For a job with a maximum guaranteed price, crews working on a large expansion at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado, were looking for the best ways to cut costs when things went over budget. Putting additional Viega products to use was an easy way to trim costs.
Golden Triangle Construction, along with contractor Braconier Mechanical and Plumbing, remodeled the existing 15,000-square-foot welding building at the college, plus added on another three-story building, 60,000 feet in size. Original specs called for threading the pipe, and Project Manager Todd Self saw that as an opening for Viega MegaPress.
“When it was over budget, I looked at what we could substitute. Originally the only [Viega product] called for was for potable water, but we got other Viega items in. It was value engineering with the budget,” Self said.
Ricky Maynard, the plumbing foreman on the job, echoed that Viega was the best way to go for both ProPress and MegaPress.
“It’s faster because no hot work permits are needed. And running the water pipe in a three-story building, we would have needed two or three times as long to do it,” he said. “I’ve been pressing since I came to Braconier six years ago, and if the specs allow it, [Viega] is what we do.”
Braconier used additional Viega products to cut costs.
Time saved adds up, and it was crucial to the budget. Maynard also added that original plans in the building called for threading oxygen pipe, which wouldn’t have worked. Lines can’t be used for oxygen if they've had threading oil on them - yet another reason to call on Viega.
“Viega evens the playing field for us,” Self said. “We can drop our labor costs and be more competitive. Labor savings are huge, so we do what we can to decrease them. When I started four and a half years ago, I always pushed for ProPress and the labor savings it brings. The prep time to press versus weld a joint is so much less.”
There was not a single failure on any Viega fitting, a testament to the strength of the system. ProPress lines run throughout the newly revamped building for hot and cold domestic water. In the remodeled welding lab, MegaPress and MegaPressG lines run a variety of things, including natural gas, compressed air and welding gases, such as argon and acetylene.
The original welding lab, built in 1983, was gutted to a shell with just the welding booths remaining. All the piping – nearly 5,000 feet of it – was newly run, and Joe Turecek, Superintendent with Golden Triangle Construction, said he believes pressing with Viega cut at least a week off the install time in the lab alone.
The addition to the building is a huge boost for the Aims campus and, with all the offerings available, will bring in lots of new students.
Read more here.
Related Stories
75 Top Building Products | Dec 16, 2019
Top Plumbing Products for 2019
Sloan's CX Flushometer and Zip Water's HydroTap are among the eight plumbing products to make Building Design+Construction's 2019 101 Top Products report.
Plumbing | Nov 5, 2018
Free webinar: Maximizing PEX piping systems in hospitality applications
Join BD+C and Uponor's Daniel Worm on Wednesday, November 7 (2pm EST) for this webinar on the use of PEX pipe in hospitality projects.
Codes and Standards | Oct 17, 2018
Philadelphia plumbing code will now allow for more use of plastic pipes in high rises
Of the 50 largest U.S. cities, Philadelphia is one of just six that still require metal pipes.
Sponsored | Plumbing | Jul 16, 2018
Committed to green-building practices and efficient radiant installations
It took five months for three dedicated crew members plus one runner to install 138,000 feet of PEX tubing with the Radiant Rollout Mats.
Sponsored | Plumbing | Apr 17, 2018
New uses approved for Wyoming schools
Don Haught and his team at Valley Plumbing have been using Viega since the early 2000s. He said the products are quicker to install, and he appreciates the 'much cleaner look than brazing.'
75 Top Building Products | Mar 23, 2018
101 Top Products: Plumbing 2018
Among the best plumbing products included in BD+C's Top 101 Products report are Kohler's HighLine 1.0 GPF Toilet, Chicago Faucets', EFS Hand-Washing Station, and Gerber's PeeWee Children's Toilet.
Sponsored | Plumbing | Nov 10, 2017
Big ideas in a small space
Tiny house with Viega products finished second in a tiny house competition in California.