When working on new luxury condos in Miami Beach, the last thing Professional Plumbing Corp. in Hialeah, Florida, wanted to worry about was problems with the plumbing system. It’s why the company turned to Viega, a trusted partner, for peace of mind.
The high-end residences, slated to be finished in 2020, will have stunning floor-to-ceiling windows with fantastic views of either the bay or South Beach, large terraces for seamless indoor-outdoor living, custom-designed bathrooms and a host of other luxurious touches. They will range in size from 2,000 to more than 10,000 square feet.
“When you start using (Viega), you immediately realize the labor savings. Plus, you get the peace- of-mind benefit, and it’s easier to get a workforce trained,” said Manny Alonso, Vice President of Professional Plumbing.
He said the company transitioned from sweating copper to using Viega ProPress about five years ago, and today exclusively presses its copper fittings. Then, noting that they were also using a lot of CPVC, folks at Professional Plumbing decided a couple of years ago to transition to Viega PureFlow Press for our PEX plastics needs, too.
“With CPVC, it has the big risk of the infamous dry joints – they don’t leak and then blow apart later,” Alonso said. “So using PureFlow is a big peace of mind. And for copper, you eliminate the risk of leaks, too. It’s much easier to teach a guy to do a press joint than it is to teach him how to properly solder.
“My experience with ProPress led me to PureFlow, and I figured if I was partnering with Viega for copper, I might as well continue with PEX,” Alonso added. “Plus, Viega has the manifold systems like the ManaBloc and MiniBloc, which I had previously used in hotels. It saves us time.”
In the Miami Beach condos, the main lines and vertical water risers are plumbed with ProPress fittings. Hot-and-cold-water distribution lines in the condos are run with PureFlow Press, tying into ManaBloc home run systems for each condo.
All the faucets in the condos for both kitchens and bathrooms are wall-mounted, so using the ManaBloc provided individual shutoffs for each line, which was required by code, Alonso said.
Then, incorporating design elements, the company also decided to use Viega Flushing System Technology for the bathrooms. Alonso said when he heard about Viega’s in-wall carriers, he felt they were a match.
“Right as this job got started, Viega introduced the flushing, and I saw they had so many different flush plate options,” Alonso said. “I felt like it would be a great way to trim out the condos.”
The luxury residences have been a long project. Alonso said there are exotic finishes, a fancy window system and other special touches that have slowed construction, but noted the condos will be “a beautiful job to look at” when finished.
For Professional Plumbing, even though the timeframe of the build has been lengthy, the company has shortened its time on the job – which included about 15 workers at the height of installation – thanks to the time savings of Viega.
