Even some business owners might not be aware of what’s needed to effectively and efficiently run their stores and believe that both their home’s and business’ plumbing is much the same. But, surprisingly, there’s a lot more to commercial plumbing than many know.
While many of the parts are similar, a lot of the plumbing found in commercial areas and buildings needs to be much sturdier to support frequent use. Additionally, many of these buildings have more than one bathroom and some have more than one sink and toilet to better support the higher number of potential customers.
The more popular a business is and the more customers they have, the higher chance it is that the plumbing for commercial buildings is different than a house’s. This article covers the basics of what commercial plumbing systems are and the differences between residential and commercial plumbing.
This guide helps provide some basic information for both business owners and those willing to study plumbing, along with the education needed.
If you need help with repairing your commercial building’s plumbing systems or if you just want to learn more about it, call or visit Clover Contracting.
Though it’s less known to many people, plumbing used in commercial buildings and areas are actually far more different than expected.
Commercial plumbing and the parts that make up the entire system are more complex than the plumbing you might find in a house. This often means that any renters or commercial building owners should call a specialist or a plumber if they find that their plumbing needs repairs or maintenance.
During the majority of the year, people spend their time in offices or in schools, working and studying until they finally get the chance to go home. This means, though, that the commercial buildings and their plumbing see much more use than a house’s.
While you’re less likely to shower at work or school, the buildings often have multiple bathrooms and sinks, so much more water is used and more waste water is sent down the drain.
To many people, commercial buildings are exactly what they sound like; buildings that are used by business owners to make, buy, and sell goods or services. For the most part, that’s all true, but there’s a lot more to it.
Commercial plumbing systems are frequently larger in scale and depth, and are often used in larger buildings. However, smaller businesses that require a much higher water usage also use the same complex plumbing systems that a bigger one would.
When it comes to restaurants, you might find that a lot of water is needed. While most of it is used for cooking and cleaning, bathrooms are also quite a big deal. If a part in the plumbing system breaks down or even if a clog forms in the sinks, most of the restaurant’s business is forced to a halt.
Sinks and toilets in a restaurant’s bathrooms can easily be put out of order until they’re fixed, but if the kitchen’s sinks don’t drain or get water, many dishes have to be taken off the menu. This is why many restaurants have more complex and sturdier plumbing systems.
Though many problems aren’t as big of an issue in offices than they are in restaurants, a single clog or break in the plumbing can make a negative impact on productivity and the general workflow of the office.
While office buildings have multiple bathrooms with multiple sinks and toilets, each of them still connects to a single set of drain pipes and sewage system. Any leak or clog can either affect one toilet or sink, one bathroom, or even an entire floor’s plumbing.
So, the complexity and fine details of office building plumbing makes sure that productivity can stay as high as possible, even if some plumbing issues do occasionally pop up.
One major difference between residential plumbing and commercial plumbing is how complex the building itself is. Typically, residential buildings like houses and duplexes aren’t all that complicated. At most, a single house can have four bathrooms and a powder room, each with their own toilets and sinks.
However in total, you only have four toilet and four sink connections in addition to two or three bathtub or shower drains. Comparing that number to how some smaller office buildings already have double the amount of drain connections reveals that commercial plumbing systems and the buildings they’re attached to are far
Commercial plumbing systems also have quite a lot more risk involved than the plumbing does in a home. Often, more complex commercial plumbing systems have a much higher risk of a simple problem affecting more than one floor.
Some large buildings, like condominiums and multi-floored offices often have plumbing systems that run the entire building, and if a leak forms or a part breaks on a higher floor, the floors below them can be just as badly affected.
Though higher education isn’t as necessary for commercial plumbing jobs, it is highly recommended to take an apprenticeship in plumbing and to find a specialization in commercial building plumbing systems.
As we mentioned, there is a very high risk when it comes to commercial buildings and if one section of the plumbing isn’t properly installed or fixed, a restaurant will lose needed money or a number of floors in a condo might face property damage and health risks.
If you’re interested in becoming a commercial plumber, it can take roughly three years to reach the appropriate levels and specializations needed, but can also be achieved much faster.
]]>From what everyone knows, there must be different types of construction workers, much like how various people work in all sorts of different departments in an office. When a grocery store gets renovated into a restaurant, who converts all the mechanical systems into ones that the restaurant can use?
Many people may have heard about mechanical contractors, but aren’t sure of what it is that they do on a day to day basis.
What are the types of work that they do — a little known fact to those that haven’t personally experienced or taken a part of construction is that a mechanical contractor is often deeply involved throughout the process. Most of what makes a building livable is the work of mechanical contractors.
If you’re curious about what a mechanical contractor does in the construction industry, this article covers everything you need to know. Before diving into the topic at hand, you should note that if you need HVAC maintenance for your home or office, you can contact Clover Contracting today.
Simply put, a mechanical contractor is anyone that deals with the mechanical projects an organization needs.
Typically, these types of projects are construction related and involve the installation of any systems a building will need, along with making sure that they all run as they should when the building’s owners occupy the residence. It doesn’t matter if the system being installed is plumbing or refrigeration, if it involves the more mechanical aspects of a building, it’s the work of mechanical contractors.
Some contractors prefer to do their best work in the earlier stages of a construction project, when their organization is planning and installing the needed systems. Others prefer to work much later on, when the building is getting its regular maintenance and getting parts repaired.
Regardless of what each individual mechanical contractor specializes in or when they work in the process of constructing a building, they are one of the most helpful and even important members in the construction field.
If you’re wondering, “what exactly is mechanical construction?” and “what do mechanical contractors do?”, the main ideas can be narrowed down rather easily.
Mechanical construction is itself a surprisingly large industry, with each project and piece of work being unique.
As a result, it can lead to the work of mechanical contractors being just as widely ranged. Typically, their work can be narrowed down into four categories, each a part of a necessary system for every building. These categories include:
When it comes to making sure that people can comfortably stay in a building for however long they need, the building itself needs heating and cooling. More often than not, these HVAC systems need to be run throughout the entire building and be carefully hidden behind walls.
In addition to that, the systems also need a source of ventilation, either to make sure that any extra heat from the system itself is released outside or to get bad smells out of the building. Most of the installation and planning is one part of what a mechanical contractor does.
Though far more commonly used for restaurants or other buildings with a large area for refrigeration, mechanical construction also involves working with the systems that bring that cool air in and move it around.
If it’s for a larger area, piping will likely be needed to increase the artificial cooling there, especially when heating needs to be used during the winter. Smaller buildings or locations that don’t require larger refrigeration systems – like homes or offices – simply need a few connections for a fridge.
Plumbing, in its core, is a relatively simple yet complex thing to understand. Any piping needed to connect tankless or tank water heaters, water and drain lines to their respective drains and faucets are done much like a HVAC system.
The piping needs to be tucked away and hidden throughout the house but also properly secure to ensure that no leaks threaten mold growth or other issues.
Making sure that all the needed electrical components and power is properly running and distributed throughout the building is another part of mechanical construction that can go unnoticed.
Like with the other parts, electrical systems need to be carefully wired throughout the house or commercial building in such a way that it doesn’t cause malfunctions or shortages, all while being connected to a breaker box and any other light fixtures.
What tasks a mechanical contractor does can often vary from project to project.
Many contractors frequently work with narrow deadlines and tight budgets when a building is being constructed, and as such, also need to know where to get certain parts of a reliable HVAC or other system at a reasonable price.
In order to make sure that their organization – and occasionally, clients – is successful, mechanical contractors do all their installation efficiently and within a set amount of time.
What does a mechanical contractor do in their day to day work?
Their work can also include some managerial tasks. On occasion, a contractor might have a team to work with, giving the head of the team the responsibility to assign tasks to members. They’ll also plan out the entire maintenance of any key mechanical systems and keep track of any resources they have.
The work of mechanical contractors often involves quite a bit of vital tasks that can mean a great success for their entire organization if done well.
The work needed to ensure that homes have constant access to water, electricity and heating or cooling throughout the year is incredibly important in a society often run through the Internet.
We rely on these resources to live comfortably and mechanical contractors are some of those people that make sure we do so.
This article was written in collaboration with Build Media Group.
]]>In a typical restaurant, lots of food scraps, oils, and grease end up down the facility’s drains. This waste puts your plumbing system at risk of getting clogged or developing serious plumbing problems in the future. To avoid this, scheduling an appointment for drain cleaning services is better.
The accumulation of debris in the drain may cause a host of problems that may spell trouble for your restaurant. That is why it’s common for restaurant floor drains to be sources of foul smells. This is an indication that the drains are in bad shape and require a thorough cleaning.
If you are not sure how to keep your restaurant drains clean and healthy, here are the restaurant drain cleaning basics.
Running boiling water down the drains helps loosen debris such as oils and grease that are usually found in restaurant drains. Because of the volume of greasy foods that are prepared in restaurants, oils and grease are a big source of drain residue.
Therefore, you need enough boiling water to flush out the residue. For effective results, run the boiled water down the drains for at least ten minutes to remove the most stubborn debris.
Hot water can also be used as a restaurant drain cleaner for partial clogs because it breaks down solid food scraps that are byproducts of food preparation. Most of these food scraps will often end up in your restaurant drains.
While hot water is effective for cleaning most restaurant drains, it might not be sufficient when it comes to clearing severe clogs. It is, therefore, advisable to use it in combination with other more effective methods.
Please note that you need to exercise a lot of caution when handling boiling water. Make sure you are extra careful so that the water does not scald you or spill on others.
Sometimes prevention is easier than a cure. So instead of waiting for fats and grease to block your restaurant’s drainage system, you can be proactive and get yourself a fat or grease trap. This is a metallic structure designed to hold oils, fats, and grease from a restaurant’s kitchen thus preventing them from flowing down the drains.
As wastewater flows through the kitchen drains, the fat trap collects any oils and fats that have been dumped in the sink. Eventually, the organic fats, oils, and grease separate from the wastewater and float to the top. All other solid wastes will sediment at the bottom of the trap.
If you are not careful, the fats, grease, and oils may build up in the trap over time until there is no more room. This may lead to spillage or backflow of residue, which shouldn’t happen. To avoid this, always remember to carry out a proper and timely fat trap cleaning.
You can do fat trap cleaning by yourself or seek the services of a professional to do the work for you.
Generally, it is advisable to seek the services of a professional, especially if you lack the requisite experience in fat trap cleaning. An experienced plumber will take less time and will possess information on how to correctly handle the fat trap.
A sink strainer is a great component in restaurant drain cleaning. It allows water and other liquids to pass through but traps other waste. Commercial grade sink strainers are the best for restaurant drain cleaning because they are more efficient.
A sink strainer catches all the stray debris that might end up in your restaurant drains and cause blockages or corrosion of the pipes. In other words, it keeps almost all kinds of waste off your restaurant drains thus preventing costly blockages.
Furthermore, because there is no accumulation of physical debris, your kitchen sink will be kept free of bacteria, rotten food scraps, and foul odors.
A periodic camera inspection of the drains is an excellent addition to your restaurant drain cleaning arsenal. You should seek the services of a professional plumber to help you with the camera inspection.
Camera inspections come in handy when cleaning becomes impossible because you can’t tell where the clog is. But thanks to recent technology, plumbing work has been made easier. These miniature cameras can be employed to inspect clogged drains and accurately establish the depth and cause of clogs.
However, you don’t have to wait until the situation is dire for you to use the camera inspection method. You can have it done periodically as a proactive restaurant drain cleaning measure.
This method is highly accurate and can be used to make recordings, useful as a reference in the future.
Restaurant floor drain cleaning is somewhat challenging because of the complexity of the drainage system and the scale of residue involved. So you need to go for a drain cleaning method that can handle such a task.
At the moment, hydro jetting is arguably the most effective method. It uses highly pressurized water to clear drainage systems. It can penetrate any drainage system no matter how complex.
For this reason, no residue will be left behind in your drains because the pressurized water flushes out everything including stubborn blockages that may have formed in pipes.
Hydro jetting also removes any foul odors that might be emanating from your drains due to the accumulation of debris. This is important for a restaurant environment that should stay clean and hygienic at all times.
So if you are looking for comprehensive restaurant drain cleaning, hydro jetting is the ideal solution. It will leave your drains clear, healthy, and smelling fresh.
]]>This is an exhaust vent that sits at the peak of the roof. They are the most common exhaust vents in most homes. Since they are located at the highest point of a roof, they are effective in letting the hottest air escape from the attic space. They also expel a lot of air given that they run across the roof. For optimal performance, ridge vents should be used in combination with intake vents.
Ridge vents are preferred since they balance a home’s temperature naturally. As such, you will never have a very cold home in the winter or a very hot home in the summer, which ultimately helps save money on utility bills. Ridge vents also have an awesome visual appeal. These vents boost the visual appeal in homes, giving them a sleek design without affecting the pitch of the structure. And if you are dealing with pests such as raccoons, rats, and squirrels, they will be a thing of the past in your home since they cannot get into the ridge ventilation.
The cons? The cost of installation can be high compared to other roof vents not forgetting that water may leak through the vents during storms and even the rainy seasons. Also, if you are located in an area with a warmer climate, the ridge vents may not work properly. And if you plan to install ridge vents, be sure to have slanted pitches on your roof since these vents cannot be installed on a flat roof.
Also referred to as louver vents, these are exhaust ventilation vents that take the design of a box. They are installed in bunches on the roof, meaning that you need several since one or two may not provide optimal ventilation. They come in different sizes, with the most common being 18 inches. These vents are perfect for smaller areas that need ventilation. If you are budget conscious, then a box vent is one of the cheapest roof vents that you will come across. And given that they do not have moving parts, you will barely deal with damage issues in case of harsh weather conditions. Also, since they are small, they are barely noticeable and do not interfere with the outlook of your vent as much compared to other roof vents. The only problem is that you will need several box vents if you want to cover a large roof.
Also referred to as whirlybird ventilation, this is a roof vent that uses wind from outside your house to pull air in your house and out of the attic. While they may be affordable, silent, and energy-efficient, they need at least 5-6 miles of wind per hour to activate and spin. This means that on days when there is only a slight or no breeze at all, they will not be effective. For instance, you may find yourself trapped in a house that is poorly ventilated in the summer when it’s not windy. And even on days with lots of wind, the strength of roof turbines may not be sufficient to provide enough ventilation. As such, they work well in combination with other roof vents.
Cupola vents are quite uncommon given the high cost and installation complexity. While they provide sufficient ventilation in a home, they are mostly installed for multi-use purposes such as adding aesthetics to a home’s structural design. Some cupola vents even have windows and are large such that one or two people can fit the space. However, the high cost of installation discourages most homeowners from installing these vents.
These are roof vents that use electric-powered fans to pull stale air out of an attic. Hard wired powered attic vents are very efficient at pulling hot air out and keeping the attic at optimal temperature regardless of the weather conditions. However, they have high operation costs since they consume lots of electricity. They can also make your cooling system less efficient as they can suck out conditioned air along with the heat.
Static vents work independently and can be installed anywhere on the roof. Most homeowners prefer these vents since they are relatively easy to install. However, the possibility of a homeowner dealing with bird nests inside the attic is high. Also, you may require several static ridge vents depending on the size of your roof. And if not properly installed, you could find yourself dealing with leaks.
This is the most popular roof intake vent. Most homes that use soffit vents combine them with ridge vents for exhaust. Depending on the design of your home, you can either install individual soffit vents or continuous soffit vents. While continuous soffit vents are long and wrap around the entire eaves in a home, individual soffit vents only cover approximately six feet and have a close outlook to box vents. Continuous soffit vents are, however, more effective than individual soffit vents. Another advantage of soffit vents is the protection from adverse weather conditions. And since they are not visible from a distance, they do not interfere with the outlook of your roof.
There is a wide variety of roof vents in the market, suitable for different homes. While the choice of vent is primarily a personal decision, ensure you also consider other vital factors such as your home style, energy efficiency, cost, and also maintenance needs. You can also contact a professional to ask for help.
]]>A boiler system uses steam or hot water to warm a house. Sometimes, boiler systems can be referred to as hydronic systems. Apart from heating homes, they can also be used to de-ice driveways or warm swimming pools. Boilers can either use natural gas, oil, electric energy, or propane as their fuel.
Boiler systems work by heating water that is housed in a boiler. The system then uses a closed-circuit system of pipes that are connected to coils, radiators, and even floor systems to pump water around the house. Heat is transferred to the air or the floor as the water circulates the house. Boiler systems use a water recycling process where the cooled water is pumped back to the boiler, reheated, and recirculated.
Boiler systems have been used for ages. However, they have a few less desirable elements associated with them. While these should not be deal-breakers, it is essential to take note of them and know how to navigate each. Some of these include:
Furnaces are one of the oldest heating systems used in homes. While in the past furnaces used coal or firewood to heat a space, they now use oil, propane, gas, or electricity. Furnace heating systems work by converting energy into heat. This is then distributed to the house using vents and ducts in the walls, floors, or ceilings.
The choice of whether to install a boiler or furnace heating system is not an easy task. However, here are some factors that should guide you.