Plumbing
Doing a surgery center addition and training two guys who are both good brazers and both new to med gas. Watching them work clarified something for me about how this gets taught. They can both braze ...
12-story office building, built in 1987. Tenants on floors 7-10 complaining about water hammer — loud banging when fast-closing valves actuate (solenoid valves on coffee machines and dishwashers mostl...
Bidding a new restaurant build, 120-seat, full commercial kitchen. AHJ requires an indoor grease interceptor. PDI standard says to size based on drainage fixture units and flow rate, but the owner's a...
12-story office building, 1970s construction. Building pressure is 120 PSI at the base — way too high, no PRV in the original design. We installed a Watts 25AUB PRV at the main entry 8 months ago, set...
Getting different answers from different inspectors. On a new commercial DWV system (4" PVC schedule 40, horizontal runs, no pressure application — gravity drain system), one AHJ wants 10 PSI hydrosta...
New 4-bedroom, 3-bath build. Uponor PEX-A throughout. Central manifold in the mechanical room feeding 22 runs. Manifold is a Uponor Stainless Steel with individual shutoffs on each port. Every run is...
Testing season is on and every year I watch newer testers make the same handful of mistakes. Here is what my process looks like now. **Before you touch the device** - Photograph the tag and the namep...
Getting push-back from a homeowner about the backflow preventer requirement on their new irrigation system. They say "my neighbor's system doesn't have one." AHJ requires a double-check valve assembl...
Custom home, 4200 sq ft, dedicated return recirc with a Grundfos UP15-10SU7P on a demand switch. Third pump in under three years. Each one runs great then starts making noise and eventually seizes. W...
Customer wants to replace a 75-gallon tank water heater with a tankless unit. Family of 6, 4 bathrooms, laundry on hot. Located in Minnesota so incoming groundwater is cold — around 38°F in winter. I...
Pricing out a radiant floor heating system for a 3,000 sq ft addition — about 1,200 feet of tubing in a concrete slab. The spec says PEX-A but my supplier is pushing PEX-B at a significant cost saving...
Four-story walkup, single 4 inch cast stack serving four units, original 1926 pipe, failing at the hub joints on the second floor. Owner wants it replaced. Tenants stay in place. Plan is to open the ...