The proverb reads “haste makes waste.” When you’re in a hurry, precautions have a tendency to take a back seat and costly mistakes can happen.
Matthew Fleming, vice president of All-Star Plumbing in Manasquan, New Jersey, had a recent project in a strip mall. Compliments of Covid-19 and all the pitfalls it created, it ended up being a rush job. Thanks to Viega’s Smart Connect technology, an unpressed fitting was found early in the process, and a ton of expensive cleanup work was avoided.
“In our rush to get the job done quickly, one of the guys missed a press on a 2-by-1-inch ProPress tee that was going to be buried between two solid-panel walls,” Fleming recalled. “Upon pressure testing, the Smart Connect feature allowed us to find it quickly and press it within minutes. It would have been a disaster if it had held pressure then blew out once the walls were finished.”
During pressure testing with Viega’s Smart Connect technology, unpressed connections can be identified when water or air flows past the sealing element. Water or air also continues to flow through the rest of the piping system. This makes it easy to identify any and all unpressed fittings in a system without the alarming potential for a fitting to falsely hold pressure at the time only to fail later.
“I would rather have an unpressed fitting spew pressure out than hold pressure for the most part, giving a false sense of security,” Fleming said. “It was super easy to locate the unpressed fitting.”
The truncated time frame was the result of a start date that had been continually pushed back. Once permits were eventually approved, Fleming referred to it as “Go time!” Thanks to delays, Fleming knew that he and his team didn’t have time to waste.
“We knew that with the help of ProPress and MegaPress, we’d be able to make up the time on installation,” Fleming said.
The project was a challenge, as the owners were trying to create an outdoor feel in an indoor setting. Each room had a “storefront” feel to it, including a movie theater, hair salon and poker/card room, among others. The overall project included a commercial kitchen along with a number of bathrooms and drinking fountains – approximately 40 fixtures in all.
“On this project, we used ProPress, MegaPress and Viega PureFlow PEX,” Fleming said. “The building is about 14,000 square feet, with about a 1.4-million-Btu gas load.”
The Viega ProPress trunk lines are up to 2½”, transitioning to PEX branches and fixtures in ½” and ¾”. Fleming said there was more than 500 feet of water piping, with about 200 ProPress fittings. MegaPress gas lines ranged from ¾” to 3”, with approximately 200 feet of pipe, and the project included about 50 MegaPress fittings.
When the start of the project was delayed numerous times, Fleming knew from previous experience that he and his crew would be able to make up for lost time with Viega’s press technology.
“The overall quality of Viega products is what has me hooked on them,” Fleming said. “It’s very clear how much better they are when compared to the competitors’.”
Fleming said he started using Viega products about four years ago when he bought his first press tool, a Ridgid RP340.
“I got into pressing when I had to make some repairs on a scrub sink in a surgical facility in a ‘clean room’ where I was not able to solder,” Fleming recalled. “I realized the benefits pretty quickly and now I’m sold on pressing as my go-to connection method.”Viega provided Fleming a nice one-two punch. Press technology helped him overcome delays to get the strip-mall job done on time. Smart Connect allowed him to get it done right the first time and avoid costly repairs later.
