3 Reasons to Become a Plumber in Toronto
Many people need work these days, and often a college or university degree is not enough for people to find the job they dream of. This is why more and more people are turning to a job in the trades to make ends meet. But what prospects are there for those in the Toronto area? Well, let’s first discuss the area. Toronto is located in Ontario and is arguably Canada’s hub of commerce. It is not without reason that there is a huge amount of construction and development always happening within the Greater Toronto Area, and this is why the City is ripe for those who wish to pursue a job in the trades.
But, there are many jobs in the trades, why is a plumber in Toronto an ideal job choice? As we dig more into the reasons behind this you should be warned, it may become tempting to leave you current job to join the ranks of Toronto plumbers!
Finding work as a plumber in Toronto is by no means a difficult task, it may take concentrated effort, but with the sheer volume of licensed plumbers coupled with the growing demand for plumbing services if you ever find yourself without work you will not be unemployed for long. This is due to the massive size of Toronto, there are nearly 5 million people occupying the city boundaries. Most of these people live in a house, condo, or apartment. All of these people will encounter plumbing problems at some point and be forced to call upon a licensed plumber. Add to this the never-ending construction projects you can spot all across the city, and you can rest assured with a little effort you will find work easily.
Not only is the job market huge, but you can also command a very nice salary as a plumber. With demand so great, people are always looking for plumbers that know their trade very well. Most fully trained plumbers, after apprenticeship and a couple years on the job experience are making upwards of $40 to $50 per hour.
If you’re a person who likes to make connections and network then there is no better place to spend your time than in Toronto. The construction industry is massive, as a plumber you will be traveling all across the City regularly, meeting and networking will be a breeze with all the various projects you find yourself on. Some people may think that being a plumber is a boring, or solemn job but nothing is further from the truth. Providing plumbing services in the Toronto area will take you to residential properties, commercial properties, and even industrial properties – all owned, operated, and managed by a wide variety of people. When you are hired on by a general contractor you will have the opportunity to meet new people and develop business relationships easily, leading to more work and even the chance for promotions depending on your employment circumstances.
For those who wish to join up with a union Toronto is a great place to be, the unions in Toronto have a very strong heritage and history and were integral in the foundation of this world-class City. Toronto plumbers who wish to join up with a union will find a lot of support and steady work. Local 46 is the home to unionized steamfitters, welders, and plumbers within the central Toronto area and is a great place for aspiring plumbers to consult, they have a fantastic website which features resources and additional information for those interested in learning all there is to learn.
Those individuals who have considered going to college or university will need to seriously think about their job future by examining trends, current outlooks, and seriously considering the implications of technology. Many jobs that used to be done by hand are now performed by computers. Computers will never be able to handle plumbing, there will always be a physical demand placed upon a person to install, repair, or inspect piping and water systems. If you happen to be located in the Ontario region, it’s a good idea to head to Toronto to get your feet wet in the most active and quickly growing metropolis that Canada has to offer.
The water system in Toronto is massive, over 520 kilometres of watermains run beneath the bustling city streets, and that’s only those watermains that are 150mm or larger in diameter. Add to this over 10,000 kilometres of sanitary and storm sewers and you have quite the municipal plumbing system to maintain. This job is left up to a large group of City workers, who are always on call to repair watermain breaks (of which more than 1500 occur each and every year within the City of Toronto) and execute routine maintenance such as cleaning out drainage pipes and upgrading watermains. However, there is yet an even larger role to be played by those plumbers in Toronto that work directly with the recipients of all of this water. Toronto Water reports over 450,000 water connections, each and every connection must be made or upgraded by a contracted licensed plumber. Needless to say there is no shortage of work for these plumbers!
One task that Toronto plumbers face is connecting new water service to properties. This may not be an everyday occurrence but someone has to do it. The City will perform a portion of the work, connecting the watermain to the property-line while the contracted plumber will perform the rest of the procedure – connecting the watermain to the actual properties plumbing.
Many years ago watermains were installed made out of lead pipes and to this day there are still lead piping being used in many Toronto area homes. In our modern times, it is common knowledge that lead is a harmful toxic substance, but back in the earlier era no one had a clue. This is why it’s important for all new homeowners who are taking residence in an older home to have their water service tested for lead contamination. Your local plumber can perform this test for you.
If it turns out you have lead in your water the City of Toronto has established a special priority water service replacement program. This will enable you to schedule a the work of replacing your watermain with the services of a plumber. The City workers will replace the section of lead piping running from the watermain to the property line, and the plumbers will replace the lead that runs from the property line to your home. This is highly suggested as lead is dangerous to all people but especially susceptible are pregnant woman and young children.
Another task you’ll find Toronto plumbers hard at work performing is upgrading existing water service. As the City of Toronto has grown in both size and stature, so too has the demand that is placed on the old water connections established in a younger year. While many of these water service connections are adequate to supply enough water to meet demand, many still are not.
This problem is particularly felt in homes that have very high water utilization. For instance, if someone is at home running a dishwasher to clean up after dinner, taking a shower to clean themselves up after their day, and also watering their lawn (as is best after sundown), the water intake can quickly become higher than can be supplied by the service pipe. This leads to low water pressure issues. The fix is simple enough as a plumber can upgrade the water service connection by simply installing a larger diameter water pipe. This will increase the flow of water, eliminating low water pressure problems.
