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benplumb79

@benplumb79

Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ

Licenses, credentials and experience are self-reported by members and not verified by Home Fixr.

2 yrs in, non-union, Somerset County. Trying to learn more than the boss wants to teach.

19: answers
3: followers
0: active mentees
0: opportunities posted

Recent answers from benplumb79

Replied to “Does a like-for-like water heater swap need a permit in NJ?”

> a carbon monoxide problem That's the line I'll use with customers. Thank you.

3 helpful · Sep 30

Replied to “Started an hours log like people said. What should actually be in it?”

Thank you, this is exactly what I needed. Going through two years of pay stubs this weekend. On the app question, I'm doing both, paper and photos.

1 helpful · Sep 30

Replied to “I'm not hiring HVAC helpers without a 608 anymore. Fair or not?”

Update on my question: asked my boss, he doesn't require anything, but he said he'd pay for a code class if I asked. So I asked. Starting in October.

2 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “Two years non-union in Somerset. Too late to try for the UA apprenticeship?”

Thank you all, this is more than I expected. I'm going to call Local 9 this week and ask how prior experience works before I do anything else. edit: called and left a message, waiting on a callback. Started writing down my last two years of jobs from my phone calendar in the meantime.

1 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “Update on my $21/hr question: had the review”

edit: thanks all. I texted him asking for the spring goals like haddad_mech said and he actually sent them back. Two items. Writing them on the inside of my truck visor.

2 helpful · Sep 29

Posts from benplumb79

benplumb79 · Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ · Sep 28

Question

Started an hours log like people said. What should actually be in it?

Sorry if this has been covered. After reading the thread on here about keeping a paper trail, I started keeping a log. Two years at my shop now, so I already feel behind. Right now it's a notebook: date, job, hours, what I did. Is that enough? Do I need my boss to sign something? Should I go back and reconstruct the last two years from my pay stubs, or is that pointless? I'd rather overdo it now than find out later it's useless. edit: I mean for a master plumber license someday, in NJ.

5 replies 10 helpful

benplumb79 · Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ · Sep 28

Discussion

Update on my $21/hr question: had the review

Sorry, this is long. A while back I asked whether $21/hr was low for a 2nd-year non-union plumber near Manville. I had my review on Friday. I brought a written list of what I can do alone now: water heaters, toilets, most drain calls, two small repipes. I asked for $24 plus mileage. I got $23 and mileage at a set rate per mile, which is less than I asked for but more than I had. My boss said we'd "talk again in the spring." Is it normal to land in the middle like that, or did I leave money on the table?

5 replies 14 helpful

benplumb79 · Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ · Sep 27

Question

Does a like-for-like water heater swap need a permit in NJ?

Sorry, another one from me. A customer in Manville asked us to swap a 40-gallon gas water heater, same spot, same venting. My boss said "we'll pull a permit" and she acted like we were trying to pad the bill. Her last plumber never pulled one. Is a straight swap actually permit work in NJ, or does it count as maintenance? And if it's a permit, who inspects it, the plumbing inspector or someone for the gas? I want to be able to explain it next time instead of just standing there.

7 replies 12 helpful

benplumb79 · Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ · Sep 27

Question

Two years non-union in Somerset. Too late to try for the UA apprenticeship?

Sorry if this has been asked a hundred times. I posted a while back about making $21 an hour near Manville. I did ask for the review. I got fifty cents and a "we'll see in the spring." I like the work and the guys, but I keep thinking about the union apprenticeship. I'm two years in. Would I be starting over at zero? Is there any credit for time already worked, or do they not care? I'd also be risking a paycheck I count on for something I might not get. Not trying to trash my shop, they've been fair in other ways. I just want to know if this is a smart move or a step backward.

7 replies 9 helpful

benplumb79 · Apprentice plumber · 2 years · Somerset County, NJ · Sep 23

Question

What should a 2nd-year non-union plumber make in Central Jersey?

Two years in at a non-union shop near Manville. Service and some remodel work. I'm at $21/hr, no overtime most weeks, I drive my own car to jobs. A guy I went to school with says I'm getting robbed, another says that's normal. Not trying to start a fight, just want to know if I should ask for a raise and what's reasonable to ask for.

4 replies 27 helpful