If you’re considering starting your own plumbing business, there is a lot of demand for it. Most homeowners are looking for reliable plumbers that can do high-quality work in their homes. If you have the right tools for plumbing, you can offer top-tier work to clients and complete work faster. Having the right plumbing tools is essential for your business, so we’ve put together a guide of tools plumbing businesses should have.
Plumbing Tools List Every Plumbing Contractor Needs
Whether you run an established plumbing business or are just starting out, our list of plumber tools will ensure you have all the essentials you need. Here’s our plumbing tools list to get you started:
Wrenches
Wrenches are an essential plumbing tool as they can be used in tight spaces for hard-to-reach nuts and turning pipes and fittings with a rounded surface. Wrenches can also be used to tighten and loosen nuts and enhance grip when dealing with possible leaks.
Wrenches are among the most essential plumber tools used in plumbing work, including adjustable wrenches and basin wrenches. Carrying a well-chosen assortment of wrenches allows you to efficiently complete jobs for customers using the appropriate tools.
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To effectively prevent leaks and work with metal components in your plumbing business, it is essential to have the following key wrenches:
- Pipe wrenches. Pipe wrenches are typically used on heavy-duty fixtures, including galvanized steel and iron pipes. However, a pipe wrench may leave markings similar to teeth marks on fixtures, so plumbers must be careful when using the tool and avoid using them on shiny fixtures.
- Adjustable pipe wrench
- An adjustable wrench that can be used for multiple applications
- Plumber’s tape thread sealing tape
- Basin wrench
- Torque wrench
- Faucet valve seat wrench
- Sink wrench
- Stubby screwdriver
- A faucet key is an x-shaped tool used to close spigots and open them, among other applications
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Saws and Cutters
A plumber’s job may also involve using tools such as saws and cutting tools on the job site, depending on the scale of the plumbing job. Saws and cutters help cut pipe materials, including plastic and metal.
Having a handy array of heavy-duty tools, such as a tube cutter, ensures you can offer excellent service to customers and cut pipes with ease.
- Hole Saw
- Ratchet cutter
- Tubing cutters
- Plastic pipe cutters for cutting plastic pipes
- Spare blades, which are always good to have just in case you may end up needing them on a job site
For plumbers using a hacksaw, having a strong, high-quality tool is essential. Often, pipes and tubing can become rusty, making it challenging to remove old nuts and bolts. This is where plumbing tools play a crucial role, and the hacksaw is particularly useful. Professional plumbers rely on a hacksaw to effectively remove hardware like old pipes, nuts, bolts, and screws. To ensure safety when using a hacksaw, it’s important to secure the blade tightly and keep extra blades on hand for proper preparedness.
Pliers
Other tools that could be useful for many plumbers include pliers to get a good grip on precise areas for nuts and bolts.
Pliers have a clamp-like mechanism and are helpful for small spaces to get a non-slip grip on fixtures and other parts of pipes and fittings. Some types of pliers you can consider for your plumbing business are:
- Water pump pliers
- Channel locks – these are pliers with adjustable jaws and can be used if you need two pliers that are of the same size
- Slip joint plier
Plungers
Plungers are a specialized tool type for removing blockages, clearing clogs, and cleaning drains. Plungers are an essential hand tool that can prove to be immensely useful for a good plumber, including plungers such as flange plungers.
Other drain cleaning tools complement plungers, helping you tackle stubborn blockages that could result in a stuck pipe. Blockages in pipes or supply lines can be difficult to resolve, which is why plungers are essential for any plumbing business.
- Cup plungers
- Flange plunger
- Drain auger or a hand auger
- Drain snake
- READ MORE: How Much Money do Plumbers Make
More items for a plumbing tools list
- Plumber’s torch to seal copper piping. A plumber’s torch can also be used for sealing in new piping as it’s used to apply intense heat to a pipe for sealing.
- Plumber’s tape, which should ideally be able to withstand high and low temperatures
- Tube benders
- Press fitting systems enable plumbers to undertake press fitting, which is a joining between pipes and fitting using specific tools
- Additional safety tools include heat shields to guard against heat damage and goggles to protect your eyes from environmental elements.
- Borescopes, which consist of small cameras attached to a flexible cable. This tool enables plumbers to get more coverage on small spaces such as supply lines to make pipe fitting and repair easier
- Drain inspection camera to examine sewer lines for more complex jobs
Final Thoughts
When choosing tools for your plumbing business, it is important to evaluate the key features of each tool and their intended uses. This list is designed to compile the most commonly used plumber tools, helping you deliver the best service possible to your customers.
While it might be tempting to purchase all the tools in one go, consider what kinds of jobs you’re commonly getting and what you need to get through the current workload. That can help you prioritize what types of tools to get and spread out the cost a bit more.
Also, consider the type of pipe you see most frequently when homeowners call you for a job and the tools that will be most useful to work with that kind of pipe. Simple tools like wrenches, pliers, tubing cutters, and more can help you get through most work.
Another point to note is that safety is paramount, so balancing safety tools with plumbing equipment is crucial. In addition, protecting your employees from heat and the elements is vital, which is why purchasing safety equipment should be a top priority.
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