FEATURE 25
Water and waste runs through it – most of the time !
By Rory Macnamara and Terry Smith ( Legacy Plumbing )
Imagine a client has spent thousands on a refurbished , state-of-the-art kitchen or bathroom , built by a contractor , but sadly the plumber only got the fittings part and a bit of pipework because the client thought replacing pipes was an additional and unnecessary cost because , “ After all , no one sees the pipes !”
Then , sometime later , an annoyed customer phones to complain about a gurgling noise from somewhere , or smelly stuff is coming up into the shower or bath or even worse the toilet is overflowing . One has seen it all and as soon as our contracting colleagues realise this , the better . The pipework is more important than the aesthetically pleasing items on top .
Now you must tell the homeowner that all the beautiful ‘ surface ’ stuff must come out , be replaced or whatever because the pipes and fittings are about 50 years old . The builder allowed cement to get into the pipes and the kitchen contractor did not think about water leaks ruining the solid oak cupboards never mind the new solid wood floor !
Two things come out here – contracting colleagues should not interfere with the plumber ’ s work , and plumbers , how do we improve on our protocols especially with the expanded pipe / fitting availability .
What fittings go with what pipes , can they be interchangeable , how easily can these be repaired and what about availability ? How environmentally-friendly are the materials – can they be reused or do they become part of the landfill ?
There are lots of good CPD opportunities for plumbers if they handle the environmental aspect sensibly . And lots to think about in terms of environment . For this feature a matrix was produced which addresses most of the issues . Terry suggested including price range and price fluctuations and such . In discussion with some suppliers this was considered a potential bomb as The Competitions Commission discourages any type of price mention , especially when there may only be two suppliers as we have in copper for example .
Jacek Dylag | Unsplash
We now have four certification bodies , including SABS , able to perform this essential function of certifying to South African National Standards ( SANS ).
September 2021 Volume 27 I Number 7 www . plumbingafrica . co . za