Building Management Hawaii August/September2013 - (Page 22)
Project Repipe
A local building gets a complete system replacement,
and shares what it learned along the way.
By Aimee Harris
SageWater explains piping components to clients
Plumbing
A
fter nearly five years in the
making, 1350 Ala Moana
completed the industry’s most
intrusive capital improvement
project—a pipe replacement project.
“This building is 45 years old. I’ve
been the general manager here for five
years, and from the first day I stepped
foot in here we had leaks. We had
ongoing problems with our drain and
fresh water systems,” Ron Komine Jr.,
ARM®, says. “Constant water
shutdowns and repairs were needed
just to keep the building operational.
We had no choice but to replace the
entire system—the drain, waste and
vent lines.”
In Hawaii, plumbing problems can
be divided into two categories—newer
buildings with defective potable piping
components, and older buildings with
aging plumbing systems that are in
need of replacement.
The waste plumbing systems of
buildings built pre-1980 are reaching
the end of their useful life, while
buildings built in the 1960s and
1970s are seeing severe deterioration
of their cast iron drain, waste, vent
and roof drain systems. Most pre1975 buildings will need to replace
their cast iron pipes within the next
10 years.
“Severely deteriorated systems,
such as what was found at 1350 Ala
Moana, manifest themselves with
constant leaks, backups and even
pieces of pipe falling out of the
building and down open shafts,”
says Peter Page, president/owner
A sample from an aging plumbing system
22
August - September 2013
BMH
of SageWater, a pipe replacement
specialist for occupied buildings with
a local office in Honolulu as well as
offices across the U.S. and in Canada.
Page explains that few of Hawaii’s
older buildings are equipped with
clean-outs, which are access points
to the pipes for cleaning. “Without
proper routine maintenance, the
useful life of the pipes is greatly
diminished,” Page says. “Many older
pipes are so fragile that an aggressive
cleaning now could cause damage.
When the pipes get to this stage there
is nothing left to do but replace them.”
deductible on a master condo policy is
$5,000 per loss, it is not uncommon for
buildings that have a pattern of losses
to have a deductible of $10,000, $25,000
or more,” Savio says.
In some cases, carriers are
unwilling to provide insurance
coverage unless the pipes are replaced.
“While the cost of replacing pipes
is not trivial, I believe the investment
is well worth it as it will result in
higher resale value,” she says. “After
all, would you rather buy a unit in a
45-year-old building that has been
retrofitted with all new pipes? Or
in a 45-year-old building that has
mounting water-damage losses and
deferred replacing the pipes?”
Proper planning prevents
poor performance, and GET YOUR TEAM
its importance can’t be TOGETHER
“You need a total team effort to
understated for pipe
lift a project of this magnitude off
Komine
replacement projects. the ground,”projects. says of pipe
replacement
~ Richard Furst, ABB
Beyond the hassles of leaks, floods,
water shut downs, sewer backups
and constant repairs, a sick plumbing
system can put your building’s
insurance in jeopardy.
“At 1350 Ala Moana we were at a
point where no insurance company
wanted to cover us,” says Komine.
“Without insurance owners can’t
refinance their mortgages, no one
can get financial help, etc. After all
the leaks, payouts and insurance
problems, the board decided it was
finally time for pipe replacement.”
According to Sue Savio, president
of Insurance Associates, Inc., water
damage losses are the No. 1 cause of
claims in residential condos. “I file an
average of 15 water damage claims
each week,” she says.
As the losses mount, insurance
companies will often impose
higher premiums as well as higher
deductibles. “While the typical
Dirk Yoshizawa, a commercial
banking officer at Bank of Hawaii,
agrees. The bank is actively
bidding on repiping projects and
acknowledges that these projects
are large and complicated. “The first
step is to gather all of your experts
together. Your team of professionals
should include your property
manager, lawyer, banker, construction
manager and contractor,” Yoshizawa
advises. “These experts know the
pitfalls, so they can help the board
make educated decisions.”
What you don’t want to do is
assume you know everything, go out
to bid and then find out that you did
everything wrong.
The construction manager is very
important, he explains, because that
person represents the owners or
AOAO. The construction manager
gathers the bids for the contract,
monitors progress and makes sure
everything gets done per the contract.
“For these complex projects, you
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Management Hawaii August/September2013
ROOFING Top 3 Roof Savers
Mix It Up: cool roofing, wood shake and solar reflective shingles
Townhomes Cool Off From The Top Down
What’s Trending & Why? Smart and sunny solutions
White Out!
A Good Match: New roof gives local shopping center a fresh look.
Stone Meets Metal For Lasting Roofs
Project Complete: When a project goes right, everyone is happy.
PLUMBING Safe & Simple Drains
Project Repipe
Saved From Spots: Small Things can make a big difference
Repiping With PEX
LANDSCAPING Emerging Trends
Irrigation: Too Much of a Good Thing
On Site: An Exercise of Tolerance
Building Management Hawaii August/September2013
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