PUEBLO, COLO. — From Pueblo, Colo, it’s a 460 mile drive to Gillette, Wyoming, and 1,120 miles to Los Angeles. But when times were tough, AAA Plumbing & Heating made the trip out of state to pursue work at large housing developments.
The economic tides have since turned in Colorado’s favor. Much of the Front Range area, including Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, is experiencing growth. Today, the eight-person firm stays more than busy in and around Pueblo. In addition to the improved economy, a fresh outlook on marketing helps the company stay closer to home these days.
“I sold the company in 2012, but I stayed on staff, focusing on bidding projects,” said Joe Costanza. “Steve Contreras has been with me for 19 years, through the good times and the bad, so I offered to sell him the business and he took me up on it.”
Pronounced “Triple A,” the 22-year-old company focuses almost entirely on residential and commercial plumbing and hydronic heating. Custom homes, assisted living facilities, hotels and retail locations make up the bulk of their work. The recent upswing in new construction has given them an opportunity to be more creative and depend less on their service work, though that’s still of key importance.
“It’s exciting to be involved with a custom home project from its inception,” said Costanza. “Seeing the home come together and knowing that you’ve provided the owner with the most comfortable, efficient system possible is rewarding, as is the feedback afterwards.”
Selection for savings
In June of 2014, just east of Pueblo, work began on a 2,600-sq.ft, ranch-style home perched on a bluff overlooking the Arkansas River. The client was familiar with Triple AAA’s work and requested them for the plumbing and heating portion of the project early on. They knew they wanted radiant on both the main floor and daylight basement.
The basement slab is insulated from below with R-5.9 Insul-Tarp made by Insulation Solutions, Inc. Half-inch MrPEX tubing is placed at 8-in. centers. To heat the main floor, PEX is stapled into joist bays.
In the boiler room, AAA installed a 180 MBH Burnham K2 condensing boiler on the wall, supplying heat for six zones. Taco Zone Sentry zone valves, BumbleBee circulator and ZVC panel are used for zone control in conjunction with Honeywell thermostats. Domestic hot water is produced with a 50-gal. Burnham Alliance indirect tank.
The system has a 20°F outdoor design temperature. While the outdoor reset control on the modulating K2 boiler controls the supply water temperature, the Delta-T operation of the variable-speed circulator will alter flow rate not only as zone valves open and close, but also to maintain a system Delta-T of 30°F.
The large temperature differential between supply and return water means that the boiler’s stainless steel heat exchanger will condense for as long as possible. This ensures that the system achieves the lowest operating costs possible.
The K2 boiler line includes five sizes and offers combustion efficiencies of up to 95 percent, while the Taco ECM (electrically commutated motor) circulator reduces electric consumption by as much as 85 percent when compared to a conventional wet-rotor circulator of similar size.
With stucco and dry-stack stone on the exterior, the beautiful home blends into its arid surrounding. When it came time to vent the boiler, Contreras didn’t want to terminate the flue in front of the house.
“The boiler room is toward the front, and much of the basement was to be finished, so we had to run the venting through the joist bays to get to the back side of the house,” explained Contreras. “If we’d have used a conventional boiler, that wouldn’t have been an option.”
Tile and hardwood throughout the home made radiant heat a fantastic choice. Pueblo can slip into deep cold spells over the winter. Regardless of the outdoor conditions, the homeowners have remained comfortable and without complaint.
New products, new ideas
“That was the first time we installed a K2 boiler and it went very, very smoothly,” Contreras said. “A representative from McCoy Sales came to the job to help us lay out the mechanical room before we started. We’ve used the Burnham Alpine for years, but I think the K2 is even easier to set up, and the price is hard to argue with.”
AAA technicians are constantly attending training sessions on new product. When McCoy Sales notifies them of a training event, they never turn down the opportunity. Whether the classes focus on controls, circulators or a new boiler, it’s free education that helps AAA deliver a better product.
The company has maintained a steady training regimen, and they’ve also upped their online marketing game when Contreras became owner.
“While we were focusing on new construction, we diverted some attention away from our service work,” said Contreras. “I thought the best way to rebuild that momentum was to redouble our digital marketing efforts. We’re now active on Facebook, and we’ve created a few AAA videos.”
Whether it’s expanding their new construction department, refocusing on service work, or building an online presence, you’ll find growth at AAA Plumbing and Heating.