What you actually learn on a 3-day plumbing course

People book the 3-Day Complete Plumbing Course for all sorts of reasons — a bathroom they want to tackle themselves, a rental property that keeps costing call-out fees, or a change of direction. But the question underneath them all is the same: what will I actually be able to do afterwards?

Here’s the honest, day-by-day answer.

Day 1 — taps, toilets and working safely

We start where every job starts: isolating the water and working safely. Then it’s straight onto the rigs. You’ll strip down and rebuild taps, swap tap washers and cartridges, and take a toilet apart — cistern internals, fill and flush valves, the lot — until a running toilet holds no fear for you. By the end of day one you’ll have replaced washers, valves and fittings that most people call a plumber out for.

Day 2 — radiators and pipework

Day two is the pipes. You’ll work with copper, push-fit and compression fittings — cutting, bending and joining properly. We cover radiator installation and maintenance too: taking a radiator off the wall and putting it back without flooding the carpet, fitting thermostatic valves, and balancing a system so the rooms heat evenly.

Day 3 — soldering and proving your work

The day people dread and then love. Copper pipe preparation, heat control, and two joint types — Yorkshire fittings and end-feed. You’ll pressure-test your own joints, and we keep going until they hold. There’s something quietly brilliant about the first joint you make that doesn’t weep a single drop.

So what can you do afterwards?

• Isolate and repair most household plumbing without panic
• Replace taps, valves, toilets and radiators properly
• Run and join pipework in copper, push-fit and compression
• Solder copper joints that actually hold pressure

What you won’t walk away with is a trade qualification — and I’ll never pretend otherwise. What you get is genuine practical competence, in a group of no more than four, with all tools, materials and notes included, at our Deeside centre.

If three days isn’t enough

Plenty of people follow the 3-Day with the 5-Day Bathroom Fitting Course — there’s a package price if you book both. And every course comes with a free Skills Club taster, so you can keep practising on the rigs on a Thursday evening until it all feels second nature.

Want the full syllabus? It’s here: the 3-Day Complete Plumbing Course. And if you’re not sure it’s right for you, message me — I’d rather tell you honestly than sell you the wrong course.