Having to make an emergency call to your local New York City general contractor to come and sort out the plumbing and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) may be something straight out of a construction nightmare, but it is a real possibility and you need to know exactly what to do in the event of such a situation.

Whether you have recently had your home built, renovated or revamped, it’s always a good idea to have the number of a credible and certified general contractor handy, as part of your preparation for any such emergencies. Anything can happen and it’s much better to be prepared than to find yourself running around like a headless chicken trying to get someone to sort your plumbing and HVAC problem out. In any industry, service providers can smell desperation a mile away and you don’t want to find yourself making for an easy target for inflated costs you’ll otherwise have to contend with, as a result of your desperation. Being prepared in this way is especially important in the case of commercial property owners as the immediate and long term damage could have long lasting cost implications.

As is applicable with everything else in life however, prevention is much better than cure and this rings true in the case of getting your plumbing and HVAC done. Whether you are having a brand new construction job done up or indeed if you are wrapping up proceedings concerned with renovations, re-vamps or re-modeling, it is of utmost importance to have your plumbing and HVAC done right, the first time around. Plumbing on its own is an area of expertise that should only be carried out by a suitably qualified expert, as is the case with HVAC.

In order to make sure you never get the short end of the stick, any New York City based general contractor you hire that offers plumbing and HVAC services should be suitably licensed by a body such as the EFA or an equivalent one. Even for the simplest of New York City plumbing and HVAC tasks, the extensive skills of a real expert are required as this has implications with regards to your property’s safety standards and even spills over into secondary concerns such as the way in which your property consumes electrical power.

Basic plumbing and HVAC that is done right, first time, is also easy to maintain, should the need arise in future and also makes things easier by way of possible upgrades to plumbing and HVAC technology.

While only licensed New York City general contractors should be roped in for even the most basic of plumbing and HVAC jobs, when the construction, renovation or re-modeling process involves more complicated systems such as watered under-floor heating and progressive plumbing, the need for a general contractor who knows exactly what they’re doing becomes critical. No chances should be taken and all property owners or project managers should insist on certification or licensing.

When it comes to the plumbing and HVAC territory, there is no place of “DIY-ers”, as straight-forward as it may seem to do it yourself. Do not try this at home…

Taking the replacement of a water heater into account, as a typical example, iterating through the initial step will very quickly point out why this isn’t a job for “DIY-ers”:

-The initial step is always the most complicated and, while the actual removal of the heater may seem easy enough, there are other factors to consider, such as turning water valves off, disconnecting electric or gas lines and even draining the tank itself. Licensed and trained professionals do this type of thing regularly and all the necessary precautions to be taken are pretty much built into their systems.