PLUMBING INSPECTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 184, 4 August 1913, Page 2

PLUMBING INSPECTION.

(To tne Editor.) Sir, —I should like to say a few words in reply to your correspondent ""UrHrualified" re inspection of plumbing work. He evidently does not know what he is talking about, and I challenge him to give one instance of the facts as stated by him of a master plumber seeking the protection of his association from a sanitary inspector in this district. 1, as aj plumber, certainly object to being held | up to ridicule in the way "Unqualified" j has endeavoured to do. The profession., or trade, of a plumbpr is an honourableone- and is coming to be looked upon as. playing a most important part in the! health of the community of a modern city. What the licensed plumber wants in the suburbs to-day is a uniformity of by-laws. The Auckland City Council have for some years had in force a good set of by-laws providing for up-to-date sanitary plumbing, and the licensed plumbers of Auckland generally accept this as a good standard. Every job when completed is inspected and passed by the plumbing inspector. If not up to the standard a notice to that effect is | served upon the plumber to have the; work altered to comply with the by-' laws. This process of inspection has | beeu carried out very efficiently now for i over ten years, and with but very little j friction; and what is wanted now is for I the suburbs to adopt the same proce-j -lure. 'While a number of boroughs havcj adopted advanced by-laws in relation to ■ sanitary plumbing, some of them have j not appointed a competent man to see; that the. work is properly carried out. j It is unreasonable to expect a man to act as borough foreman, turncock, nuisance inspector, and various other duties and to also do the plumbing inspection. This requires A man specially qualified! and well versed in the practice of up-to-. datp plumbing, and ratepayers have a ] right tn insist on this, as every builder i who wishes to build a house in a suburb j has to pay a fee for inspection— plumb-, in.rr. draining, and building, etc. Vet j how often is the plumbing work passed | by an inspector? What. then, is the; rcmedv? I say standardise the plumb-; ing at least on a level with Auckland; City, and then have competent inspec-j tion. Then, no matter what part of, j Auckland a plumher has to work in. the; 'standard will be the same, and not aj ihalf-a-dozen different ones as w£ now, ihave. >urclv this is a stTong argument| [in. favour of" Greater Auckland. I think; iif ntv friend was more "qualified' he; I would write in a very different manner, i and perhaps would sign himself as I to do.-I «n. etc.. QUAUFIED . I ■ " ■ i