Other Plumbing forums?

[Christopher Lambert]

Hey all, it took me a while to find a Plumbing-related message board. Neato that it's hosted by Ridgid!! My favorite! :D (Why can't I order from their website? :confused: )

I am a Plumber's apprentice in Toronto, ON, and have been employed for about 7 months now, in which time I've accumlated ~1500 of my 9000 required hours.

I enjoy Plumbing very much and wish to keep in touch with it during non-working hours, so that I stay sharp.

A question to all who frequent this forum: Are there any other good Plumbing forums, or informative websites I should be aware of, being an Ontario apprentice, or an apprentice in general?

And does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the Ontario Plumbing Codebook?

Thanks for your time guys,
Chris

[plumbdog10]

Hey all, it took me a while to find a Plumbing-related message board. Neato that it's hosted by Ridgid!! My favorite! :D (Why can't I order from their website? :confused: )

I am a Plumber's apprentice in Toronto, ON, and have been employed for about 7 months now, in which time I've accumlated ~1500 of my 9000 required hours.

I enjoy Plumbing very much and wish to keep in touch with it during non-working hours, so that I stay sharp.

A question to all who frequent this forum: Are there any other good Plumbing forums, or informative websites I should be aware of, being an Ontario apprentice, or an apprentice in general?

And does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the Ontario Plumbing Codebook?

Thanks for your time guys,
Chris

Ontario, Canada has it's own code. Plumber Jay can probably help you, since he is from the area.

I have seen other forums (Terry Love's, which Tool is always pushing), but none are this good in my opinion.

[toolaholic]

you won't find the experiance this site has, but there's always some knowledge everywhere. there is a good toilet forum that rates each one.

[Hondahead]

Christopher

All Provinces in Canada follow the National Plumbing Code. I dont know if Ontario has addopted the 2005 NPC yet? They may still be working under the old 1995 NPC as we are here in Alberta. All Provinces can ammend the NPC and most do. So not only do you need the NPC you also need the ammendments or standdatas. Are you enrolled for technical training yet? If so that will be the best place to buy a code book.

The Plumber.com is a decent forum http://www.plbg.com/forum/list.php?1
also The Plumbing Help forum http://www.findplumbing.com/forums/index.php

[PLUMBER JAY]

Chris
We actually are not governened under the NPC. Are code is the Ontario building code. Section 7 deals with plumbing. you can buy section 7 at the community college that deals with trades in your area. they are only like 15 bucks. Although i have heard that we may be changing to the NPC this will probably be many many years away.

If you are a the college i would suggest that you buy the workbook for basic plumbing because it has alot of good diagrams in it and it will be much easier to understand than just reading a code book.

Are you signed up as an apprentice yet? Because i have heard from many guys who worked for a company for a couple years and then the company signs them up giving them only some of there hours. or not sign them up at all so they quit and are left to start over again.

[fastplumber]

hi jay. the plumbing code book is actualy part 7 of the ontario builbing code. the latest book is from 1997 the one before that was 1993.


not to knit pick from Fastplumber

[PLUMBER JAY]

fp
sorry part not section. The latest book is 1997 with updates in 2004 written in it.

[fastplumber]

do you guys have lots of work?

[PLUMBER JAY]

Fp
It is pretty busy here.(steady) mabye alittle bit of a slow down but i think that is just because more jobs were ending and others were taking a bit to really start going.

[fastplumber]

plumber jay how long have you been in plumbing?

[PLUMBER JAY]

five years

[Christopher Lambert]

PJ

Funny you should ask. Just today my consultant from the MTCU called to confrim my location and informed me that when it's time for my first level of schooling, I will be attending George Brown (just so that I knew what to expect, I guess).

No need to worry about me getting screwed for my hours, I've worked 1500 hours, and they have it on file, as I just recently switched to another company, so my new boss and I had to meet my training consultant so we could transfer my contract of apprenticeship as well as transfer the amount of hours I had worked, which I had to prove by bringing in copies of all my paystubs.

I would like to get a copy of the codebook still, I have used it many times. Infact, I remember several occasions with my first employer where I had to stop him and tell him that what he was doing was wrong, becaue he didn't have much money, and I didn't want him to waste all his material... Anyways, I forced him to stop and come to the codebook and there it was. Haha. he was greatful then.

Anyways, I will go to george brown after work one day if i get an early day, and try to pick one up before i actually go to attend class.

[Hondahead]

So Ontario does'nt follow the NPC eh? Do any of you guys have your interprovincal/red seal? If so, you must of had to study the NPC. There is a ton of work in Alberta right now. Everybody is screaming for guys,especially in construction. Most pay $30-$35 per hr, 50-60hrs per wk. 100K a year easy! The Alberta advantage :D

[fastplumber]

hey hondahead

is that civic a 1976-77-78 i see there?

i like all cars, but have a 1988 gt mustang cobra convertable right now.


i built it from a parts car.

[Hondahead]

You bet it is!:D Click on my username and check out my homepage.

[Master Engineer]

This plumbing forum on here is great. Here is another site where you see a lot of knowledgeable professionals.
http://www.contractortalk.com Every trade is represented there.

[Scott K]

In British Columbia, we have a BC Code, and the National Code. The National Code comes out every however many years, and the BC Code is just the National Code with amendments to suit our local circumstances and it comes out 1-3 years after a new National code comes out. So the 1998 BC Plumbing Code, which is part 7 of our BC Building code, is an amended version of the 1995 National plumbing Code. The current BC Code & National Code are virtually identical with a few minor differences. I'm told the next edition of the BC Plumbing Code, which will be based on the 2005 National Plumbing Code, will be 99% of the National Code, so virtually the same. In fact the only real difference between the current BC Code and the National Code is circuit venting (and a few other minor differences) which will be I'm told, added to the 2005 National Code, hence why I'm guessing the new National Code & the new BC Code will be very much the same.

This is how every other province, as far as I know, writes, & amends their code; base them on the latest edition of the National Code. I used to work with a guy from Ontario who moved out here, and he wrote what he said was his "Ontario" Plumbing ticket, but he didn't write his red seal for some reason. IN BC, we don't have a British Columbia Plumbing Ticket. Maybe Ontario does it that way because they feel as if they're the centre of the Universe or they have to be special. It's just your Red Seal or nothing. You could though call yourself a plumber for the most part, after completing level 3 schooling as that is when you have gone over the entire BC plumbing code, but you don't address the National Code until Level 4 where you go over it and then write your Inter Provincial Red Seal. The only code that you might want to note isn't National in scope i.e. you don't get a red seal for it which certifies you accross Canada, is your Gas "B" ticket, which is a provincial ticket.

The bottomline though is Canada has some of the highest, if not the highest, Plumbing codes & standards in the world. Plumbing school where we live is borderline entry level engineering with the pipe sizing and rules that govern it. The President of the school I go to (have 3 levels of Plumbing completed to date, one more to go) said he had an inspector come to BC from the UK. This former inspector wanted to get his ceritifcation so he could work as an inspector over here and asked the president of the school where to write his test, thinking it was some little easy peanut test. Well the President says, hold your horses, I'm going to sit you down into a level 2 class so you can learn your code and the other things you'll need to know, and let me know what how you find the schooling. After his first day in school this former inspector from the UK came up to the President and was blown away and shocked at how complicated the code was to learn here. Suffice to say he opted to sit through levels 2, 3, & 4 to learn everything before he wrote the Inter Provincial Red Seal. This is an experienced inspector! And he didn't have the schooling that a 2nd year apprentice did here in BC.


The bottomline is you will learn more than anything out in the field, but the understanding you gain from schooling helps complete the puzzle the way I see it. You don't really truly learn the code until you see it in the field. The best way to learn the code is to screw up, and then have your Journeyman, or inspector point out what you did wrong. You will never forget that code clause. But having the code interpreted for you in school, as well as learning pipe sizing and things like that, gives you a great perception of what you are doing exactly. It's a shame they don't have higher plumbing standards in other places. Oh well, my plumbing ticket will have a red stamp on it that might as well be gold plated. Looking forward to gettin 'er done.

[Hondahead]

The bottomline though is Canada has some of the highest, if not the highest, Plumbing codes & standards in the world.

No doubt about it!

I worked for 15yrs (non licensed) in B.C. Mostly in the caribou and okanagan. In 2000 I moved out to Edmonton, Alberta and landed a job with a large constuction based plumbing contractor. They insited I get certified so off to school I went (N.A.I.T.) I originally thought I could challenge the equivelency exam but they wanted me to start from square one, so I did. Good thing too. I figured how hard could it be? I should be able to skate right through no problem, right? Not quite. It was tuff! 3yrs of hard work later I had my plumbing ticket (w/redseal) and my class B gasfitter ticket. Yahhoo!:)

my plumbing ticket will have a red stamp on it that might as well be gold plated. Looking forward to gettin 'er done.

Right on buddy! Its a great feeling when its all done!

[davevb]

contractortalk.com is pretty good

[plumbdog10]

contractortalk.com is pretty good

I thought it was pretty good until I kept receiving unwanted emails. I had to block them. I came back to the old favorite. Ridgid. As a plumber I still use Ridgid hand tools, and their site is commercial free. Well.....I mean their site is obviously commercially motivated, but they do not sell my email address, send me unwanted emails, or censor comments about their products. And, they have great plumbing mins on this forum.