Another day, another project.
We’ll skip the bidding process for now and go straight to the fun stuff. This project is a market-ready or warm shell. After a tenant moves out most buildings are pretty worn and dated. So before offering the space to new tenants the owner will gut the interior. But similar to staging a house, they often want to dress it up a bit, make it more appealing. This project will include a restroom core, break room and lobby.
Before we can start any work we must first acquire permits. This requires drawings showing the floor plan and detail drawings by the architect. Also drawings and calculations for any mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural improvements must be submitted.
This is a snip of my plumbing drawings. When I did drawings by hand I spent a bit more time on finding existing utilities. My isometric drawings would look like a photo of what was later installed. The extra effort at the beginning would save me time doing the as-built drawings. Now I just send a sketch and calculations justifying the pipe sizing. The drafters use those to do the drawings and charts. Most of the real design is done in the field.
A good analogy for hand drawings compared to CAD drawing would be a typewriter compared to word processor software. Typos were a pain, taking entire paragraphs and either; moving, editing or deleting required a major redo. With CAD changes still take some effort, but nothing compared to the mechanical erasers or solvents needed when working with sepias or velum.
With completed drawings we go into the city to answer any questions. And voila...we walk out with permits. Ok, let’s be real ...we hardly ever walk out with permits on the first try. I almost always do make it thru on the first pass. But the other trades will often have some issues to be resolved. Modern electrical and mechanical systems are very complex due to strict energy consumption regulations. Plumbing really hasn’t change that much in the last couple hundred years. Shit goes downhill ...always has, always will.
Before any walls can be built we need to get our underground installed. The framing contractor will layout the walls using chalk lines and spray over with clear coat. Hoping most of it will still be there after we are done. In this photo you can see the walls (dark lines) and my layout in orange for the concrete saw cutter.
After the concrete is removed I’ll layout the trenching. When hand excavating I’ll try to design the system to be as shallow as possible.
Then comes the magic. The drainage, waste and vent systems are my favorite parts. This is when you need to use the most skills. Everything must be considered; protecting the trap seal, proper grade, limited change of direction, all the needed clean outs without unnecessary ones, efficient material usage. Measure twice, cut once. Always cut your longest pieces first and cut the longest piece from the shortest piece possible. This will leave you with the least scraps.
After getting all the pipes installed we will fill the entire system with water. To bring the pressure up to the minimum 5 psi needed for inspection we extend one pipe ten feet above the floor level. Inspections are always fun, even though the system has barely changed in a hundred years, there is always room for interpretation. One of the reasons contractors use us, even if we are bit more expensive, is because I always pass inspections and remain on schedule. We also use a smaller crew than others by being efficient and doing it right the first time. There are a few that still appreciate that.
Once inspected it is time to backfill, clean-up and protect the piping from the concrete that will be replaced.
I will not return to this project until the concrete is replaced and walls are built. Which is currently underway. I did get a call from the contractor questioning the location of some of my piping. But after rechecking his drawings he realized it was the error of the framing crew. They moved the walls to match the drawings ...and voila, my pipes are in the correct locations.
Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses and the things in them that are supposed to work for us. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience. Or sometimes, we just gab.
Upcoming schedule:
October 20: exlrrp
October 27:
Have an interesting story or project to share? Contact me about posting it for Saturday Morning Home Repair.
In case you missed it:
The never-ending tales of a landlord; elsaf’s “The garage door...OMG, the garage door”
And eeff’s epic adventures… crashing the gates!!