Hands-on look at the new Makita Tools XRT01 Rebar Tool This week we traveled to the World of Concrete event at the Las Vegas Convention Center to see what’s coming from some of the biggest tool manufacturers in the construction industry. If you’ve never been to the WOC show, like myself, its huge and full Read more
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Hands-on look at the new Makita Tools XRT01 Rebar Tool
This week we traveled to the World of Concrete event at the Las Vegas Convention Center to see what’s coming from some of the biggest tool manufacturers in the construction industry. If you’ve never been to the WOC show, like myself, its huge and full of hand-on displays for tool lovers of all types. We got our hands on a lot of tools, the Makita rebar tying tool was just one that left an impression.
Back in October, 2018 Makita announced the addition of 40 new tools to be available immediately. This announcement was made during the annual STAFDA convention in Atlanta and on the list of 40 new tools was the new XRT01 18V LXT Brushless Rebar Tying Tool. Normally a tool like this might slip by us here at MH but considering the usefulness to contractors tying radiant tubing to welded mesh or rebar for new installations, we wanted to get our hands on it.
Makita pulled out all the stops in designing and building their booth at WOC, they had literally dozens of tools powered up and ready to use in simulated scenarios. For the rebar tool they had two different forms built. When I first saw this tool back in October I immediately wondered how it would do for tying PEX tubing so I asked if they had any tubing around the booth to give it a try, they didn’t.
Get in the Uber and head to The Depot
The only way I was going to get first hand experience on whether my ideas for this tool would work was if I brought my own PEX to the show and tried it myself. So that’s what I did.
When I walked up to the concrete forms of rebar in the booth I got a lot of inquisitive looks, it only took about two minutes for nearly every one of the Makita employees to gather around and watch me as I began to test the XRT01 out as a true plumbing/heating contractor would on the job.
It worked flawless. All I did was adjust the torque setting to its lowest level and let’er rip. No kinking, not too tight, not too loose. The capacity of the tool is capped at tying two #5 bars together so the combination of the #5 bar they had and my 1/2″ PEX was well within that range. Check out the video from my tests, all tool specs included at the end of this post.
Makita Tools Rebar Tying Tool features:
It’s never a good thing when your building is known as “the leaky building.” That, however, was the unfortunate reputation of Windsor Over Peachtree, a 22-story, 265-unit condominium building in Atlanta. The vapor barrier on the 53-year-old building’s existing steel and copper piping had deteriorated, and the condensation that was forming on the pipes was Read more
It’s never a good thing when your building is known as “the leaky building.”
That, however, was the unfortunate reputation of Windsor Over Peachtree, a 22-story, 265-unit condominium building in Atlanta. The vapor barrier on the 53-year-old building’s existing steel and copper piping had deteriorated, and the condensation that was forming on the pipes was causing them to break down from the outside in. The combination of leaks caused by age and damage caused by dripping condensate was proving to be a regular and ongoing challenge in the building, and the need for an upgrade was apparent.
Windsor Over Peachtree is a 265-unit condominium building built in 1965.
“The management and maintenance staff had been chasing leaks for years,” said Jeff Long, Southeast District Product Manager, Commercial Group, Ferguson, the largest wholesale distributor of residential and commercial plumbing supplies and pipe, valves, and fittings in the U.S. “We had several discussions with them about changing out the piping.”
As might be expected in a half-century-old building, the challenges with the HVAC system ran deeper than just the piping. Foremost among the other issues was that the old two-pipe fan-coil system was struggling to keep up with the cooling demand during Atlanta’s hot summers. So when the money for an HVAC system upgrade was allotted, it was decided that a new system of water-source heat pumps—sized to handle the building’s 500- to 600-ton cooling demand—would replace the old fan-coil system that had been sized for a 300-ton demand.
‘Not Your Typical Plastic’
For Joe Escher, Vice President of E. Escher Inc. Mechanical Contractors, Roswell, GA, the project represented his firm’s first opportunity to perform a large-scale installation of Aquatherm PP-R piping.
At this project, Aquatherm Blue Pipe® replaced an old and leaky system composed of steel and copper pipe.
“This wasn’t your typical job where an engineer draws up a spec and everybody follows it,” Escher said. “We worked closely with the engineer and the building owner in a collaborative effort to determine the best equipment and the best piping system.”
Escher was on board with the conversations between the building owner and engineering firm about using Aquatherm, but he also wanted to see for himself the benefits of PP-R pipe.
At Windsor Over Peachtree, the piping had to run through 8-in. thick concrete floors with 10-in. square blockouts.
“Everyone has an ‘a-ha!’ moment when it comes to choosing PP-R pipe, and before it was determined that we were going with Aquatherm we visited Joe at his shop,” Long relates. “We put together some sections of 2 ½-in. pipe, and Joe tried to drive a nail through them with a hammer. I remember him reporting back and saying, ‘This is not your typical plastic.’”
Escher pointed out that he also researched the pipe using more sophisticated methods, but he does not discount the value of the hammer-and-nail test.
“Aquatherm is a plastic, but don’t even consider equating it to something like PVC or CPVC,” he said. “If you look at a cross-section of it you can see that it doesn’t even compare to those pipes. It’s in a class of its own.”
Ultimately, the decision to use Aquatherm pipe to serve the new heat pump system was an easy one.
“The building management didn’t want to use any flame or welding in an occupied building, and the project’s engineer didn’t like the idea of having a copper-press system behind the walls,” Long explained. “That gave us the opportunity to discuss Aquatherm pipe, and it turned out to be the perfect solution for this retrofit.”
In with the New
At the Windsor Over Peachtree project, more than 6,000 ft of Aquatherm Blue Pipe® SDR-11 ranging in size from ½ in. to 4 in. was installed, along with new Raypak boilers, Evapco cooling towers, Bell & Gossett pumps, and JCI-branded WaterFurnace water-source heat pumps.
Aquatherm pipe was able to be heat fused and installed in tight quarters without welding or open flame, which was extremely important in an occupied building.
Installation was made challenging because the floors were concrete slabs 8-in. thick, with blockouts approximately 10-in. square in identical locations from the fourth through the 20th floors. The existing risers went straight up through the blockouts without any offsets.
It was determined early on that the ability to fabricate Aquatherm offsite and transport the fabricated spools to the jobsite ready to install was going to be an important component of this project. Escher personally drew up the 16 sets of risers needed for the project and they were fabricated at Ferguson’s facility in Fulton, MS. The risers consisted of 1¼-in. through 4-in. pipe, with ¾-in. runouts.
“The fabrication was right on the money,” Escher said. “We had more than 4,000 joints in this system, and we had five leaks. On a typical solder job we’d expect around three percent. So we were very impressed with the extremely minimal leakage of the Aquatherm.”
Also impressive was the time savings of the off-site fabrication. Escher estimated it saved about four to five days per riser.
“It really worked out well to have Ferguson’s people fabbing and our people installing,” he said. “Ferguson had all the fabrication equipment and lower labor rates than what we pay our pipefitters. So when you combine the lower labor rate and the better equipped shop minus the cost of freight, they were very competitive.”
In addition, he said, having the fabrication done offsite allowed his company to use its shop personnel in the field.
“The result is that without adding any costs we were able to dramatically reduce the time to complete the project,” Escher said. “This was very important because whenever we took a riser out of service we had about 20 condos that did not have heating or cooling until the new Aquatherm piping and WSHPs were installed and operational.”
Escher noted that the light weight of PP-R pipe provided an added benefit.
“We had to take all the piping up in elevators, in nine-foot maximum sections, and even the four-inch pipe could easily be carried and handled by one person,” he said.
The piping’s virtually leak-free performance impressed the installing contractor.
The installation and onsite heat fusions were performed by Escher’s team using McElroy irons and McElroy Spider® 125 with Chain Clamping, which allowed them to perform heat fusions in the tight quarters of the blockouts.
“The Chain Spider allowed Escher’s team to get up against the wall like they needed to,” Long noted.
Unistrut Metal Framing Systems and Walraven hangers were used to position the new piping spools in the existing blockouts.
“It was very simple and it worked perfectly,” Escher said.
Benefits in Occupied Buildings
Other piping options such as steel and copper were initially considered for Windsor Over Peachtree, but the engineer had misgivings about those options in an occupied building.
“We were looking for a way to avoid welding or brazing pipe in an occupied building,” said Tim North, P.E., LEED AP, principal, Johnson, Spellman & Associates Inc. “The fact that no hot work permit was required was an important factor for us in selecting Aquatherm. It was the best solution in an occupied building.”
In addition, Escher noted that unlike welding, Aquatherm’s heat fusion process gives off no fumes or VOCs. That added to its attractiveness for Windsor Over Peachtree.
Investigation Leads to Appreciation
Although this was Escher’s first opportunity to use Aquatherm PP-R piping on a large-scale project, he and his team already feel like old hands with it. And he offered some advice to other contractors and engineers who are considering Aquatherm for a piping project.
“Do what we did,” Escher said. “Investigate it, look at other projects that have used it and talk to contractors who have installed it. You’ll find the same things I did: it’s tough, it’s lightweight, leaks are almost non-existent, and it has a built-in insulation value that may allow you to reduce the thickness of the insulation. In addition, the lack of flame and welding makes it very well-suited for retrofit projects.”
Offsite fabrication done by Ferguson helped speed this project along, as ready-to-install risers were shipped directly to the jobsite.
The fine aesthetic value of Aquatherm compared to steel also shouldn’t be overlooked, Escher added. “This system is running at 45°F to 90°F and didn’t require insulation,” he said. “However, we have some runs that are exposed in corridors, and if we had used steel pipe we would have had to paint it. Aquatherm, on the other hand, has an attractive exterior.”
A final bonus for Escher and his people on this project is something that can be all too rare in the construction industry: appreciation. The building went from a two-pipe system where the main HVAC system was either in heating or cooling mode to a system that can provide concurrent heating and cooling based on individual occupants’ preferences.
“Many tenants have been blown away by how comfortable it now is in their spaces,” Escher said. “We got tons and tons of compliments. So it was a very good project for us. The condo owners are happy, the building management is happy, and it worked out well for us. We’re very pleased and proud of this job.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGqczxo-iY Being the first to get my hands on the new M18 Brushless Threaded Rod Cutter was an honor. The all thread cutter (2872-20) delivers clean, burr-free cuts for threading nuts on by hand. It also has the power to cut through 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2″ mild steel or 1/4” and 3/8″ stainless steel threaded Read more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGqczxo-iY
Being the first to get my hands on the new M18 Brushless Threaded Rod Cutter was an honor.
The all thread cutter (2872-20) delivers clean, burr-free cuts for threading nuts on by hand. It also has the power to cut through 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2″ mild steel or 1/4” and 3/8″ stainless steel threaded rod in seconds.
The new tool features a unique design with a 1-1/2” built-in trim length and one-handed center grip for making uniform, controlled overhead cuts. This also offers users the clearest line of site for the most accurate cuts. Not only is the tool optimized for overhead cutting, but it can also be laid flat on its back for pre-fab cutting as seen in the video.
A brushless motor and an M18 2.0Ah Battery allow this tool to deliver over 400 nut-ready cuts per charge, reducing the need to file the threaded rod before applying the nut. The die includes 3 different cutting sizes, which can be changed by rotating the dies, allowing users to cut the most common sizes of threaded rod. Milwaukee’s REDLINK™ electronics allow the tool’s jaw to auto-retract back to home after each cut so users are ready for the next cut right away.
All these features work together to prevent burrs, chips, and sparks – all common frustrations when using non-dedicated tools to cut threaded rod.
Breaking News: We’ve learned from an outside source Noritz, founded in 1951 as Noritsu Bath company a leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters in Japan but since has changed their name to Noritz, has acquired the entire interest of US boiler manufacturer PB Heat, LLC (Peerless Boiler). This news has been made public just as Read more
Breaking News:
We’ve learned from an outside source Noritz, founded in 1951 as Noritsu Bath company a leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters in Japan but since has changed their name to Noritz, has acquired the entire interest of US boiler manufacturer PB Heat, LLC (Peerless Boiler). This news has been made public just as we learned of the ambitious move by Noritz to offer a 25 year warranty on four models of their tankless lineup, see that information here: Plumbing Perspective Industry News: Noritz Warranty
In a press release out of Japan it is stated that “Noritz is focusing on expanding sales of its main tankless water heater, heating water heater, and commercial water heater, with China, North America and Australia as their priority areas.”
And
“According to this case, Noritz will further promote the expansion of heating and commercial products.“
Google was used to translate the press release from a Japanese website publishing the news event. A screenshot of the translation is included here.
We’ve reached out to Noritz America for information regarding this news, a letter from Noritz President & COO was shared. You can read that here: Noritz Announcment. An official news release has not been shared in the US market yet at the time of this publishing. Further information to follow as it is made available.
An occupied 12-story commercial building–plus the need to replace nearly all the pipe and fittings—could only call for one thing. Viega ProPress. A crew from Green Team Services Corporation was brought in to update a large commercial office building in downtown Miami that was full of old galvanized pipe. James Terry, founder and president of Read more
An occupied 12-story commercial building–plus the need to replace nearly all the pipe and fittings—could only call for one thing. Viega ProPress.
A crew from Green Team Services Corporation was brought in to update a large commercial office building in downtown Miami that was full of old galvanized pipe. James Terry, founder and president of Green Team, said they replaced “every single piece of water pipe in that building,” which includes a restaurant on the first floor.
Built in 1970, much of the mechanical equipment in the 140,000-sq.-ft. building needed an upgrade. The company that had recently purchased the building decided to put in new chillers and replace the domestic water system. But because the building was fully occupied, it made things trickier, meaning Viega was even more attractive as the solution.
Work took about a month and a half in total. There were multiple phases to the job – changing over galvanized pipe to copper and installing new ball valves on each floor. There were multiple low- and high-pressure mains into the building, plus the team put in a new pump skid.
The first phase included running all new 4″ piping in the mechanical room which was in the basement. Terry said his crew spent about three weeks installing new water mains and then came back for a large overnight shutdown.
“We had 11 plumbers for 12 hours, overnight, from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. It was a real marathon!” he said. “It would have been impossible without ProPress. The planning and the logistics that go along with an overnight project like this are huge, and it’s much more efficient to do with Viega.
“There are no surprises with ProPress. You know you have everything you need. I would never have done this job without being able to press. You’re talking over 100 joints in one night. You couldn’t solder that or do it any other way.”
Terry said using ProPress, particularly on the overnight portion of the job, kept the budget down for the client by having labor as low as possible. It also helped the team get the job done efficiently while having as little of an impact on the building’s occupants as possible.
Green Team bid the job with ProPress specified. Terry said they’ve been using Viega
for the past decade and can’t imagine using another method. “It’s the simplest form. I wouldn’t make a domestic water repair that was copper [without ProPress],” he said. “We have so much experience using Viega, and we’re so comfortable with it. The ease of use and the installation process is great – you just go get a couple of boxes of fittings, the press gun, and you’re ready to go.”
Green Team has multiple bins of “emergency” Viega fittings in the most popular types and sizes in its warehouse so that if they have an unexpected shutdown in the middle of the night, they don’t have to depend on their suppliers when it’s 3 a.m. However, Terry noted that Lehman Pipe in Miami has twice been kind enough to open in the middle of the night for the Green Team when they needed some unique parts that weren’t already on hand.
“We work on all kinds of buildings – offices, healthcare, education and hospitality type – and none of them want to wait to have their water on,” Terry said. “For me, Viega means you can get to the next job quicker because you’re getting the job done right the first time, and you know there aren’t going to be any issues.”
Click here to see this article in the November 2018 issue of Viega Voice.