I agree with you both…except that plumbing regulations are to protect the health and safety of our community…not to create work or limit competition. your plumbing is connected to everyone else’s. Why don’t we have outbreaks of disease, because we maintain standards for sanitation. The homeowner can pull permits themselves. What really matters is that the work is done correctly.

While I have deep empathy for his situation he did bring this upon himself. The problem is a guy who was acting as a plumbing contractor couldn’t pass a plumbing test. A test probably base on plumbing code. A test which he was probably allowed to bring the code book into to look up answers.

Yes all us tradesman, even the ones doing the largest, most technical and difficult infrastructure projects should have been fireman instead…should we have known then what we know now. When I speak of the building trades residential doesn’t even come to mind.

A long time ago a residential plumber made the copper fittings…now they glue stuff together like we did in grade school. !@#$ runs down hill, payday is Friday, don’t chew your finger nails.

A good plumber is piping oxygen to every room in a hospital without the place blowing up and doing other industrial work.
A good HVAC tech is working for an industrial customer which has their own crew of HVAC people not capable of doing the work. Think central plant at a hosptital, college campus, where the buildings housing the HVAC equipment are larger than your homes.