Is There A Difference Between Commercial and Residential Plumbing?

When it comes to
plumbing, is it all the same no matter what type of structure you have? Is a commercial
plumber capable of doing all a residential plumber does and vice versa?
Or do you need special
training to be one or the other?

The short answer is once a plumber, always a plumber. A plumber deals with
the plumbing system. Whether its large or small, single family home or
commercial property, it all boils down to the pipes and the structures
that rely on those pipes to give us our modern day systems.

The longer answer can separate the two on some levels.

Imagine a residential plumber who visits home after home, all day long.
His focus is trained on what makes a single family residence work properly.
He know how to install pipe properly to make the master bathroom function
without incident. He knows how to fix a clogged drain in the kitchen.
He knows how to install a water saving toilet in the half bath off the
family room.

He’s a specialist in residential plumbing simply because he deals
with the same problems day in and day out, all through the year.

A commercial plumber sees different problems every day. He may enter a
flooded bathroom in a high rise office complex. He may lay out the system
for a brand new apartment complex in its beginning stages.

A commercial plumber will require him to understand different codes and
requirements than what may be necessary for a residential plumber. Commercial
plumbing will take more use; more abuse. It will have to handle higher
water pressures and be sturdier for dozens, if not hundreds of uses ever
day. And it may require different permits to handle, different materials
to fix, and a variety of installation processes that simply don’t
matter in the average residential household.

Is plumbing just plumbing, no matter where it is? For the most part, the
answer is yes. However, always ask your plumber if he is familiar with
the job and can provide you with top service at a reasonable price, without
having to worry about problems down the road.