Plumbing & Gas Solutions is capable of providing support with a whole spectrum of commercial plumbing works for our clients in and around Milton Keynes. Sometimes we provide quick, reactive repairs to minor issues, but we can also take on major projects for full reworks, replacements and installations.
We recently completed a major renovation project over the course of several months – all the way from March when work properly kicked off through the first week of August – where we provided a complete plumbing replacement for one of our clients in a group of five high rise residential buildings on their site.
Due to leaking Air Admittance Valves (AAV’s) in all of the buildings, there was extreme water damage in a large number of the service cupboards which contain the pipework and plumbing systems which supply each of the residential rooms. The damages were further accentuated by taking place at the top of tall riser cupboards, which run all the way down to the ground floor.
The severity of the issues and the scope of the project we would be undertaking meant that these buildings had to be vacated and the residents were unable to live in their rooms for the duration of the project, making our timing a key factor in us completing the works to a satisfactory level – and making it absolutely mandatory for us to get it right first time.
Scope of Works
These leaks had impacted five buildings, which each have five floors, all of which serve as accommodation (as well as the several service cupboards on each story) meaning that there were more than fifty cupboards which required renovation, and hundreds of people were affected by the problem, and needed us to get the job done before they could return.
Some of these cupboards were left in incredibly bad condition. The water damage impacted not only the cupboard walls, which were damp and mouldy, but there was also a large amount of rust and scale buildup on the pipework, even including the pipes which didn’t themselves have leaks. As we previously mentioned, the tall service chutes which connect all of the cupboards from the ground floor all the way to the top floor, meant that the leaks spread dramatically. A leak in a cupboard on the fourth floor would, over time, impact all four cupboards below it.
Our job was to come in, remove all of the dilapidated materials (both plumbing and otherwise) from every cupboard, across all five buildings, then renovate the cupboards, and replace all of the pipework which has been ruined with brand-new pipe, and re-lag it with insulation to leave it as good as new.
This was a major undertaking, due to the sheer number of service cupboards which had been affected. However, we simply broke down the work into stages and, thanks to the work of our highly-skilled engineers and plumbers, we were able to co-ordinate the project to progress one step at a time.
Minimising Disruptions
While it’s impossible to complete a project of this size in a residential building without notable disruption to those who live there, we prepared thoroughly to ensure that we could minimise the disruption as much as possible.
We worked very closely with the client, who manage the site, to find the best possible solution for the residents, and scheduled each stage of our process accordingly. We created an in-depth project plan, including a comprehensive timeline of the works, to suit the client’s needs. By working on one, or at maximum two, building(s) at a time, it allowed us to progress the overall project without disrupting all of the residents simultaneously.
Through this planning and excellent, regular communication – including weekly client check-ins, we were able to co-ordinate the relocation of the occupants to coincide with the work we had to carry out on each building. Special consideration was taken to even further minimise the impact on some of the more vulnerable residents, who we accommodated to make it as stress-free as possible.
Renovation Process
To take a completely ruined service cupboard and get it back fully operational, safe and efficient, there were several steps required. Some of these were fairly straightforward, others were more complicated, but they all needed to take place to ensure that these cupboards were in suitable condition for the residents of the buildings to move back into their lodgings.
The process was as follows:
- Full drain-down of the building’s plumbing system
- Complete removal of lagging from all pipework in every cupboard
- Comprehensive leak identification and removal of pipework
- Reboarding the affected service cupboards – Completed by our sister company, Facilities Management Solutions
- Cleaning any salvageable sections of the existing pipework
- Re-installation or replacement of pipework
- Gradual, sectioned re-fill of the system with water, testing for leaks
- Re-lagging all pipework with fresh insulation
Thorough, Long-lasting Repairs
As we just outlined in the section above, this wasn’t a straightforward fix – and more importantly, one which had to be comprehensive. The damages sustained throughout the plumbing system demonstrated that if there are any leaks or issues, it will have a knock-on effect which literally trickles down to other floors and impacts the whole building. Plus, with all of the pipework being lagged, it was very difficult to tell what pipework was leaking or notably affected by the leak, as the copper itself is underneath a layer of insulation. This is why we had to remove it all completely, and then re-lag it at the end.
This project was a huge undertaking. However, thanks to our amazing team of knowledgeable and skilled engineers, we were able to work through these steps in all of the service cupboards, across a total of 25 floors.
After removing the lagging, we had to methodically go through each cupboard and simultaneously perform leak detection and remove pipework.
We took extreme care to survey and identify the sources of all of the leaks on the site, making sure that as we removed the pipework, we separated the good from the bad. This was essential, as we couldn’t run the risk of any pipework which was either already leaking, or compromised, causing problems once the systems were fully operational again. If a piece of pipe could not be 100% trusted to work effectively, we removed it permanently. The pieces that were still fine were cleaned and ready to go back in when the cupboards were ready.
The number one priority of this project was not just to undo the damages sustained from previous issue, but to make sure that the plumbing system was working reliably and effective, going forward.
Collaborating with FMS
At PGS we take great pride in providing the best and most complete plumbing solution in the city, however, this project required substantial works beyond that, due to the extreme water damage sustained by the cupboards themselves. Large portions of the cupboard walls had to be completely cut out and re-boarded. For this, we called in our sister company, Facilities Management Solutions.
They supported us with the re-boarding of every single cupboard which required the wall to be removed. There’s no point in having beautiful new pipework if the cupboard is full of mould, after all.
A Complete Renovation
Once the cupboards themselves were all in good condition, we replaced all of the old pipework with either good-as-new, cleaned pipework, or brand-new copper. This means that the transformation over the course of this project was pretty remarkable.
As you can see from the below examples, the difference between the cupboards before and after our renovation is absolutely huge:
Before
After
