Press pipe-joining provides valuable savings on potable water installation at Mercy Health – West Hospital

Nelson Stark used Viega ProPress® to install the plumbing for the construction of Mercy Health – West Hospital in Cincinnati. Plumbers installed a combination of Viega ProPress for stainless pipe and fittings with Viega ProPress copper fittings as well as transition fittings for potable water at the medical facility.

Nelson Stark selected Viega ProPress for the plumbing installation because the system is flameless and can be installed simultaneously with other utilities since there’s no need for welding or grooving equipment.

“Using Viega ProPress allowed us to complete the joining-effort installation with this modularly prepared, innovative type of construction,” said Jeff Read, Vice President at Nelson Stark. “The installers put together each run of pipe for the 150-foot corridors with the fittings, but didn’t press them. Once it was sized and laid out correctly, they attached the fittings to the racks so that when the racks arrived at the hospital construction site all our installers had to do was make the connections.”

The Viega ProPress systems use press fittings to make water-tight and air-tight connections in copper tubing and stainless steel piping. The patented Smart Connect® feature, on all Viega ProPress systems, ensures leak-free connections.

“The project called for 3" and 4" mains from the mechanical room, down the halls and up the entire building tower. From the mains into each room we installed copper tubing and fittings in 2" and smaller,” said Todd Elliot, Project Executive at Nelson Stark. Overall, the plumbing install required more than 3,800' of large-diameter 316 stainless steel pipe and approximately 900 Viega ProPress stainless steel fittings as well as approximately 7,500 Viega ProPress copper fittings and valves.

For West Hospital, Nelson Stark had 60 plumbers installing Viega ProPress in the pre-fabricated method for the main corridors and on site in the individual rooms and public restrooms at the facility.

“Being able to use the same tool to press both stainless steel and copper fittings was a huge benefit,” added Elliot. By using the same tool for stainless, copper and transition fittings, Nelson Stark’s installers saved time and were able to simplify the plumbing installation.

“It was our first time installing Viega ProPress with stainless steel and the hospital was being built on a very tight schedule,” said Wells. “Viega ProPress is obviously quicker from a labor standpoint.”

“There are some unquantifiable advantages that affect the schedule,” explained Read. “We get called because of our reputation to complete projects on or ahead of the schedule.”

“Our customer saved on costs by having fewer hours of labor and using cost-effective stainless,” explained Wells. “The fitting can be installed under flow conditions so there’s no time-consuming process of bleeding a line before doing maintenance work.”

“We’ve installed thousands of Viega ProPress fittings and we’ve had a really good experience in not having leaks,” Elliot added. “We appreciate the huge safety advantage that Viega ProPress provides.”

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