Plumbing Repairs: When to DIY & When to Call a Professional

When a small plumbing issue strikes, whether it be a minor leak or a faulty tap, it’s natural for your first thought to be to fix it yourself. After all, many of us will have the necessary tools and basic experience to perform small repairs ourselves. Not only this, but taking the repairs into your own hands saves you the cost and extra time of hiring a plumber.

While this is all well and good, sometimes DIY plumbing just won’t cut it. There are certain repair jobs that the average person simply isn’t trained to perform, and is best left to a professional who knows what they’re doing. Attempting it yourself might even cause more damage, meaning you’ll have to fork out for expensive maintenance work. 

But how do you know when to DIY plumbing repairs or call in a professional? Read on to find out. 

When to DIY

Some plumbing work is easy enough to do on your own, and if the problem isn’t too serious, you likely won’t need a professional to help you out. Simple tasks like unclogging a toilet, fixing a leaking tap in the kitchen or bathroom or installing a new shower head are jobs that can be done with the help of a couple of YouTube tutorials or a product instruction manual. 

When to Hire a Commercial Plumbing Contractor

For more complex plumbing jobs, it’s best to have a plumber complete the job. Even if you think you know what the problem is and how to fix it, the issue might be more complicated than you’d anticipated. If in doubt, it’s best to get help from a plumber who is more equipped to deal with the issue at hand.

If you’re still unsure, here are some repairs that should be left to a plumber:

• Turning off the water supply: Drainage problems often require shutting off the water supply to prevent any leaks or bursting. While simple, low stakes jobs like the ones we mentioned above are relatively easy to figure out, if the problem involves a large water source, leave it to a professional. 

• Renovations: If you’re undergoing renovation work and discover you need to move around some pipes, or expand your plumbing system into your new extension, you will need to contact a professional. These types of jobs involve removing and reinstalling important pieces of pipework, and only a trained plumber would know how to properly handle them. Certain types of equipment also require a licence to operate, which an industry professional will have.



• External plumbing work: Sometimes, the issue isn’t on your end and actually stems from a larger grid problem in your area. Once again, this is something a professional could identify. Plus, with an issue this serious, other buildings in the area might be implicated. Needless to say, repair work like this is completely out of your skillset and needs to be handled by a commercial plumbing contractor. 

Commercial Heating & Plumbing Repairs in Scotland

Whether it's a pre-arranged plumbing maintenance contract or a one-off emergency call out to repair burst pipes, the team at Caledonian Heating & Plumbing have the technical know-how and experience to assist with your needs. We provide commercial plumbing and heating repairs and maintenance to all businesses across Edinburgh and Dundee, no matter what the sector. Get in touch with us for more information.