MAINTENANCE, REFURBISHMENT & REGENERATION Overcoming the challenges of drainage stack RMI work
A
Polypipe Building Services technical sales manager Dominic Yeandle discusses the challenges of installing and replacing drainage systems in older buildings, and the possible solutions to help keep projects like these on track
s city living
becomes popular again post-
pandemic, many former office buildings are being
converted into apartments. However, replacing drainage systems in large older buildings presents several challenges, not least the potential for hidden problems from adaptations made over the years. Drainage system replacement in older buildings, whether public sector projects or a building conversion from one type of use to another, are by their nature more complex. As government plans for regenerating towns and cities calls for the repurposing of vacant commercial space for high quality homes, it’s likely more will be created in this way to address the housing deficit and increase the amount of housing stock available.
Product flexibility
While certain buildings can be good candidates for conversion it often requires considerable remodelling of the drainage system as most office layouts have only a few sets of toilets and maybe a communal kitchen or two per floor, while every residential unit needs both.
Redefining space in this way can be challenging as punching holes into an existing building structure adds both time and cost and can limit where fixtures and fittings can be placed. This means that flexibility in how drainage system products can be configured is key to finding the most effective solution. We recently became involved in an office to residential conversion project in central Birmingham because the different slab heights and thicknesses found on site were far easier for the installation team to deal with using our products than traditional cast, as it was better able to adapt to any issues as the project progressed and as design changes had to be made.
Differing plans and layouts
In the case of this office conversion the installation team also needed to accommodate differing design layouts across storeys - the ground floor being given to retail while floors one to six provided ten flats, changing to six flats on the seventh floor with potential to add an eighth floor on top. Specifying our Terrain Q products rather than traditional cast helped to speed up the installation time as it is
lightweight and quick to install with push fit jointing eliminating the need for time consuming on-site welding. In this case the installation team were able to quickly fabricate the solution they needed from our Terrain Q range themselves. They had confidence in our product because of its design quality which means it feels robust to handle and doesn’t move around once in place.
Local authority RMI
Original building plans and what’s found on site often differ in RMI projects, and in another RMI project for a local authority our Advantage prefabrication team became involved in carrying out a drainage stack replacement in a tower block because the installation team discovered an additional stack serving the ground floor which was not on the original plans. This meant a bespoke solution was needed to connect the existing iron stack to the new one being installed which had to accommodate outdated pipe fittings and connection sizes. Our Advantage team were able to design and fabricate a solution within a very short time frame to ensure the schedule of work on site wasn’t delayed. Indeed, many of the RMI projects we handle
commonly involve our Advantage team in some way because of the layout quirks of older buildings, or as in this case, to help overcome the odd – potentially very time consuming – challenge that crops up during projects of this nature. With a long-running housing crisis, vacant commercial buildings present an opportunity to create quality new homes, but drainage replacement for these projects is often far from straightforward. Contractors need to know they can rely on manufacturers from the early stages of projects to make sure not only that the right products are available, but also that the drainage systems are flexible enough to not only address known issues but can also accommodate any potential new ones which occur as work progresses.
No team works harder for their customers
We pride ourselves on our cradle-to-grave support which is why we have a dedicated Projects Team. This team can assist with technical advice, bill of materials, technical submittals, or timely quotes. We’re in this together, we work tirelessly with our distributors, contractors, and consultants. We do the heavy lifting, providing industry-leading levels of service and support throughout the process.
We never rest when it comes to supporting our customers.
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