Your trusted service plumber or general contractor may be an excellent partner for everyday plumbing and mechanical repairs around your apartment or condo community. But when it’s time for a system-wide pipe replacement, working with a specialty contractor—that is, a company dedicated exclusively to repiping—delivers advantages you simply can’t get from anyone else.
Here, we break down four reasons to consider a specialty contractor when your multifamily community is due for a repipe.
Four Advantages of a Specialty Pipe Replacement Contractor
1. Turnkey Service
Replacing the pipes is just one step in a property-wide repipe. These projects often include getting behind walls and removing and resetting kitchens and bathrooms, which means you’ll need skilled tradespeople—from drywallers to painters to tile setters and carpenters. When you hire a specialty contractor, they handle your project from start to finish, streamlining every step for you and your residents.
End-to-End Project Management. A repipe contractor provides a single point of accountability, all under one contract. From planning and permits to the final coat of paint, they oversee every aspect of the project, so you don’t have to juggle multiple vendors. The most comprehensive specialists also employ professional engineers to design your like-in-kind system replacement or upgrade.
Seamless Communication. The hallmark of turnkey pipe replacement is that residents remain in their homes during the project. Because a specialty contractor has repiped occupied communities many times before, they know exactly how to keep you and your residents in the loop. You get a proven, resident-focused communication program that ensures everyone knows what to expect at each juncture.
2. Time and Cost Savings
Specialty pipe replacement contractors bring speed and cost savings to large-scale projects. From cost engineering to capitalizing on longstanding supplier relationships to scheduling for minimal downtime, a specialty provider can bring all kinds of efficiency to your capital improvement project that a service plumber or general contractor simply can’t.
Fast Results. Top-of-the line specialists train and deploy in-house, dedicated crews to self-perform, which minimizes their dependence on subcontractors. That, plus their expertise in sequencing multiple trades to execute a project schedule, expedites progress and avoids downtime. In our own experience, we’ve seen that a good repipe contractor can replace up to five hydronic heating and cooling system risers in the time a good plumber or GC would need to replace one.
Cost Efficiencies. Specialists can leverage bulk purchasing power for materials, using their relationships with suppliers to keep your project costs low. And when it comes to creating estimates, their expertise means that they know how to factor any variables into their pricing, keeping your project on-budget—and avoiding unwelcome change orders and overruns.
3. Expertise Equals Quality
Pipe replacement is a highly specialized field, and experience matters. It’s simply not enough to understand the basics of plumbing and local building codes. This is a fast-changing, complex industry, and you’ll benefit from a specialist’s expert knowledge and skill on both the technical and operational side of the equation.
Advanced Skills and Knowledge. Specialists are experts in the latest materials, methods, and project management best practices. They’ve also tackled projects in all types of buildings and across a variety of piping systems. Even your most experienced plumbers and maintenance providers often don’t have the skills and helpers for complex repipe work like, say, replacing large runs of pipe in a high-rise community, or translating experience replacing supply lines with the knowledge needed to replace DWV (drain, waste, and vent) pipes that run underground. Couple a specialist’s technical expertise with project management and resident communications, and you have an unmatched recipe for high quality delivery and minimal disruption to residents.
Code Compliance. Specialists also live and breathe local building codes, reducing the risk of failed inspections and costly rework!
4. Specialization Equals Scale
System repipes are a significant lift. This is a game of skill—and numbers. A specialized contractor has a well-staffed, professional crew that matches the scale of your project. They also have crossed their t’s and dotted their i‘s with the bonding and insurance necessary for your project’s size and cost.
Large, Dedicated Crews. Specialty contractors have large teams of project managers and skilled workers that keep your project on track, manage schedules, and oversee any subcontractors. The team is exclusively focused on your project, which means they won’t be pulled away to address service plumbing issues or other community maintenance and repairs.
Bonding and Insurance. Any capital improvement project comes with a degree of risk, and that includes a community repipe. Specialists carry out these types of projects regularly, so they are fully bonded and insured for large-scale work, protecting your property, residents, and investment.
In Conclusion
Above all, choosing a specialty pipe replacement contractor offers you peace of mind. You’ll benefit from their turnkey, solution-based approach, knack for efficiency, deep expertise, and well-staffed crews.
And—most importantly—you’ll know that a highly experienced, specialized team is 100% dedicated to your repipe project’s success.
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Ready to discuss your community’s repipe project? Contact SageWater today to get a free consultation.
