MECHANICAL CONTRACTING e Continued from p 68
water recirc systems in each home,” said Morlan. “We hadn’t figured that into the bid, but on a long-term job like this, we were able to make the adjustment easily enough.” The remaining 287 units all
said Morlan. “We prefabricate the components
of the mechanical rooms,” explained journeyman plumber Alan Morlan Jr. “Once in place, the mechanical systems are snapped together like puzzle pieces.” Al Sr. has both his sons working under him at Eielson AFB. Alan Jr. joined the Slayden team in 2002. Joshua, the younger, is now an ABC apprentice plumber and works with his brother assembling mechanical rooms. It all starts at the temporary
The similarity of mechanical room arrangements and prefabrication of piping layouts helps to keep the large- scale project running on schedule.
70
received Taco 006 pumps connected to a dedicated hot water recirculation line. “The electricians weren’t enamored with the surprise of added work, but they didn’t have to go far for power because the Taco zone control was three feet away, mounted on the same wall,”
prefab shop set up outside the construction area. Inside, one worker cut copper pipe, another scoured and polished. A soldering table was set up with supports for each system component, like a template. Because all the systems are identical, all the tubing, elbows, valves and circulators went in at exactly the same spot. Adjacent to the shop, tractor-
trailer shipping containers, side-by-side, were full of mechanical system parts. One
container was full of circulators, hundreds of them, stacked on heavy metal shelves, all arranged according to part numbers. Next to the pump container were
several dedicated exclusively to copper, holding giant quantities of ½-inch to two-inch pipe, no small fortune in raw material for this job. Next door is another container dedicated to flanges, valves, solder and gauges. “It’s a great way to store all the
raw materials and components that we need on site,” said Joshua Morlan. “It’s like having a supply house here on base, but at the pace we’re moving, we didn’t have much choice. Even a small delay on this jobsite could become a huge problem. So, rather than run the risk, we just stockpiled before we started.” “Set-up for this project was more
extensive than many entire jobs we’ve done before,” said Joshua.
“But hey, when you’ve got four months to do most of a year’s work, it all pays off in the long run.” l
e Circle 39 on reader reply card
phc may 2011
www.phcnews.com
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