Plumbers in Delaware County, PA: older homes, township licenses and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Delaware County homeowners know before hiring a plumber?
That the houses are older than in most of the suburbs, and that the plumber's license, if one is needed, comes from your township or borough. Delaware County covers just over 184 square miles divided into 49 municipalities, and it is the fourth most populous county in the state on the third smallest land area. Dense, older housing shapes what plumbers find behind the walls.
How old are Delaware County's homes?
Older than in the other suburban counties. The Census Bureau counts 22.1 percent of the county's 229,715 homes as first built in 1939 or earlier, more than one in five, and only 3.5 percent built since 2010, the smallest share of the five counties in this directory. The county's own history describes heavy residential building after the First World War in places such as Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield, continuing after the Second World War in communities like Westbrook Park and Marple Township.
That matters for water lines. The EPA says lead pipes are more likely in older cities and homes built before 1986, that a lead service line is typically the biggest source of lead where one exists, and that testing is the only sure way to know whether lead is in your water. Every house first built in 1939 or earlier is, by definition, inside that window.
How can you find out what your service line is made of?
Start with your water utility. Under the federal lead rules that the state Department of Environmental Protection administers, utilities must submit a baseline inventory of their service lines by November 1, 2027, and any utility with lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown lines must notify the people served by them every year. If you have had that letter, ask the utility what it knows. The EPA says that where a utility has no information, a licensed plumber may be able to help identify the pipe.
Who licenses plumbers in Delaware County?
Your municipality, if it has a rule. The state has no plumbing license, and the Department of Labor and Industry says local requirements must be checked with the municipality where the work is done.
Upper Darby Township writes its rule into its contractor code. A firm that wants a township license as a plumbing contractor must first show competency by employing a licensed master plumber, only that master plumber may apply for the firm's plumbing permits, and the master license itself requires passing an exam from an organization the township's Director of Licenses and Inspection approves. A plumber who has not worked in the trade for five years may be asked to retest. Other Delaware County towns may follow different rules.
The state's registration law also applies: the Attorney General's office says master plumbers who repair or install plumbing in private homes must register as home improvement contractors. Check the number in the Home Improvement Contractor Search, which can be filtered by county.
When does a job need a permit?
Ask your municipality, since it enforces the state construction code. The code's permit rule says ordinary repairs need no permit, but adding to or relocating water supply, sewer, drainage, waste or vent piping is not an ordinary repair. The same rule lets an emergency repair go ahead first, provided the permit application follows within 3 business days.
What does the county health department handle?
On-lot systems and wells. The Delaware County Health Department says it handles inspections, permits and enforcement under the state's Act 537 and issues permits for on-lot sewage systems and well construction. It also licenses well drillers, pump installers and liquid waste haulers, and takes requests to look up past sewage and well permits for a property. Its environmental health office is at 1400 N Providence Road in Media, on (484) 276-2100.
Where can you complain about a plumber in Delaware County?
The county runs an Office of Consumer Affairs in the Government Center at 201 West Front Street, Media. It offers voluntary mediation, takes complaints about home repair and remodeling among other things, and refers suspected criminal or fraudulent conduct to the District Attorney or the Attorney General. Its number is 610-891-4865. The cost guide gives national price ranges to judge a quote against, and plumbers serving the county are on the Delaware County plumbers page.
Sources
- Your County at a Glance: History, Delaware County
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Lead and Copper Rule, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
- Chapter 265: Contractors, Township of Upper Darby (Delaware County), via eCode360
- Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Sewage and Water, Delaware County
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)