Have you ever head of the term “master plumber”? If you have, you might be wondering how it's any different from another type of plumber.

Believe it or not, “master plumber” it’s not just a marketing word plumbers use to promote their services. It’s a legitimate title in the plumbing industry.

In addition to providing plumbing services for Bucks County here in Pennsylvania, we at Barner Murphy like to ensure our customers understand plumbing terminology so they can make informed decisions when looking for a plumber.

Apprentices vs. Journeymen vs. Master Plumbers

There are 3 general “ranks” in plumbing. Beginner plumbers start as apprentice plumbers, sometimes called trainees. Apprentices complete coursework in an apprenticeship program. In addition, they work on real plumbing jobs but under the guidance of someone with experience, usually a master plumber. 

The apprentice becomes a journeyman plumber upon completing the apprenticeship requirements and passing a licensing exam. Journeymen can work without the supervision of a master plumber.

To become a master plumber, the journeyman must pass another exam, this time harder. Master plumbers might not always have the most working years complete, but they have highly advanced skillsets that are useful for more complex repairs.

Why Should You Only Hire a Licensed and Insured Plumber?

Some might be tempted to shirk licensed and insured plumbers (journeymen and master plumbers) for a cheaper, unlicensed, uninsured plumber.

They couldn’t be making a bigger mistake.

You run several risks by opting for an unlicensed and/or uninsured plumber:

• Breaking the law - It’s illegal to hire unlicensed contractors in many states. You’re not hugely likely to get caught, but you’re still putting yourself at risk of getting entangled in legal proceedings by hiring an unlicensed plumber.
• Health risks - Bad plumbing isn’t just a threat to your water bill; incorrect installations or repairs can cause serious injury, illness, or even death. 
• Fraud - Unlicensed plumbers may as well be the guy next door. He has no regulatory board to report to, so you are at risk of being defrauded.
• Lack of insurance - Unlicensed plumbers are probably also uninsured. When their bad plumbing practices turn around and hurt you, you won’t be able to collect money from their liability insurance. And they probably won’t pay you themselves, seeing as they’re already engaging in illegal and unethical acts.

As you know, journeymen and master plumbers are licensed to practice the trade of plumbing. They also have some form of sufficient liability coverage if they have their own business. Therefore, you should look for the “journeyman” or “master” title when hiring a plumber.

That being said, master plumbers are the better choice of the two because of their more advanced knowledge and skillset.

If you find yourself in need of plumbing services, Barner Murphy is here to help. Our master plumbers are able to handle any plumbing problems you’re experiencing, from the smallest leak to the biggest plumbing system issue.

Things inevitably break. Homeowners know this best; it seems like every time you fix one problem, two new issues arise somewhere else. A lot of homeowners prefer to save money and fix stuff themselves around the house, while others hire a professional to do the dirty work.

So when should you do it yourself, and when should you put away your tools and hire a plumber like Barner Murphy?

Here’s a short guide on which plumbing repairs you can perform yourself and which ones you should leave to the professionals.

Easy Tasks to DIY

Most simple repairs are DIY-able if you have the right tools and know what you’re doing.

The simplest repairs have to be clogs. Clogged toilets take nothing more than a plunger and a few moments of your time. Following closely behind clogged toilets in simplicity are clogged showers and drains, which both can be unclogged using a wire hanger and some common household cleaning chemicals.

Leaky faucets are a little more complex, but with a bit of research and the right materials, you can easily fix your own faucet.

Other DIY-able tasks include installing a new shower head and a new faucet.

DIY, But Be Careful

As projects get larger in size, they become harder to DIY successfully. We don’t recommend most people doing some of the following unless they’re experiences, DIY plumbers, as incorrect repairs can cause flooding and property damage.

Replacing appliances and fixtures like your toilet, dishwasher, and garbage disposal are generally easy to perform, but do it wrong and you’ll end up with leaks and even flooding.

More difficult are frozen pipes. The most experienced DIYers can usually handle these without breaking them; anybody else should hire a plumber to thaw the pipes.

Lastly, if you’re performing your plumbing on a new property, you should probably call a professional to ensure plumbing’s up to code before doing anything.

Don’t DIY: Call A Plumber

Many of the most complex repairs actually require permits you probably don’t have in order to perform them. Renovations are a big one. Even if you can do them yourself, you’ll be fined if you’re found to have done the work without a permit. 

It’s hard to hide that if you plan on selling your home in the future because you’re required to report any illegal work performed on the house.

Moving your pipes and/or fixtures tends to require permits as well, not to mention that these tasks are pretty difficult to do on your own.

But one of the most serious issues is broken pipes. In addition to fixing the pipes, you’ll need the plumber to inspect the rest of your plumbing system and determine what caused the pipe damage in the first place.

We tend to get emergency plumbing calls from people whose DIY attempts went horribly wrong. If you have any doubt in your ability to perform a plumbing repair, even if it’s just a leaky faucet, you should contact Barner Murphy instead of doing it yourself. Our trained professionals can handle even the toughest repairs and get your plumbing back to normal in no time.

The leaves are starting to turn red and yellow, the temperatures are dropping, and stores are stocking seasonal and holiday merchandise.

Fall is almost here. Before you get into the fall festivities, however, you want to make sure your home’s plumbing system is in tip-top shape for the new season. Follow these tips for a smooth plumbing system and a comfortable home this fall.

Insulate Your Pipes

As temperatures decrease, heat from the water in your pipes can escape to the outside world, stressing your plumbing and making it less efficient. Check to see if your pipes are insulated properly. If not, insulate them ASAP to keep the hot water flowing issue-free.

You can use heat tape to insulate your outdoor pipes from the cold air.

Still, pipe issues are typically difficult to do yourself. If you’re unsure about your ability to insulate your pipes, call Barner Murphy and we can do it for you.

Fix Leaks

Before it gets too cold outside, inspect all your plumbing for leaks. Be very thorough; even the smallest leak can turn into a huge problem once the thermometer starts approaching 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Disconnect Garden Hoses

Your hoses won’t be of any use when it gets cold outside. Disconnect your garden hoses and store them somewhere safe until spring rolls around next year. Doing so will prevent damage to your pipes from frozen water, as well as keep the hoses themselves intact for next year.

Clean Out Your Gutter And Drainpipes

Your gutters and drainpipes exist to safely route water away from your roof and foundation to prevent damage to either of them. When fall rolls around, however, the falling leaves can quickly accumulate in the drainpipes and cause backups.

Clear out your gutter and drainpipes regularly all fall to prevent serious damage to your home.

Clean Your Water Heater

Colder temperatures means more reliance on hot water. Without it, you’d be unable to enjoy hot holiday drinks or take warm, relaxing showers. 

You’ll want to clean out any buildup in your water heater to keep it running smoothly. If you have an older water heater and you’ve noticed your water heater struggling to heat your water, it may be time for a new one. Water heaters generally need replacement every 8-12 years. Consider getting a new one if you’ve had your current unit for this long.

Fix Your Sump Pump And Pit

Sump pumps keep the area under your home dry to prevent flooding, while the sump pit is just the pit in which the sump pump is located. Naturally, blocked or damaged sump pumps can lead to basement flooding, causing thousands in damages as well as encouraging mold and mildew growth.

Barner Murphy’s here to help you prepare your house for the fall. Call us today if you have any plumbing issues you need to fix before fall is in full swing!

Water is one the most important resources we need to survive and to keep up with modern society, yet this amazing resource can also cause severe damage to your home. In fact, water damage and the mold that in many cases results from it costs insurance companies billions per year in claims, each individual claim being several thousand dollars. To avoid spending large sums of money on repairs, it’s critical you protect your home from costly water damage.

Check your water pressure. Household water pressure is generally supposed to fall between 40 and 70 psi. Excessive water pressure can damage pipes, hoses, and plumbing fixture. To measure you water pressure, head to your local hardware store and buy a water pressure gauge, then attach it to an outdoor faucet. Turn the faucet to full force, and the gauge will tell you the pressure. If it’s around 100 psi or over, head back to the hardware store and get a water pressure regulator. These are small purchases that will save you thousands in water damage.

While you’re outdoors, clean out those gutters and downspouts at least twice a year to prevent blockages. When left unattended, these blockages in your gutters can keep water in place and cause damage to the gutters and the roof. Those downspouts should be cleaned too, but also make sure they point away from your home so water flows away.

Back inside, make sure you know where your water main is so you can shut off all water in case of an emergency. Most people have no clue where it is (and some don’t even know what it is), yet knowing how to get to your water main is one of the best ways to minimize water damage. 

Washing machine leaks are one of the leading causes of water damage in homes, but again, many people don’t realize the importance of changing them out. If any of your washer hoses are brittle, damaged, or warped, replace them immediately. You’ll then want to replace your washer hoses at least once every 5 years to prevent costly water damage to your home.

Your water heater is another important piece of plumbing to monitor. Check on it once a year, investigating for rust, corrosion, or other damage. Be on the lookout for pools of water or leaking as well.

Lastly, keep a close eye on your plumbing system. Signs of wear include condensation on the walls/floor nearby, rust-colored water, and loud pipes. You can try to fix your plumbing yourself, but sometimes it’s easier to call professionals. Barner Murphy’s here and ready to fix your aging plumbing before it turns into a messy, costly problem.

Note: check your water bill every so often. An unusually large water bill could indicate a leak somewhere around your home, and if left untreated, that leak could damage the area it’s leaking in to.

Water. Not only do we all need it to keep our bodies healthy, but many of our modern amenities rely on water to provide us amazing conveniences like warm showers and functioning toilets. However, many people use a lot more water than they think; using too much water can cost you a lot of extra cash, but environmental concerns surrounding water usage are also increasing. That being said, we’ve compiled some tips you can use to save on your water bill and help the planet.

First and foremost, cut down on baths. The EPA found that the average bathtub requires a whopping 70 gallons of water to fill up, whereas a 5-minute shower could use up to 25 gallons depending on the shower. Speaking of showers, keep them short. It might be tempting to stand in that warm shower for half an hour in the dead of winter, but you’re wasting a lot of water and you’ll have to get out eventually anyways.

Install a high-efficiency showerhead to further decrease your water usage. Many of these can save you up to a gallon per minutes. Assuming a 5-minute shower every day, that’s about 150 gallons saved per month. High-efficiency showerheads aren’t all expensive, either. They can be found in a wide range of prices, but some are as cheap as $10. That’s a small investment when you think of all the water you’ll save.

There’re plenty more water savings to be had in the bathroom, starting with the leaks. If your sink or toiled is leaky, you should repair it as soon as possible. Those drops of water could add up to hundreds more gallons a month. Unsure if your toilet is leaking? Add several drops of food coloring to the toilet tank and wait an hour. If the bowl has color in it, you have a leaky toilet. A plumber like Barner Murphy can handle leaks if you don’t want to.

When you’re brushing your teeth, turn off the water unless you’re wetting the toothbrush or rinsing it off. Same with activities like using mouthwash or shaving; don’t turn on the sink until you’re done with whatever activity it is or if you need to rinse something off.

Believe it or not, you could cut a lot of water usage when cooking, especially when it comes to vegetables. Fill up a large bowl with water and rinse your vegetables in there before peeling them rather than running them under the water.

Wait to do laundry or the dishes until you have a full load ready. Putting any less than a full load of laundry or dishes into it’s respective washer is effectively wasting water, as you’re going to use the same amount anyway (assuming you’re running it on the same settings). When it’s time to replace your washer or other water-using equipment, look for water-efficient models. As a bonus for your laundry efforts, you’ll also use less power (thus saving your more money) since you’ll be using both the washer and dryer less often.
 

Bathrooms aren’t at the top of most people’s lists when it comes to interior decoration. Most are usually more concerned with the kitchen and living room. However, a nice-looking bathroom adds a bit of character to your home and set it apart from others’. There are plenty of ways spruce up your bathroom if you have some free time.

The most expensive yet most valuable changes you could make to your bathroom would be updating your vanity furniture. Giving your vanities a facelift can breathe new life into your bathroom. Still, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Head to an IKEA and look around; you could find some expensive looking vanity furniture without paying a fortune.

Another major change you can make to spruce up your bathroom is to put in a new faucet. Your old faucet might be dragging the overall look of your bathroom down. New faucets look sleek and stylish; the right faucet can bring your boring bathroom into the modern era, not to mention they may function a lot better.

New hand towels are a great complement to your new sinks. Ditch that dirty old hand towel for something a little more fresh and decorative. Aim for something soft, too. The more senses you can appeal to in a positive fashion, the better.

Add some green to your bathroom with plants. Plants are easy on the eyes, giving some color to an otherwise plain room. In addition, they help refresh the stale bathroom air. The humid bathroom air is an excellent environment for certain types of plants to grow. Some of these plants are the peace lily, the spider plant, and even aloe.

Your bathroom floors could use an update too. Wood flooring looks very nice, but it doesn’t mix well with rooms that often contain a lot of moisture. Fortunately, you can get faux wood flooring for cheap. Faux wood flooring tends to be made out of vinyl, which is easy to install. Grab some faux wood flooring to give your bathroom a bit of charm.

Lighting is also important for your bathroom. Chances are your current lights are more functional than beautiful; they’re probably quite harsh and don’t add much flair. Try replacing them with LEDs. The light from LEDs is softer on the eyes and enhances how everything else in the bathroom looks.

Then, of course, there’s the scent. Bathrooms aren’t known for being the most pleasant-smelling areas of the house, but you can make it so with a few simple additions. First, you can put in some scent-absorbing items like baking soda or white vinegar. After that, consider adding a candle or two to give you bathroom a pleasant, welcoming scent. To keep odors out of your bathroom, leave the fan on and open the door once you’re done showering or bathing. This will air out your bathroom, preventing that musty mildew smell from polluting your bathroom.

Winter weather is known for causing many plumbing problems, most commonly frozen pipes. Believe it or not, warm weather brings its own plumbing problems too. With the summer heat in full force, you might run into a few of these common summer plumbing problems yourself. If you do, Barner Murphy’s plumbing experts can address these issues and get your plumbing system back to normal in no time.

Clogged garbage disposals are much more likely to happen in the summer thanks to all the cookouts. See, there’s a common misconception that your sink’s garbage disposal is a place to dump all your food. This leads to a clogged disposal under your sink. The clogging is worsened in the summer since most cookout food is meat, and meat involves grease and bones. Grease solidifies in your disposal, and bones get caught in the blades. Fruit is also a big cookout food, but the pits can’t go down the disposal either. You should only be putting biodegradable food waste down your disposal.

Another plumbing object prone to clogging in the summer is the toilet. Kids are home for the summer, so your toilet’s going to see much heavier use. Clogging is inevitable, whether through normal use of because kids try to flush other things down the toilet. Teach your kids what does and doesn’t go down the toilet and keep a plunger handy. 

Keep an eye on your washing machine. Summer activities tend to involve a lot of dirt, sand, sweat, and grime, all of which your washer has to work harder to get rid of. Having all your kids home all day can magnify the problem as everyone’s trying to wash their wardrobe. Try to be home whenever you’re using your washing machine this summer. If you hear any weird noises or notice anything wrong with clothing when you remove it from the machine, you might need professional help. In the meantime, seek out laundry accommodations from friends, neighbors, or your local laundromat.

Not all summer plumbing problems occur outside your home. Summer storms occur quite often in certain areas; the rain can get into pipes underground and back up the sewer lines. Toilet water backing up into your bathtub’s drain is a red flag for sewer backups. If you see this happen, call a plumber like Barner Murphy immediately.

Sprinklers can be a cause for concern once its warm outside. With regular lawn mowing and more people running around on your lawn, it’s not too hard to break a sprinkler or two. Check on your sprinklers regularly before using them to identify broken sprinklers or other issues so you don’t cause further damage.

These are 5 of the most common summer plumbing problems. Stay on top of your plumbing system and act the moment you discover and issue. If any of these happen to you this summer in Buck County, you’re not alone - the experts at Barner Murphy are always willing to help. Give us a call and we’ll be glad to help!

Your plumbing system is one of the most critical systems in your home. In fact, it’s a fundamental part of all the modern conveniences you now have access to. Without a healthy plumbing system, you’ll quickly notice how much you rely on plumbing on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things that can ruin your plumbing system beyond this normal wear and tear if you aren’t careful.

For one, think about the various chemicals you dump down your drain on a daily basis. Things like soap and bleach can damage your piping over time. Despite being an alright solution in a pinch, even drain cleaner can ruin your plumbing. You’d be better off hiring a plumber to clean out your pipes.

On a similar note, dumping grease down the drain can ruin your plumbing system. It can be tempting to do it because it’s usually in liquid form when you’re disposing of it. However, since grease solidifies at room temperature, it can quickly build up inside the pipes and cause blockages. Dump any grease into a plastic bag and throw it in the trash to prevent these buildups.

The garbage disposal is another part to pay attention to. A lot of people throw all kinds of food waste in the garbage disposal like it’s a trash can. Now, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t throw non-food waste down the garbage disposal at all. But even solid food waste like bones and large fruit peels can clog the garbage disposal and ruin your plumbing system.

But the kitchen isn’t the only area of your home where plumbing problems can occur. 

Toilet cleaners might make your bathroom smell nice, but they can cause damage over time to different parts of the toilet. Too much reliance on toilet cleaning chemicals could cause a small piece of a toilet to break off and get caught in the flush valve, making normal flushing impossible.

Cleaners aren’t the only threats to your plumbing system, though; your hair that goes down your bath/shower drain can cause problems aside from the typical clogged drain. By itself, hair is not likely to do much damage. But if there are other materials like grease or trash building up down the drain, the hair can exacerbate the problem when it gets caught in those materials.

Moving down the line, harsh chemicals like toilet cleaner and other aforementioned products can do very expensive damage to your septic tank. For obvious reasons, septic tank repairs are not fun for anyone involved.

Nature can mess with your plumbing, too. Roots from plants and trees gravitate towards areas where there’s water. If there are cracks in your piping outside, tree roots could find their way inside your piping and cause blockages that prevent proper drainage.

Even DIYing your plumbing can ruin your plumbing system. Something as simple as a small leak under the sink can turn into a huge, expensive headache down the line if you don’t fix it correctly. When in doubt, leave your problems to the experts at Barner Murphy.

As you can see, there are a lot of potential threats to your plumbing system. Fortunately for you, the plumbing experts here at Barner Murphy are ready to help you fix your plumbing if it’s been damaged from any of these problems. 

Although you can inspect your all parts of your plumbing to make sure they’re bulletproof, sometimes forces outside of your controls can cause a multitude of issues in your plumbing system. Believe it or not, something as innocuous as heavy rain can cause plumbing issues.

First of all, heavy rain can put a ton of extra pressure on the area surrounding the pipes. When the dirt or sand accumulates water, it will turn into a much heavier mud that can be too much weight for the pipes to comfortably bear. Most modern pipes are built to withstand a lot of pressure, but there’s no guarantees when it comes to inclement weather.

Similarly, as rain hits the ground and softens the hard dirt around your pipes, your pipes can shift out of their normal positions. Sometimes, this can lead to cracks in your piping if the pipes bend in an unnatural or unsustainable way. Also, once the mud solidifies back into dirt, more cracks can occur as the dirt no longer has any give.

Cracks in your shifting pipes that are caused by a rainstorm cause a few problems. First of all, there’s the obvious issue of leakages. But cracks in your piping allow surrounding rocks and soil to seep into the pipes, which can cause blockages and even cause water to leak into any underground parts of your home like your basement. Barner Murphy’s here to fix these cracks before they cause bigger plumbing issues.

Speaking of your basement, cracked pipes aren’t the only way for it to flood. If your basement has any windows, living on land with poor drainage can cause water to seep into the basement and cause a host of issues like mold and rotting wood.

Heavy rain can affect your septic tank in a similar way to your pipes. Saturated soil around your septic tank can put increased pressure on the tank. But that’s only half the issue. See, your septic tank can empty it’s effluent fluids into the surrounding drain field due to the saturated soil. Combine this inability to regulate fluid level with the additional pressure of the mud, and septic tank wastewater can back up into your house. Warning signs of a septic tank backup include unexplained foul odors, unusually slow flushing, and backed up drains. 

If you primarily drink well water, refrain from drinking it until it’s been tested after heavy rainfall. Septic tank backups can cause nasty contamination in well water, so grab some water bottles while you’re waiting for the all-clear.

Sometimes, issues with your plumbing aren’t entirely caused by rain on your property. After heavy rain, city sewers can backup which will cause your own sewers to be backed up as well. Unfortunately, there’s no immediate solution when this happens. The best you can do is wait it out.

After heavy rain, don’t attempt to fix things yourself as one wrong thing could magnify problems caused by excess water. It’s best to leave plumbing issues to professional like Barner Murphy. In addition, get your septic tank inspected as soon as possible if you think recent rainfall caused it damage. 

Not many people enjoy cleaning a bathroom. For a place that is meant for cleaning, it can get so very dirty. It’s a complicated space to clean, with so many different cleaning product options. Can you use the same thing to clean the sink and the shower? How can you keep your mirror and counters from looking streaky? But there’s something about freshly cleaned, gleaming bathroom surfaces that is just satisfying. We’ll walk you through our tips on the best ways to clean your bathroom and keep it squeaky clean, so it can keep you that way.

The first thing to do is assemble a kit and a method. Having all of your cleaning supplies together will help you to tackle the whole thing at once, rather than just cleaning the mirror and getting sidetracked on the way to the grout cleaner. Then, have a streamlined method with logical steps that are easy to repeat. 

Shower: try covering your showerhead with a bag filled with vinegar and letting it soak overnight, then run the water to rinse it out. Wash the plastic shower curtain liner in the washing machine every once in a while to prevent the buildup of mold and mildew, and add some towels to help scrub it all away. An easy investment for any bathroom is a long toothed plastic stick that can be put down drains to grab any hair or grime that clogs everything up and do that every couple of weeks. Finally, apply a foaming bathroom cleaner to the tub and let sit for fifteen minutes before scrubbing.

Sink: after wrapping up with the shower, simply spray down the sink with the same foaming cleanser and scrub. If you have a clog, try using your new stick friend that unclogged the shower drain, or pour some vinegar or baking soda down. For bathroom fixtures like faucets, try wiping down with white vinegar or dish soap and warm water. 

Grout: it’s almost unbelievable how quickly grout can become dirty and dingy. And because grout is porous and susceptible to bacteria growth, it’s important to give it a good scrub when needed. Just use a brush dipped in bleach and scrub away. You can also try using a sealant one or twice a year to keep out the moisture.

Tile: spray tile with an all-purpose cleaner and let the shower do the work for you. Get some steam going with hot water from the tap and shut the door, letting it all mix for around 20 minutes. This is also a good way to clean walls and ceilings. Then just wipe it all down with a cloth.

Toilet: is there anything baking soda can’t do? Pour a cup of it in the bowl and let it sit for a few minutes, then use your toilet brush or a sponge and scrub away.

There you have it! Soon your bathroom will be as sparkling as you, and with so much less hassle.