Current Events > How much physical strength do you need to be a plumber?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am a weakling but I want plumber money.

---

Not much, leverage is your friend

---

Go rip out your toilet and put it outside. Have a beer. Then go back and hook the toilet back up. If you can do that my god man, you can do anything.

---

all you need to do is make sure you show your crack

When they installed a new toilet at my apt, they had a couple young dudes do the dirty work and then an experienced tech came in and put in the finishing touches. The experienced guy was an obese piece of shit.

---

not much. its more about using the right tool and using leverage. most pipe fittings at a residential level aren't put on too tightly.

problem solving and being small and flexible are the best assets for the job.

---

masticatingman posted...

When they installed a new toilet at my apt, they had a couple young dudes do the dirty work and then an experienced tech came in and put in the finishing touches. The experienced guy was an obese piece of shit.

i replaced my toilet like 6 months ago, i'm struggling to think of what finishing touches i might of missed due to my lack of experience.

---

KILBOTz posted...

not much. its more about using the right tool and using leverage. most pipe fittings at a residential level aren't put on too tightly.

problem solving and being small and flexible are the best assets for the job.

also wd40. i've not run into a home plumbing situation that wasn't made easier by first spraying everything down with wd40 or some form of penetrating oil.

---

plumber money pro-rated over a lifetime including all the layoffs and bullshit is not that great. Yeah it's $35/hr....when you're working. IF you're working.

---

Get forklift certified instead - that's where the real prize is

---

i can't think of any plumbing i did where i used wd40... the plastic fittings ive used have really course screws that can easily be put on / taken off by hand, and the metal ive done involved soldering.

---

Wcb here has it built in that its illegal to lift more than 50lbs without help. In practice I dunno how that works cause I can lift a lot more safely by myself... but at least in canada you can refuse under the right to refuse unsafe work and youd be in the right if they fired you.

I got written up once on a big industrial job for breaking that rule so the bigger the job site and pay the less likely you are to ever even have it come up.


---

Mario can jump pretty high, which takes a lot of lower body strength.

---

KILBOTz posted...

i can't think of any plumbing i did where i used wd40... the plastic fittings ive used have really course screws that can easily be put on / taken off by hand, and the metal ive done involved soldering.

over the last two years i've had to replace every faucet and drain in my house, all of them were a huge pain to remove until i hit the metal fittings with wd40. if i've got to remove shutoff valves i'm just going to skip soldering and replace with a couple of those sharkbite valves.

---

Im guessing not much. All the plumbers i know are skinmy or fat.

---