After speaking to a number of new Plumbing and Heating clients last week, we have noticed a trend in the questions being asked. Who should I use for my problem a Plumber or a Heating Engineer? We decided to write this blog post to help you understand the difference between a plumber and heating engineer to point you in the right direction to answer your question.
What’s the difference between a plumber and heating engineer?
Do I need a Plumber or Heating Engineer?
If your boiler breaks down, should you call a plumber or a heating engineer?
There can be some confusion when it comes to the difference between a plumber and a heating engineer as, on the surface, the two roles seem quite similar. Your boiler uses a lot of water pipes, so should you call a plumber to repair your boiler?
The short answer is no.
Let us explain a little further?
What does a Heating Engineer do?
Heating Engineer’s solely work on the heating of a building, they maintain and install the pipe work, fixtures and fittings which are used to heat a structure.
What does a Plumber do?
As a plumber their trade can cover a multitude of tasks when it comes to Bathrooms, Kitchens wet pipes, dry pipes, boiler maintenance or servicing and heating systems. A lot of Plumbers are well trained on heating systems and install them on a regular basis.
So now let’s go into a little more detail so we cover each aspect answering the question; What’s the difference between a plumber and heating engineer?
The history of a plumber
First let us give you a bit of history on where the name for this trade came from.
Plumbers in the Roman times used to work with lead piping and this is where the word plumber resides. The meaning of the word plumber originates from the Latin word ‘Plumbum’, meaning lead. Modern plumbing pipes are no longer made from lead, plumbers spend a lot of time removing these lead pipes from homes as they where found to be unsuitable as the lead particles got into the water supply.
The modern plumber is a craftsmen trained to work on dry and wet pipes, as well as able to work on your heating systems. It is fair to say a plumber has a vast number of tasks he will carry out in his working day.
The modern day plumber
Whilst modern plumbing devices are no longer made from lead (in fact plumbers spend a lot of time removing lead piping from homes), the name has remained the same. Today, plumbers tend to work on wet and dry pipes. From dishwashers and drains to toilets and sinks, if you’ve got a leak, it’s a plumber you’ll need to call.
More about your heating engineer
The clue is in the name! Basically heating plumbers or engineers (whichever you’d like to call them) work solely on the heating appliances found in buildings. They carry out a wide range of jobs from maintaining and installing heating pipework to fixing appliances when they break down.
Do I need a plumber or heating engineer?
Where Does the Confusion Come From?
We feel the confusion has come from plumbers, as their trade can cover a multitude of tasks when it comes to bathrooms, kitchens wet pipes, dry pipes, boiler maintenance or servicing and heating systems.
A lot of plumbers are well trained on heating systems and install them on a regular basis. The majority of these plumbers that know a boiler system like the back of their hand are Gas Safe Registered, to find out if they are or their business is a a gas safe business visit the Gas Safe Register.
This is an important aspect to check when calling a plumber or heating engineer to solve your problem.
Gas Safe engineers
Before hiring a gas engineers Edinburgh firm or anyone to work on your boiler and heating system (whether they go by the name of a plumber or a heating engineer), you need to check that they are Gas Safe.
A Gas Safe registered heating plumber or engineer must only ever carry out these activities. Any plumber who carries out this work without first obtaining a Gas Safe certificate will be breaking the law and could potentially endanger you and those living in your household.
Plumbing or Heating problem?
We can assure you that if you have a problem, you only need to contact Gasworks Edinburgh, and we will send the right tradesmen for your job, be it a Plumber or a Heating Engineer in Edinburgh. We trust our specialist team, so you can trust them too.
Do I need a plumber or a heating engineer – what’s the difference?
We hope that we have managed to answer the question Do I need a plumber of heating engineer? What’s the difference between a plumber and a heating engineer (or heating plumber)? It’s pretty simple, but it’s always good to know whom you need to call in the event of a plumbing or heating mishap in your Edinburgh home. Or it may be a case you only need Edinburgh boiler servicing.
