About Dalton Plumbing & Gas

A Newcastle business, run by people who live here

Craig Dalton served his apprenticeship in Wallsend in 1998 and spent twelve years working for other people. He got sick of two things: being told to upsell customers work they didn't need, and turning up to jobs where the previous plumber had cut corners because they were paid by the job rather than paid properly.

So in 2011 he started Dalton Plumbing & Gas with a second-hand ute, a set of tools and a rule that hasn't changed since — quote a fair fixed price, do the job properly, and tell the customer the truth even when it costs you the sale.

That last one matters more than it sounds. There is a lot of money in telling someone their hot water system is finished when it needs a $310 anode. We've built a business on not doing that, and it's why about 60% of our work now comes from people who were referred by a neighbour, a family member or their real estate agent.

We're not the cheapest plumber in Newcastle and we don't try to be. We pay our tradesmen properly, we carry real stock on the vans, and we come back for free if something we did goes wrong. That costs money, and it's built into the price.

What we actually promise

Plenty of trade websites list values that mean nothing. Here's what ours actually commit us to:

• A fixed price before we start. In writing, on our tablet, signed by you. If the job turns out harder than it looked, that's our problem, not your invoice.
• Two hour arrival windows. Not "sometime Tuesday". And a text with the plumber's name and photo when they're on the way.
• We'll tell you when not to spend money. If a repair makes more sense than a replacement, we'll say so, even though the replacement pays us more.
• Licensed tradesmen only. Every person who works on your place is individually licensed. We don't send apprentices out alone on someone else's ticket.
• We come back for free. 12 months on workmanship. If it fails, we fix it, and we don't argue about whose fault it was.