# irrigation and plumbing.. taking my first year.....



## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

hey, i am interested in taking a 1st year plumbing course early next year i have only a little experience with plumbing and wanted to know where i should start and what i should focus on learning first. i have done alot of irrigation before so i was thinking of going for my ticket for that first?? would that help me at all with plumbing?? how hard is the first year? i have mostly done residential work like putting in new sumps and replacing old tile drainage with pvc or big O pipe and stuff like that.. any help or info would be great.

Thanks


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

*Introduction needed*

Folks 'round here require an intro first before they converse with ya. :whistling2:


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## tungsten plumb (Apr 15, 2010)

Intro or go away :laughing:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

You guys are so harsh...:laughing:


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Not being very tolerent here.


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

so you want me to introduce myself??

ok well... i just turned 23 living in vancouver canada with the best japanese girlfriend. in my spare time i inline skate( do tricks) and film/edit videos for my sponsors. i have been doing it all my life but i cant really pay the bills with it so right now im working for a big but ****ty landscaping company doing irrigation and stone/brick work. i have always been interested in plumbing mostly because my dad has been doing it for over 20 years. i am saving money now to take a few small courses like first aid and excavator/bobcat ticket's and if everything goes good i should be taking my 1st year plumbing around april of next year or sooner. i would just like some info( see my first post)...

thank you 

oh and here is a video from last year of my inline skating if you would like to see--> http://vimeo.com/7316969


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## Rambo (Jul 10, 2010)

vancityrolla said:


> so you want me to introduce myself??
> 
> with the best japanese girlfriend.
> 
> ...


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

Rambo said:


> vancityrolla said:
> 
> 
> > so you want me to introduce myself??
> ...


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

vancityrolla said:


> Rambo said:
> 
> 
> > when i get some positive info i will post pics
> ...


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

Don't sound like a plumber to me. Are you really interested in the trade or just wanting a job?


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## Rambo (Jul 10, 2010)

damn-it jones we want pics first...dont piss him off yet


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Quick get those pics up or the ban hamster will get ya....:laughing:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Don't think you are offering us anything special...

I know where to find plenty of pics like you have....:laughing:


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

Indie said:


> Don't sound like a plumber to me. Are you really interested in the trade or just wanting a job?


i really want to learn this trade! and i know i dont sound like a plumber..thats because im not haha but i would really like to be one i just need some help and advice to get started..


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

If you can eat a sandwich and use an auger at the same time...you just might make it...


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## Christina (Jul 14, 2009)

Lesson #542: When somebody brings you a sandwich at 4:00pm in the middle of the after noon because you missed the 'normal' lunch break- At that point in your life you will learn the difference between clean dirt & dirty dirt!!


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

so noone will give me any helpful info???????


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

vancityrolla said:


> i really want to learn this trade! and i know i dont sound like a plumber..thats because im not haha but i would really like to be one i just need some help and advice to get started..


Well in that case, find yourself someone that will apprentice you. You need a person that will teach the trade. Worry about cards later, be a good plumber first, then get paper to certify.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

After extensive research, I found one Rambo.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

See you ain't got anything special there...

The internet is loaded with pics....:laughing:


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## ROCKSTARPLUMBER (Dec 14, 2008)

In line skating, Meh.


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

ROCKSTARPLUMBER said:


> YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


that was crap....

this one is better if your looking for falls..


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

You stated you wanted advice. Did you or didn't you say your father has been plumbing for 20 yrs? Then ask HIM, I've only been plumbing 16 or 17 yrs. Also, what do you want to know? You start at bottom cutting pipe squarely, setting fixtures and digging dirt. Filling glue cans, learning the lingo, cleaning work truck. Go to apprenticeship school, and read. There is no 90 day internet course that is going to substitute for years of on-the-job training. :no:


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

Tommy plumber said:


> You stated you wanted advice. Did you or didn't you say your father has been plumbing for 20 yrs? Then ask HIM, I've only been plumbing 16 or 17 yrs. Also, what do you want to know? You start at bottom cutting pipe squarely, setting fixtures and digging dirt. Filling glue cans, learning the lingo, cleaning work truck. Go to apprenticeship school, and read. There is no 90 day internet course that is going to substitute for years of on-the-job training. :no:



thanks.. and true true i will just start looking for an apprenticeship program asap thats the best way to learn. my dad has showed me a few things but hes getting old and not all there if you know what i mean. things have changed alot from when he was plumbing around 30 years ago so i want to learn from someone thats up to date on there plumbing.


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## vancityrolla (Jul 21, 2010)

one question tho, should i get my irrigation ticket because i have been doing alot of irrigation would that help at all with plumbing??? or should i just focus on plumbing..


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## Christina (Jul 14, 2009)

vancityrolla said:


> thanks.. and true true i will just start looking for an apprenticeship program asap thats the best way to learn. my dad has showed me a few things but hes getting old and not all there if you know what i mean. things have changed alot from when he was plumbing around 30 years ago so i want to learn from someone thats up to date on there plumbing.


vancityrolla, I am not sure about other states, but I know here you have to have a minimum 3 year apprenticeship and if you go through the union they send you to school and from what I understand they require a 4 year apprenticeship. From what I have seen here on PZ, other states are similar.

You shouldn't be so closed minded on the 'older' things in plumbing. How are you going to understand the entirity of it- if you delete where it came from. Meaning, you can't repipe everyhouse because you think that cast iron is too oldschool. 

:001_unsure: In my oppinion, sit back and listen. There is a lot of those "_old farts_":jester: around here and they are quite wise in the plumbing professsion. You can learn a lot from these guys but my suggestion is that you finish out your apprenticeship like the rest of us all did... IMHO.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Well here's the hitch he should probably wait to hear what it takes for a plumber in BC...

Up in them northern states it's a whole nutha country....:whistling2:


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## sNApple (Jan 19, 2010)

you have to be sponsored by a mechanical company to even go to school, unless you take a pre ELTT course at BCIT, which is about 6 months, and around 6k... doesn't help you get a job tho
best thing to do is call around ask if they are hiring 1st years, lots of cranes going up now, if anything you'll probably end up in a tower
http://www.mcabc.org/page/find a member.aspx
go through all the contractors and call them


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## Plasticman (Oct 14, 2008)

1. hot goes on left, cold on right
2. the boss is a sob
3. crap don,t run up hill
4. pay day is on Friday
5. don't bite your finger nails

That's all yu need to know so get busy


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Plasticman said:


> 1. hot goes on left, cold on right
> 2. the boss is a sob
> 3. crap don,t run up hill
> 4. pay day is on Friday
> ...


And...
6. Every a$$hole is a potential customer.


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## AKdaplumba (Jan 12, 2010)

righty tighty lefty loosey


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Here in WI the appreticeship is 5 years. Then you have to get a state certified license. No hanging around an internet forum is going to teach you how to plumb. There's a reason for an apprenticeship. It is awfully difficult to teach yourself something as complicated as plumbing.


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## john_mccormack (Feb 27, 2010)

vancityrolla said:


> one question tho, should i get my irrigation ticket because i have been doing alot of irrigation would that help at all with plumbing??? or should i just focus on plumbing..


 
In Massachusetts, plumbing is plumbing and irrigation is irrigation. A licensed plumber is required to pull a permit for the backflow preventer, the irrigation folks hook up to that.

As far as apprenticeship programs go, it was recently increased to 5 years, 550 hours of school here. My brother started working in a plumbing supply house, learned all he could abould the stock sold and then landed a job with a licensed plumber that frequented the store. His supply house background helped him take the "edge" off of those first few years of learning with the plumber.


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## larry568 (Feb 19, 2009)

Go away bla bla bla is all we hear right now go to the intro and tell us who you are!!!!!!!


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

Geez, Shawn I told you to lurk. Anyways, I plumb, I have no interest in doing irrigation. Basic repairs are one thing, but putting in a whole system, I'd pass them along to someone who'll dig all day for less money.


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