Suite Delivery
|
New York City’s Plaza Hotel opts for stainless steel water pipes by Stephen LambNickel Magazine, March 2007 -- Stainless steel pipe will soon be used to deliver potable water to 24-karat-gold-plated Sherle Wagner faucets in bathrooms at a prestigious address in New York City. Currently under restoration at a cost of US$350 million, the 100-year-old, 18-storey building at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South features 182 private-residence condominiums priced between US$1.6 and $6 million. Contractor Bass Plumbing of College Point, N.Y., chose S31600 and S31603 stainless steel over copper as the cost-effective approach to handling incoming potable water for the historic building. 150 DN (diameter nominal) x 3.4 mm (millimeter wall thickness) pipe was selected for the riser pipe that delivers incoming water to holding tanks on the roof by two pumps in the basement. 100 DN lines supply the water by gravity, to service the building. Hot water is supplied through 75 DN S31600 and S31603 stainless steel lines, whereas the hot water return lines are 50 DN x 2.8 mm pipe. Whether used in building conversions or new buildings, stainless steel can offer significant savings in plumbing costs. Applications range from the handling of incoming waters, such as the risers servicing the Plaza Hotel or the cold water lines for the Veterans’ Administration hospital in Minnesota, to waste water plumbing systems removing sanitary wastes and building water run-off. In all these applications, the stainless steel piping is installed rapidly using couplings and rolled and grooved fittings for the larger diameter feeder lines (greater than 75 DN) and hydraulic press-fit couplings for the small diameter feeder lines (less than 75 DN). In the case of the Plaza Hotel, which overlooks Central Park, the building is now a shell. It will later contain a new, smaller hotel and luxury apartments. The piping installation involves two men and a hoist handling light-weight rolled and grooved piping connected together with Victaulic[R] couplings. The ease of construction increases the speed of installation. Other installations of stainless steel pipe in New York City include supply lines servicing the U.S. Lawn Tennis Center, the Pfizer Building, Sloan Kettering Experimental Station, and Hanson Place, among others. The stainless steel piping installation complies with New York City Code RS16P102.4 for piping systems. Stainless steel piping meets all of the requirements of the ANSI/NSF Standard 61 requirements, and is allowed for the handling of drinking waters. Virtually all building codes in the United States now acknowledge and invoke the ANSI/NSF requirements, with Michigan, Wisconsin and New York all allowing these new materials to be used in plumbing applications. Stephen Lamb is a West Virginia, U.S.A.-based consultant to the Nickel Institute. PHOTOS: Robert Lowell for Nickel Institute
|
