Where there is one success with a product, there are often more to come – and that’s exactly what happened in Brooklyn after Viega fittings made a multi-building project simpler.
When crews with KSK Mechanical overhauled a large steam-line system in a multi-building apartment complex in Brooklyn, the engineers and managers were so impressed that they asked for Viega fittings on several upcoming projects, as well.
Stefanos Shteto, President of KSK Mechanical, said the building was more than 100 years old and needed a complete revamp.
“We upgraded the entire plumbing and steam systems,” Shteto said. “It was a very old building and they had leaks left and right. We redid the whole thing and never looked back!”
The complex consists of four buildings, each with 50 apartment units. Although KSK has been using ProPress for years, they hadn’t yet tried MegaPress fittings; so they started the apartment project using Victaulic for the new steam fittings.
“But, the cost of the material and the time it took for installation to be completed, it just didn’t make sense economically,” Shteto said. “Viega came out and showed us how to use the fittings, and we were lucky enough to borrow the [MegaPress XL PressBooster] for the job, too.”
ProPress fittings in sizes ½” to 3″ were used in the buildings, as well as MegaPress in sizes ½” to 4″. ProPress on the copper lines provides water, while the MegaPress on carbon steel lines provides all the steam for the system.
Timing was crucial for this redo. The project began in late 2018, and because heating season had already started, Shteto said the water lines were replaced first.
“We prepared everything and got it all ready. Then we ran the lines when the time came, one-by-one, and did individual shutdowns. Each line was only down for about an hour, so it was very fast,” he said. “The owners loved it! They understood and were very happy that Viega could help us get the job done quickly and efficiently.”
Once heating season was over, in the spring of 2019, the crew from KSK was able to tackle the steam lines.
“This was good for my company and for Viega,” Shteto said. “The owners are sending me plans for new jobs. They want to do the same thing within other complexes.”
