Principal Plumbing Considerations for Commercial Buildings

When building any sort of building, commercial being no exception, you will need to pay attention to plumbing before you finish the entire project. Having a well-thought-out plumbing system in place is extremely important, especially for commercial buildings, where the supply of clean water and disposal of wastewater need to be constant and seamless.

Therefore, if you’re building your commercial space, aside from the architects and other contractors you’ll need to find, you’ll also need to search for a reliable expert plumber who will take care of this job for you. With that in mind, here are some considerations you’ll need to address.

Know the requirements

First of all, it’s important to mention that different types of commercial properties all have different water requirements. Establishments, such as hospitals, restaurants, hotels and high-rise buildings all have different water requirements and require a specific plumbing grid. The engineer you decide to hire for this project will have to know what type of commercial property you’re building so that they can accurately plan out the type of plumbing grid you’ll need. For instance, if you’re aiming at building a high-rise building, the plumbing system will need to be equipped with booster pumps and gravity storage tanks so that the topmost floors receive the same amount of water as the lowest ones.

Do the calculations right

Additionally, in order to calculate the average water flow your plumbing system will need to be able to handle, you need to know how much people – on average – will be occupying the space on a daily basis. For a commercial property that’s not in the hospitality industry the grid can be significantly smaller than the one that is a part of this industry. Simply put, if you’re building a hotel, your grid will have to be significantly more advanced and complex than if you’re building a regular office building.

Rely on expert advice

Since plumbing is one of the crucial aspects of a building’s infrastructure it needs to be addressed as early in the process as possible. That’s why it’s important to run this by the commercial construction company that you’ve hired to get the job done. Simply put, if you pair an expert plumbing team with a trusted commercial construction company you can rest assured that the entire project will be done as efficiently and as responsibly as possible. Of course, make sure that both teams are true experts in their field and pay close attention to what they’re saying and advising you to do.

Conduct regular maintenance

Finally, once your project is done and you start using your commercial space, that doesn’t quite mean that your job is done. Rather, your job as a building owner has just begun. What this means is that now you’ll need to take care of the plumbing system you have in place. Again, depending on the type of your commercial building, you’ll need to schedule regular maintenance. Sure, in a hotel or a hospital, the maintenance will have to be conducted more regularly than in ordinary office buildings. Regular and preventive maintenance is crucial as not only can it save you huge amounts of money in the long run, but it can also put your mind at ease.

If you’re thinking about building a commercial property and you’re struggling to come up with an optimal plumbing design for the space, have your construction company work closely with your plumbing experts to create a layout that will work best for everyone. Also, make sure that you vocalize any questions and concerns you might have during the process to ensure that everything goes smoothly and that you’re happy with the final result.

Guest Contributor, Lillian Connors