TIPS: How to hire a good plumber

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Hiring a plumber can be expensive. Hiring the wrong plumber can be outrageous. Most of us pick a plumber at the exact wrong time. When our house is flooding or the some other disaster is underway. But even under those conditions you can find a good one if you know how.

Recently I caught up with Co Co County Drain Cleaning & Plumbing on a job in Walnut Creek. Their plumbers were hard at work installing water heaters and water lines.

Co Co County Drain Cleaning & Plumbing has been selected as one of the best by Bay Area Consumers' Checkbook.

Kevin Brasler is the executive editor of Bay Area Consumers' Checkbook. He told me, "The differences between the best companies and the worse companies, especially for plumbing work, are really big."

Brasler adds, "The worst companies are causing more problems than they are fixing and are charging way to much money for the work they are doing."

Mike Brown owns Co Co County Drain Cleaning & Plumbing and agrees with Brasler, saying unprofessional and overpriced work is not that uncommon.

"We try to keep our prices low to keep it fair, " he says, "We try to make everything look good, look appealing, even if it is going in the wall we are making it straight and clean."

That work ethic is making an impression Mike Schwartz, he's the homeowner who hired Co Co County Drain Cleaning & Plumbing.

"We have two hot water heaters running here that run in series, they can switch back and forth. He had to run new lines for the water heaters," he said. "Look how neat the work is. Bright yellow valves up there, so we can switch back and forth, the lines run parallel, the drain line is PVC, it is a beautiful job."

When hiring for a plumber for your home, Brasler from Checkbook says be sure your plumber is insured and licensed, but that is just the beginning.

"Don't just assume because a company says we are a licensed plumbing outfit that it means anything at all in terms of quality of the work they do," he said.

Click here for Bay Area Consumers' Checkbook's free advice on hiring a plumber and ratings for plumbers throughout the region.

Click here for a look at more stories by Michael Finney and the 7 On Your Side team.