How to choose a plumber in Macomb County

Most people pick a plumber in a hurry, with water on the floor or no hot water on a January morning. That's the worst time to vet anyone, so it helps to do the checking before you need it. Everything below works for any plumber you're considering in Macomb County, and that includes us. Ask us the same questions.

Look up the license before you book

Michigan licenses plumbers through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Its public lookup is free and takes a couple of minutes.

1. Open the LARA licensee search

Go to the state's LARA license lookup. It's part of LARA's online licensing portal.

2. Pick the right license type

The license type menu lists Plumbing Contractor, Plumbing Master, Plumbing Journey and Plumbing Apprentice, among many others. Search the business under contractor, then search the person who will actually do the work.

3. Search by name or license number

Ask the plumber for a license number up front. A real plumber gives it without hesitation. Then search it rather than trusting a number printed on a truck or a website.

4. Read the status and the name

Check that the license is active and that the name matches the company on your estimate. A license held by someone who doesn't work for that company doesn't cover your job.

Specialty work has its own rules. For backflow testing, an August 2023 notice from EGLE says testers need both an ASSE 5110 certification and a master, journey or supervised apprentice plumbing credential, and those credentials should appear on the test report. Our backflow testing and prevention page explains what that test involves.

Ask who pulls the permit

Plumbing permits in Michigan are handled locally, by your city or township building department, or by the state where a community doesn't run its own program. That means Fraser, Mount Clemens and Shelby Township can each have their own forms, fees and inspection scheduling. Mount Clemens, for example, has a page on its city site to help residents find out whether a project needs a permit, and its common-projects list includes water heaters, sump pumps, backflow devices and irrigation systems (more in our notes on plumbing in Mount Clemens). Shelby Township, since July 15, 2025, wants its gas pipe and meter sizing worksheet on file before it schedules inspections for gas piping or a tankless water heater, which our page on plumbing service in Shelby Township covers. A plumber who works in your community should know rules like these without looking them up.

Questions worth asking any plumber:

• Does this job need a permit here, and who pulls it?
• Is the permit fee in the estimate or billed separately?
• Who schedules the inspection, and do I need to be home for it?
• What happens if the inspector asks for a change?

Water heater replacements, new gas lines, sewer replacements and work that moves drains or vents commonly need permits. If a plumber suggests skipping one to save money, the savings go away the first time a buyer's inspector or an insurance adjuster asks for the permit record. Our water heater installation and sewer line replacement pages walk through the permit and inspection steps for those jobs.

Paperwork to get before the work starts

A plumber who's comfortable putting things in writing is easier to work with when something goes sideways. This table covers what to ask for and what to look at.

Manufacturer warranties on water heaters, disposals and fixtures often require registration within a set window after installation. Ask who handles that, and get the model and serial number on the invoice either way.

Red flags that should slow you down

None of these proves someone is dishonest. Each one is a good reason to pause and get a second opinion.

• No license number, or a number that doesn't match the name on LARA
• Pressure to decide on the spot, or a price that's only good today
• A large cash deposit before any parts are ordered
• An estimate that's one line long with no breakdown
• Talk of skipping the permit to save money
• A diagnosis you can't see, like a sewer problem with no camera footage offered
• Door-to-door offers after a storm or a local flood
• Reluctance to send an insurance certificate from the agent

Compare quotes on the same scope

Two quotes for "replace the water heater" can describe very different jobs. One may include a new gas shutoff, a thermal expansion tank, a new vent connector and haul-away. The other may include only the tank. Before you compare prices, write down what each plumber said the job needs, then ask each one about anything the other listed.

Ask how they found the problem, too. A plumber who ran a camera down your sewer, measured gas line length or checked water pressure is quoting from information. A plumber quoting over the phone is guessing, which is fine for a ballpark but not for a contract.

What we look for in an estimate on an older Macomb County house

Most of the houses around Fraser went up between 1950 and 1979, and that age shapes what a fair estimate should say. A few specifics are worth asking about because they change the price more than the hourly rate does.

On a sewer job, ask where the work stops. In Fraser the homeowner owns the sewer lateral all the way to the main in the street, including the part under the public right-of-way. A quote that ends at the property line leaves part of your pipe untouched. Digging in the right-of-way also brings a city escrow, listed at $2,500 on Fraser's fee schedule, and $10,000 if the roadway is opened. Those are deposits with the city, and a good estimate says whether they're included.

On a repipe or a water heater, ask what happens to the old shutoff valves, the expansion tank and the venting. Original valves in a 1960s basement may not close, and replacing them is real work that one bid may include and another may skip.

On any diagnosis, ask how it was made. A diagnostic fee for a camera run or a pressure test buys you evidence, and the honest trade-off is that it costs money up front where a phone quote doesn't. Ask whether that fee is credited toward the repair. And if the problem is an emergency, stop the water at the main first, then ask three things on the phone: the license number, whether there's a service call fee, and how evening or weekend rates differ.

You can see the full list of what we work on at our plumbing services page, and the communities we cover on our areas we serve page. When you call, ask for the license number, the permit plan and the estimate in writing, the same as you would with anyone else.

Choosing between the plumbers who pass

Once two or three plumbers clear the license, permit and insurance checks, price is only part of the decision. Pick the one whose estimate explains how they found the problem and spells out the scope, permit and cleanup. If nobody passes, keep looking. A day's delay on a non-emergency job costs less than redoing unpermitted work later.