Kim Bliss

Speed and accuracy are the name of the game when it comes to a successful piping installation and a thriving business. Whether you’re installing potable plumbing or hydronic piping, the faster and more precise the job, the more time and money you potentially have to work on other projects.

While there are hundreds of tips and tricks out there to make your installs faster, easier, and more effective, I’m going to concentrate on the following three methods almost any plumbing or mechanical contractor can use to bring greater productivity to projects.

Flexible PEX pipe with bend supports

If you’ve never heard of PEX, it’s an acronym for crosslinked polyethylene. It’s a flexible, durable plastic piping product that provides numerous benefits over rigid CPVC or metallic systems, including faster installs, zero corrosion, and freeze-damage resistance.

Many residential contractors are already using PEX (considering it’s the most installed piping system for new-home construction over copper and CPVC combined). However, PEX is still a relative newcomer in the commercial industry.

The biggest benefit of PEX is its flexibility, which allows you to simply bend the pipe with each change in direction. With a tight bend radius of six times the pipe’s diameter, you can practically make 90-degree bends without the need for a fitting.

For times when you do have a tight bend that needs to stay in a particular place, PEX manufacturers offer bend supports. For those of you that prefer to watch rather than read, here’s a video that explains bend supports in detail.

These helpful products are available for ⅜”, ½”, ⅝”, ¾”, or 1″ PEX pipe. They hold the bend in place at the proper angle and take a fraction of the time compared to making a 90-degree elbow.

Most contractors agree that using flexible PEX with bend supports can eliminate most fittings in smaller-diameter pipe sizes 1″ and down, saving up to half the install time of a rigid piping system.

Expansion tools

When it comes time to make a connection with PEX pipe, the professionals’ choice is PEX expansion. Note that expansion connections are only designed for PEX-a pipe. If you’re using PEX-b or PEX-c pipe, you’ll need to use a different fitting type as PEX-b and PEX-c pipes aren’t made to expand like PEX-a pipe, and they will experience microcracking during expansion.

Expansion connections require one simple tool that expands the pipe and an expansion ring before inserting a fitting. As the pipe and ring shrink back down around the fitting, it creates a solid, strong seal that can withstand up to 1,000 pounds of radial force. It’s quick and easy to do and simple to learn, so it’s highly beneficial with the skilled-labor shortage that’s challenging the trades. Here’s a quick, 20-second video on how to make a connection.

Now, to make installs even faster, expansion tools have advanced to make connections even quicker. For up to 1″ connections, the Milwaukee^® M12 FUEL™ ProPEX^® Expander with RAPID SEAL™ Heads is the fastest tool yet — with up to 65% faster sealing times compared to previous models.

For larger-diameter pipe connections, the new Milwaukee M18 FUEL™ ProPEX Expander with ONE-KEY™ is taking commercial installs to a new level by offering 3X faster 2″ connections. To watch how much faster, check out this video from Milwaukee Tool.

Prefab

Finally, let’s talk about prefabrication. This is becoming a big trend for national residential builders or large commercial projects that have a lot of repeatability on the project. By prefabbing certain sections of a project, it can shave days, weeks, or even months off a timeline, depending on how big the project.

Prefabricating piping assemblies in a controlled factory environment not only adds more efficiencies, it also provides an additional benefit of greater accuracy. By doing a job repeatedly, it hones the skill and gives installers greater confidence in their work.

Plus, having rows and rows of prefabbed piping assemblies in a shop environment makes it a lot easier to perform quality checks. Instead of walking for miles on a job site, a supervisor can save significant time simply walking a shop floor.

And here’s another area where flexible, durable PEX provides additional benefits. Transporting prefabbed PEX piping assemblies is much easier than transporting rigid assemblies that can crack or break. Because PEX is super flexible, it can withstand the rigors of being transported to a job site without worry.

So, there you have it…just a few ideas to keep in mind the next time you have a project with a tight deadline, and you’re squeezed on time and skilled labor. Every little bit helps when it comes to adding productivity to projects. If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to email me at kim.bliss@uponor.com.

Kim Bliss is the technical and marketing content manager at Uponor. She can be reached at kim.bliss@uponor.com.

 

 

 

 

 

BIM, which stands for “building information modeling” is becoming the fastest-growing innovation for managing commercial construction projects. From adding greater efficiencies and productivity to reducing product waste and employee resources waste, BIM is providing benefits for everyone in the design and construction chain — from engineers to project managers to installing contractors.

BIM defined

So what exactly is BIM? Simply put, BIM is a collaborative process. It incorporates teams, technologies, and tools to generate and manage digital assets that represent the physical space of a building to be renovated or newly constructed from the ground up.

Engineers are able to design a building holistically with improved visualization based on higher-quality 3D models generated from the BIM process. Contractors are then able to gain greater efficiencies and productivity during the installation process because issues and conflicts have already been addressed before construction even begins.

BIM Services departments

With this growing trend, companies are seeing the bottom-line benefits of BIM and are now creating their own BIM Services departments. These teams are typically led by a vice president or director and include project managers and business development managers that work one-on-one with clients to provide everything from modeling and coordination, laser scanning, BIM coordination management, BIM training, onsite collaboration, template development, and workflow optimization.

For modeling and coordination, a BIM Services department can provide hanger layouts and structural supports, in addition to spooling and fabrication detailing along with shop, install, and as-built drawings. Some BIM Services teams can even offer laser scanning services, which can include everything from scanning of existing buildings for renovation, scanning completed projects for documentation, and scan-to-BIM services.

How BIM supports installing contractors

By utilizing BIM or partnering with a BIM Services provider, it can increase efficiencies in workflows to help identify issues early on in a project to maximize productivity and minimize waste.

For example, a company can leverage 3D models to validate designs from the onset of design to improve overall project execution and collaboration. This leads to reduced design errors, resulting in higher design accuracy, which saves time and money by reducing rework and change orders.

Accurate and well-coordinated designs also lead to improved job costing through more accurate quantities and estimates, resulting in reduced job-site waste.

Contractors can also gain more precise site logistics by leveraging accurate models to create model-based schedules or sequences. Additionally, look-ahead plans, work-in-progress models, materials planning, equipment and rigging locations, site traffic patterns and controls, and even location-based schedules can all be derived from well-coordinated 3D models to optimize daily job-site activities.

Choosing a BIM Services provider

What is true with real estate is also true with a BIM Services provider: it’s all about location. Some BIM Services companies are located overseas, so the opportunity to have live interaction or even in-person collaboration is very challenging or impossible. Be sure to go with a BIM Services provider located in your region, or at least in your country, so collaboration can happen in real time.

It is also important that the BIM Services team has knowledgeable experience with the codes and standards in your jurisdiction as well as the construction practices in your area. Certain commercial projects, like hospitals, may have specific construction methods that must be adhered to for code. Make sure the BIM Services team you’re partnering with knows these important details.

Additionally, it’s beneficial to work with a team that has affiliations with industry organizations such as ASPE, ASHRAE, and MCAA, to ensure they’re up-to-date on the most current trends and information in the industry.

Finally, it’s important to consider cost when it comes to choosing a BIM Services provider. It’s true what they say: you get what you pay for. So, when researching providers, consider the experience of the team and the support they can provide when weighing how much you want to pay for these services.

Because BIM is a relatively new concept to the construction industry, experience is in short supply. That said, look to these providers for training for your staff. It’s a great way to add value to your company and provide future projects with greater efficiencies and productivity.

Kim Bliss is the technical and marketing content manager at Uponor. She can be reached at kim.bliss@uponor.com.

 

 

While PEX has been used for more than 40 years in radiant heating applications, it’s now getting more traction in commercial hydronic heating and cooling applications as well. Contractors and engineers are beginning to spec and install PEX for distribution piping to various terminal units, such as fan coils, reheat coils, heat pumps, baseboard radiators and chilled beams.

However, while PEX is thoroughly tested and proven in the field, it can sometimes be misunderstood. Many wonder if a plastic pipe can really compete with, let alone outperform, metallic piping in these types of applications.

So, to make it easy, I’ve outlined a few important facts you should know before installing PEX in a hydronic distribution piping application.

All PEX is not the same

Professional PEX products fall into three categories: PEX-a, PEX-b and PEX-c. Of those three, PEX-a, manufactured using the Engel Method, has the highest degree of consistent crosslinking — at 80 percent. This produces a pipe that is more flexible and more durable with thermal and elastic memory properties.

Understanding thermal and elastic memory

Thermal memory is the ability to repair accidental kinks in the PEX-a piping with a controlled heating source, such as a heat gun. The controlled heat quickly eliminates the kink in minutes, while the pipe is restored to its original durability.

Elastic memory refers specifically to how PEX-a piping will quickly return to its original dimensions after expansion. This allows the use of the exceptionally strong, ASTM F1960 fitting connection.

In creating a PEX-a connection, the installer uses a specially made expansion tool to enlarge the diameter of the pipe, so that a fitting with a slightly larger internal diameter can be inserted. The pipe quickly compresses over the fitting, creating a durable connection that actually strengthens over time.

Just as important: Because the fitting diameter is a bit larger than the pipe diameter, “dry-fit” pipe connections are physically impossible. This eliminates the problem when an installer neglects to solder or glue a fitting in a copper or CPVC system, resulting in costly leaks inside the walls of a completed project. An ASTM F1960 fitting requires the connection be fully made, permitting quick visual confirmation.

The difference with expansion fittings

Unlike with metallic pipe, an expansion fitting is actually the strongest part of a PEX-a system. It will not leak. In fact, pull testing shows that even 3,000 pounds of force with over 13 inches of displacement does not compromise the integrity of the ASTM F1960 PEX-a connection. In all likelihood, there would be a catastrophic failure of the building structure before enough force is applied to break that connection.

Using hangers and supports

PEX-a pipe can be hung at similar intervals as metallic pipe. It’s true that other plastic piping systems typically require supports every 32 inches. Some manufacturers, however, offer PEX-a pipe supports — a galvanized steel channel that provides continuous support in suspended-piping applications. This support allows PEX-a to behave just like a metallic piping system in many ways, including hanger spacing: ½-inch and ¾-inch PEX-a pipe can be hung at 6-foot intervals; 1-inch through 3-inch pipe, at 8-foot intervals.

Addressing expansion and contraction

The PEX-a pipe support controls the natural expansion and contraction that occurs as the piping heats and cools. Used in conjunction with manufacturer-recommended installation practices, the pipe support allows PEX-a to undergo an expansion rate equal to or, in some cases, less than that of copper.

Temperature and pressure considerations

PEX-a is rated for continuous operation at 200°F at 80 psi. Any hydronic application with water temperatures at or below this value is perfectly applicable for the product.

Fire-resistant construction ratings

PEX-a is ASTM E84-rated for flame- and smoke-resistance inside a non-ducted, return-air plenum. This also applies to fire stopping. For more information regarding these listings, please contact the manufacturer.

Codes and standards compliance

PEX-a is compliant with all codes and standards that pertain to it, be they in the International family (IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC) or the Uniform family (UMC, UPC, CPC) of U.S. Codes.

To learn more about Uponor’s solutions, visit uponor.com.