TECHNICAL 35
“ It ' s really funny . I ’ ve just always enjoyed working with it . And then even now , I ' ve got guys trying to convert me to the plastic pipe . And my response is that I ' m still old school . I still love the copper , you know ? That ' s becoming like gold . Like I ’ ve said to Rory , the biggest downfall that most PVC pipes have is that when you ' ve got to go back for repair , and you ’ ve got to use crimping tools , you have to knock open a massive hole in the wall just to get the crimping tool in . Whereas , if it ' s copper , the hole can just be a small little hole and you can fix it and move on .”
David : “ So would it be accurate to say that a challenge doesn ’ t put you off ?”
Terry : “ So what we ’ ve done at Legacy is we ’ ve put together a package called preventative maintenance , and it ’ s something we ’ re setting up where a client will pay X amount for a certain number of units and then every month we ' ll come and do something towards each unit to get them to the correct spec of where they need to be . Nine out of ten times , a geyser will burst on a Friday night and most problems seem to happen on weekends – which is when people end up paying big money . So preventative maintenance is key , we come in and do a regular inspection of each unit and then we can say whether something will need to be done before a problem happens .” PA
Terry : “ No , it definitely does not . When it comes to plumbing work , I mean , even my kids notice that when I ' m busy on the job , I ' ve got so much patience and I ' m calm and it doesn ' t matter how stressful the job gets . I just get a rush from that role of being able to eventually sort an issue out .
In fact , I had another plumber call me yesterday – and he was pulling his hair because he was struggling on a job with a solar geyser . I said to him , ‘ Give me 10 minutes , I ’ ll have it sorted it out ’. He said , ‘ I think we need to get together .’ Yes . I really enjoy a challenge . I get super excited when people phone me and tell me , ‘ It can ’ t be done .’”
David : “ That ’ s a great attitude to have , especially in an industry where people tend to only appreciate plumbers when something goes wrong . On that note , Rory tells me you ’ re a big believer in preventative maintenance ?”
© Terry Smith
Terry Smith of Legacy Plumbing .
July 2022 Volume 28 I Number 5 www . plumbingafrica . co . za