Kapiti Coast plumber Jim fixes the problem

In 2019, Jim was looking for work and asked Tamaiti for a reference request. The conversation went something like this:

Jim: Tamaiti, can you give me a reference?

Tamaiti: For what?

Jim: A new job.

Tamaiti: Are you looking for a new job?

Jim: Yep.

Tamaiti: I’ll be over in an hour, let’s talk.

Tamaiti and Jim actually met in 1996 at Building Plant Services, when Tamaiti was doing other kinds of work. In 2004, it was Jim who took Tamaiti through his three-year plumbing and gas fitting apprenticeship and taught him the trade.

With decades of experience behind him, Jim still loves his work. He says, “I enjoy what I do. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I enjoy the challenge, and every day is sort of different.

“It’s all about taking five, stepping back from a job and having a think about it before you dive in head-first. I’ve learned to think outside the box, weigh up the options, and always have a back-up plan!”

Jim likes to talk with people to find out what’s going on, agree on the course of action and then just get on with the work.

He says, “You find out what’s needed and fix the problem.

“If people are going to spend the money they want to know why and how, so I make sure they understand it properly.

“And I like to have a smile on my face.”

When Jim isn’t busy with plumbing and gas fitting, he and his wife are parents to two adult children, a teenage daughter, and a young one who just started primary school in 2024.