is get some public liability insurance and i'm away with regards to wet plumbing?
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated pal.

 

[fuzzy]

im a pipe fitter welder who gone into plumbing, also got my nvqs in plumbing years ago so have both quals now, pretty easy to transfer skills,, very similar. i actually prefer commercial work to domestic

 

[gaspastemania]

im a pipe fitter welder who gone into plumbing, also got my nvqs in plumbing years ago so have both quals now, pretty easy to transfer skills,, very similar. i actually prefer commercial work to domestic

I prefer commercial to domestic much better standard of fitting. It makes me laugh when i hear house bashers moaning when site plumbers enter the domestic market simple fact is commercial plumbers generally fit to a lot better standard than house bashers in my experience.

 

[fuzzy]

commercially alot of the time pipes are on show, its more a case of fitting being straight and true. the systems are normally bigger obviously so your on site longer. its easier to trace pipes because they are on show, domestcally even opening a cylinder cupboard can throw you!

 

[nick99]

Thanks for your input, can you please let me know what i have to do to transfer my pipefitting qualifications to the nearest equivalent plumbing qualifications. Yes i agree, commercial is much better due to the high standard, it helps you to keep your work to a high standard too.
Thanks guys!

 

[fuzzy]

you cannot transfer quals mate, you got to do a new plumbing one like i did

with new qcf quals some units may be transferable but they aint here yet

 

[paulnwales]

are you not better off looking at doing sprinkler systems and similar type of works with your background? most of my work involves gas and brakedowns i dont think id survive just on the plumbing. Maybe worth thinking about? good luck mate.

 

[tua022012]

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Tks again and pls keep posting.