Your company
How Sample Plumbing & Drain works, in Ray's words.
Welcome aboard. Your first weeks you ride with Marcus. Nobody expects you to know how we do things yet, so ask. Calling Marcus or me is never the wrong move.
Ray, owner
Ray's rules
- Shoe covers on and a drop cloth down before you touch anything inside. Every house, every time.
- Before and after photos of every job, and the rating plate on every water heater.
- Never quote a price. Prices come off the price book in Housecall Pro, and the customer says yes before you start.
- Anything with gas, or anything that smells wrong: stop and call Marcus.
- No smoking or vaping on a customer's property.
- Leave every drip wiped up. A wet floor is the customer's last memory of us.
What we expect on every job
- Text the customer from Housecall Pro when you're on the way, with a time you can keep.
- Explain what you found in plain words, and show the photo or the camera clip.
- Leave the work area cleaner than you found it.
- Notes, photos and camera video go in the job before you leave the driveway.
- Ask for the review before you pull away. Same ask, every customer.
- You run calls on your own when Marcus and Ray say you're ready, not before.
What to wear
- Company shirt, clean every morning. Renee orders more when you need them.
- Work pants, no shorts inside a customer's house.
- Safety-toe boots you don't mind getting wet.
- Gloves and safety glasses in your pocket, not in the truck.
- Shoe covers in your pocket before you knock.
Your schedule
- Monday to Friday. Meet at the shop at 7:30; first call by 8:15.
- Night and weekend calls rotate after your first 90 days. Ray sets the rotation.
- The truck goes home with you only on your on-call nights.
- Time off: ask Renee a week ahead, by text so it's written down.
Who to call
- Renee · Office managera schedule change, a parts order, or a customer's bill(504) 555-0150 · 8 to 4:30, Monday to Friday
- Marcus · Lead plumbera technical question on a job, or anything on the stop-and-call list(504) 555-0151 · any time you're on a job
- Ray · Owneran injury, damage at a customer's house, or a customer who's upset(504) 555-0152 · any time
- On-call plumber · Nights and weekendsan after-hours call that comes to youthe on-call phone (number on the visor card) · after 4:30 and weekends
How a call gets booked
- A customer calls or texts. Renee answers 8 to 4:30; after that it rolls to the on-call phone.
- Renee books it in Housecall Pro with the address, the problem and the best phone number.
- It shows in your Housecall Pro schedule, or Renee texts you a same-day add.
- Read the notes before you drive, then send the on-my-way text.
- Find the problem, then price it from the price book. The customer says yes before you start.
- Photos, camera video and notes go in the job before you leave.
- Take payment in Housecall Pro and ask for the review.
The truck checklist
Every morning before the first job. Ticks stay on this phone until you clear them.
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead plumber.
Meet the system: a gas water heater and the shutoffs around it
Draft: waiting on a licensed plumber to check it for this shop
Tap a part to see what it does, what fails and what you look at. Look, don't touch: every hands-on step comes after the safety stops.
House main shutoff
- What it does
- Shuts off water to the whole house. It is usually where the water service comes in: a garage or utility-room wall, a crawl space, or the meter box outside.
- What fails
- A valve that won't close all the way, a stiff or broken handle, a slow leak at the stem. An old valve can start leaking after it's turned.
- What you look at
- Find it and learn which way is off before you need it: water on the floor is the wrong time to look. Closing it is Shop rule: you may close the house main to stop a leak; tell the customer first and text Marcus..
Cold inlet shutoff
- What it does
- The valve on the cold supply into the water heater. Closing it stops new water going into the tank without shutting off the whole house.
- What fails
- Won't close fully, leaks at the stem, or has seized from never being turned.
- What you look at
- Tell the cold side from the hot by the markings on the heater or by following the pipe back; don't guess. Learn which handle position is open on this valve. Don't force a seized valve: call it in.
Thermal expansion tank
- What it does
- A small tank on the cold line with an air cushion inside. Water grows as it heats; the tank takes up that extra water so the pressure in the house doesn't climb.
- What fails
- A tank that has lost its air charge and filled with water, a leak at the fitting, rust, a tank hanging on the pipe with no support.
- What you look at
- Look for drips and rust at its fitting. Testing or charging it is the way Marcus shows you on a ride-along; you don't charge or drain an expansion tank on your own yet. A relief valve that drips after the heater runs can point back here: note it and call.
Tank water heater
- What it does
- A tank that stores water and keeps it hot. A gas heater has a burner under the tank and a flue up through the middle. An electric heater has heating elements inside the tank, with their thermostats behind covers on the side.
- What fails
- Sediment on the bottom (rumbling or popping), a tank that rusts through and leaks, a burner or pilot that won't stay lit on gas, an element or thermostat that fails on electric.
- What you look at
- Read the rating plate: gas or electric, the model and the serial. Look for water at the base and rust at the fittings on top. Listen. Work at the burner or the elements is for trained techs.
Gas control and thermostat
- What it does
- The valve and thermostat on the front of a gas heater. It lets gas to the pilot and burner and turns the burner on and off to hold the setting. An electric heater has none of this; its thermostats sit behind the side covers, on live wiring.
- What fails
- A pilot or burner that won't stay lit, a control that won't open, a status light blinking a code on newer heaters.
- What you look at
- Note where the knob is and what the setting is before you touch anything, and leave it the way the customer had it. Read a blinking light against the chart on the heater. Relighting is Shop rule: only Marcus or Ray relights a pilot at this shop..
Gas shutoff and sediment trap
- What it does
- The shutoff valve on the gas line to the heater, and the capped pipe below the tee (the sediment trap, or drip leg) that catches debris before it reaches the gas control.
- What fails
- Leaks at the fittings, a valve that won't turn. Never use a flame to look for a leak.
- What you look at
- Know where it is and which position is off on this valve before you need it. Smell gas: stop and follow the gas steps in Safety stops. Work on gas piping at this shop: Shop rule: only Ray works on gas piping. Helpers don't open a gas fitting..
Draft hood and vent
- What it does
- On a gas heater, the draft hood on top draws in room air and sends the burner's exhaust up the vent pipe and out of the house.
- What fails
- A vent pipe knocked loose or out of line, a vent that is blocked or rusted through, exhaust spilling out at the hood instead of going up the vent.
- What you look at
- Is the hood seated and the vent connected all the way to where it leaves the house? Soot, scorch marks, rust or melted plastic around the hood: stop and call. Vent work is for trained techs.
Temperature and pressure relief valve (T&P)
- What it does
- A safety valve that opens and lets water out if the temperature or the pressure in the tank gets too high. It is the heater's last line of defense.
- What fails
- Drips or runs (it is opening, or it is worn), corrosion, or a valve somebody has capped, plugged or taken out.
- What you look at
- Look: is it there, is the discharge line attached, is anything dripping? Don't lift the test lever unless your shop trains you to: an old valve may not reseat, and the water comes out scalding. Shop rule: Marcus or Ray tests or replaces a T&P valve. You look and report.
T&P discharge line
- What it does
- Carries water from the relief valve down to where it can drain safely, and ends open, where somebody will see it running.
- What fails
- Capped, plugged, kinked, cut short or run uphill: any of these can stop the relief valve from doing its job.
- What you look at
- Never cap, plug or reduce it; its end stays open and in sight. Water at its end means the relief valve opened: note it and call. How and where it must end is Ray's rule: Ray pulls the permit and checks the discharge line against the local code on every heater job.
Drain valve
- What it does
- The hose-thread valve near the bottom of the tank, for draining or flushing it.
- What fails
- Drips at the outlet; a plastic valve can crack, or fail to close fully once sediment has been through it.
- What you look at
- Look for drips. Opening it is a job step, not a check: the water is hot and sediment can hold it open. Flushing or draining is Marcus's flush steps, with the gas or power off first.
Drain pan
- What it does
- Sits under the heater to catch a leak and carry it to a drain, so a leak shows up before it ruins the floor or the ceiling below.
- What fails
- Cracked or rusted through, a drain line that is missing or blocked, a pan too small for the heater.
- What you look at
- Water in the pan? Find where it comes from before anything else: the fittings on top, the relief line, the drain valve, or the tank itself.
Sink trap (P-trap)
- What it does
- The U-shaped bend under a sink. Water stays in the bend and blocks sewer gas from coming up into the house.
- What fails
- Clogs (grease, hair, food), slip nuts that drip, a trap that has dried out on a sink nobody uses (a sewer smell).
- What you look at
- Drips at the nuts? Water standing in the sink? Opening a trap means a bucket under it and gloves and eye protection on. Clearing a drain is the way Marcus shows you: bucket, gloves and glasses first, then the hand auger before the machine.
Cleanout
- What it does
- A capped opening into a drain line, so a blockage can be reached with a cable or a camera without cutting the pipe.
- What fails
- A plug seized or stripped, a cleanout buried, boxed in or painted over, a missing cap that lets sewer gas in.
- What you look at
- Know where the cleanouts are before you need one. A line backed up behind a cleanout is holding water and sewage: open it slowly, standing to one side, and only as trained. Shop rule: Marcus opens a main cleanout on a backed-up line. You hold the light.
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead plumber.
Safety stops
Draft: waiting on a licensed plumber to check it for this shop
In this order, every time. The drawing shows each stop; tap a step to see it.
If you smell gas when you open the door, don't operate switches, phones or anything that sparks, and don't relight anything. Get people out, leave, and call from outside per Ray's gas rule (call the gas company's emergency line first, then Ray) and [the gas utility's emergency line] · not filled in yet.
Before any work near the burner or the gas control, turn the heater's gas shutoff off (know which position is off on that valve), then set the control to off. Tag it per the lockout rule below (your tag, your lock, only you take it off).
Close the cold inlet shutoff before you open any fitting on the heater. If it won't close, the house main is the backup, per Shop rule: you may close the house main to stop a leak; tell the customer first and text Marcus.. Open a hot tap to let the pressure off before you loosen anything.
An electric heater has its own circuit. Breaker off and locked out per the lockout rule below (your tag, your lock, only you take it off), then prove it dead: check your meter on a known live source, test at the heater, check the meter again. The thermostat covers hide live terminals.
Water from the tank, the drain valve, the relief valve or the hot line can scald in a moment. Keep your face and hands away from any outlet, wear gloves and eye protection, and let the tank cool or drain it only the way your shop trains you.
The relief valve and its discharge line protect the tank and everyone near it. Never cap, plug, kink or shorten the line, and never remove or block the valve. If one is dripping, note it and call.
Carbon monoxide has no smell. On a gas heater, a loose or blocked vent can push it into the room. Wear a CO monitor if your shop issues one, and stop and call on soot, scorch marks, a loose vent pipe or a CO alarm.
A full tank is far too heavy to move, and even an empty one is a two-person job with a dolly. Closets, attics and crawl spaces are tight: clear your way out, watch your back and your head, and tell someone where you are (text the job thread "going in" and "out" for any attic or crawl space).
Drain water can carry sewage. Gloves and eye protection on before you open a trap or a cleanout, keep your hands away from your face, cover any cut, and wash before you eat or drink. A strong sewer smell in a closed space: air it out and step outside.
This shop's lockout rule
Every plumber carries a lock and tags in the truck door. The tag says your name, the date and DO NOT TURN ON, and it goes on the breaker or the valve handle you closed. Only the person who put it on takes it off.
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead plumber.
No hot water: the checks before you call
Draft: waiting on a licensed plumber to check it for this shop
Most calls that feel stuck end at one of these. Go in order, and stop at anything on the stop-and-call list.
Ask, then check: is the hot water out at every tap, or at one? One cold tap points at that fixture, not the heater. Is there water on the floor or in the pan?
Gas heater: is the shutoff open and the control knob on, at the setting the customer had? A pilot or burner that won't stay lit: relighting is Shop rule: only Marcus or Ray relights a pilot at this shop.. Electric heater: is the breaker on? Reset a tripped one only as Ray allows: one try, with the customer's OK, then call; if it trips again, stop: that's a call, not a retry.
Is the cold inlet shutoff fully open? A closed or half-closed valve starves the heater, and somebody may have closed it on a past job.
Water in the pan or on the floor: find where from. The fittings on top, the relief valve's discharge line, the drain valve, or the tank itself. A wet tank bottom with dry fittings above usually means the tank is leaking: call it in.
Gas heater: is the draft hood seated and the vent connected? Any soot, scorch marks or rust around the hood, or a vent pipe that has come apart: stop and call.
Stop and call: don't fix these yourself
- A gas smell, a CO alarm, or soot and scorch marks around the heater
- Water coming from the relief valve or its discharge line
- A tank leaking from the tank itself
- Anything on the gas line or the vent
- Sewage backing up into the house
- Anything outside your training
How to reach the office
Have the address, what you checked and your photos ready.
- Renee · Office managera schedule change, a parts order, or a customer's bill(504) 555-0150 · 8 to 4:30, Monday to Friday
- Marcus · Lead plumbera technical question on a job, or anything on the stop-and-call list(504) 555-0151 · any time you're on a job
- Ray · Owneran injury, damage at a customer's house, or a customer who's upset(504) 555-0152 · any time
- On-call plumber · Nights and weekendsan after-hours call that comes to youthe on-call phone (number on the visor card) · after 4:30 and weekends
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead plumber.
Sign-off
The owner or lead plumber ticks each section after going through it with the new plumber: watched, understood, signed off by a name on a date. It stays on this device; print it for the file.
Nobody is scored or ranked. The sign-off is a person's judgment after a conversation, not a test result.