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In an effort to create learning spaces for its students that are more reflective of the 21st century, Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, is in the midst of a four-year, $80 million renovation project that was approved by the area’s taxpayers. While the school will look completely refreshed and new, it will also function in an improved way, modernizing the behind-the-scenes plumbing, heating and cooling system that will create a positive impact on student comfort and learning.
Enter General Piping Inc., an MCAA member that won the bid for the mechanical and plumbing portion of the renovation. Also located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in business for more than 40 years, the licensed and certified contractor specializing in plumbing, heating and air conditioning, arrived on the scene in July of 2020.
Scope of Work
“We were brought in to install all the hydronic piping for the heating and cooling systems, as well as the entire plumbing portion of the renovation, which included new piping, new fixtures and new mechanical equipment,” said Justin Richardson, project manager, who led the Lawrence Central renovation for General Piping.
Originally built in 1963, approximately 463,000 square feet of the high school’s 531,000 square feet was included in the renovation, along with a three-story addition to the front of the original building. While the building had experienced several renovations since it was built, the building hadn’t seen any significant renovations since 1989.
In this renovation, the interior portions were completely gutted, and in some cases, the concrete floors were taken down to dirt to pave the way for a complete redesign of the interior and exterior of the building. Once the building was demolished, and the area was made safe, General Piping’s crew got to work.
With a total budget of approximately $13 million for the mechanical and plumbing systems, General Piping set out to install 75,000 linear feet of piping and 378 individual plumbing fixtures, including new sinks, toilets, water fountains and emergency eye wash stations for the science labs.
A central main plant in a separate building behind the high school contained all the major mechanical equipment, including the heating system boilers and cooling system chillers.
Since the high school was in session for some of the renovation, the work that needed to be completed was done in an occupied building, which presented some challenges from a timing perspective.
Working Smarter
To expedite the install, General Piping prefabricated all the major mechanical room work offsite at its fabrication shop and then shipped it to the jobsite for installation. All the mains and branch piping for both the hydronic and plumbing systems were installed in the field with little to no pre-fabrication.
“We had a window of time when we shut down the heating system in April and had to have everything torn out and the new system installed and functional by October when it started getting cooler. Because of the amount of welding that was needed, the only way to achieve that was to fabricate everything offsite,” explained Richardson.
Once the heating system was installed, General Piping duplicated the process with the chilled water system, removing the old system in October and having the new system in place by the end of March, before the weather turned warmer.
To complete the project, General Piping used primarily NIBCO fittings, valves and its FLO-BOSS® Coil-Connect® kits that come bagged and tagged ready to use for specific pieces of equipment. The project specifications also mandated that copper sweat fittings be used, rather than press fitting systems.
“For the prefabbed portion that was brought onsite, we strategically placed our grooved joints, using the grooved system (or grooved valves in some cases) as a natural break to connect the system as quickly as possible without problems,” explained Richardson.
On this particular project, the owner of the building had specified a specific grooving system that created a need for General Piping to modify standard lug butterfly valves by using an adaptor or by fabricating weld flanges to the valve in its fab shop to make the grooved connection. These were used on the mechanical hydronics system for 2-1/2-inch steel pipe and larger, up to 12 inches.
“Upon learning this, our NIBCO representative brought to our attention that they offered grooved butterfly valves that could eliminate the extra work,” said Richardson. “I’d estimate that nearly 80 percent of the valves on this project are grooved valves. NIBCO’s grooved butterfly valves were easy and fast to install, and they’ve performed well.”
NIBCO’s grooved butterfly valves are faster to install since they have two bolts regardless of their size and the standard lug valves have a minimum of four bolts, with the larger size valves having even more bolts. Contractors also find that the grooved valves are easier to orientate in a system, since they can be pushed and adjusted into place before torque is applied to lock the valve into position. Finally, grooved valves are overall lighter in weight.
Quality Assurance
General Piping has a long history—more than 20 years—of using NIBCO products, especially its valves. “More often than not, NIBCO is our preference,” said Richardson.
The majority of General Piping’s work is bid/spec, which allows the contractor to choose from several different manufacturers that meet the specifications that are outlined. “NIBCO almost always is an option, so when all things are equal, NIBCO is our go to,” added Richardson. “In a competitive, low-bid environment, cost is always important and NIBCO products are always priced competitively, giving us peace of mind in knowing our material cost will be in line with our competitors.
Distribution is available locally in Indianapolis, making it convenient for General Piping to find products in stock, and if they aren’t in stock, they are only a day or two away.
“NIBCO’s got a great local distribution network,” said Richardson. “We know that we can get almost any product we need quickly, which is important on a renovation project such as Lawrence High School, where unforeseen issues arise daily.”
While press fitting technology wasn’t an option on the Lawrence Central High School project, in recent years, General Piping has been using more and more press fittings on projects. From a business standpoint, General Piping realizes the advantages of pressing because of the labor cost perspective. Pressing installs are quicker and problem free.
“Now, when we have the option of using press fittings, we go exclusively with pressing on copper systems,” said Richardson. “And we always choose NIBCO for the same reasons as the valves—quality products—we don’t have issues and if we do, they are taken care of immediately.”
That quality assurance has made the Lawrence Central High School project, scheduled for completion in fall of 2024, go smoothly so far.
“Really, the only challenges that we faced on this project are the same ones that the entire world is facing—the lead times on many building products have ballooned,” said Richardson. “Other than that, the project has gone smoothly.
“Having NIBCO products on this project has been instrumental,” said Richardson. “NIBCO products are user friendly; they install without issue and we have the confidence that the company stands behind its products. I just can’t say enough good about NIBCO.”