Contractor - July 2024

Entrepreneurial Farmers Opt for Sustainable Hydronics

A decade ago, young farmers Keith and Jenessa Frey purchased a tract of land next to the family farm. The 60-acre parcel adjoined land the family had owned in Lancaster County, PA since 1895. Keith is now a fifth-generation farmer there.

Yet most of the Frey’s cash crop these days is grown thousands of miles away. Brazil, to be exact.

Service Experts Announces Partnership with Military Makeover with Montel

RICHARDSON, TX — Service Experts has announced their partnership with Military Makeover with Montel ® on Lifetime TV. Military Makeover, a home improvement series, celebrates military families through home makeovers across the country.

Construction Materials

Prices Decrease in May

WASHINGTON, DC — Construction input prices decreased 0.9% in May compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released June 13th. Nonresidential construction input prices decreased 0.8% for the month. Overall construction input ➤ Turn to Construction, page 10

LABEL

Art Edmonds, Jennifer Bertrand and Montel Williams. ➤ Turn to Farmers, page 44

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8th EWTS Discusses Advances in Water Quality and Efficiency

BY JOHN MESENBRINK OF CONTRACTOR’S STAFF

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Every two years, a meeting of water conscious, like-minded individuals travel to a water technology Mecca of sorts to discuss water conservation, efficiency and use. This year’s Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS)—co-convened through International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), and Plumbing Manufacturers International

➤ Turn to Story, page 45

Bob Bowcock talks incentivization during the wrap-up panel discussion.

MOKENA, IL — ARCSA International has announced the United States General Services Administration (GSA) has accepted its proposed change for the Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service (P100), requiring major capital projects of more than 5,000 square feet employing rooftop rainwater catchment and harvesting

systems to comply with relevant ARCSA/ASPE/ ANSI standards.

P100, which is updated every three years, establishes mandatory design standards and performance criteria for GSA-owned buildings. Design and construction professionals must abide by the policy and technical criteria in ➤ Turn to GSA, page 14

HS Students to Unveil Custom Go-Karts

They Built with Racing Legends

BURNSVILLE, MN — On June 21, Minneapolis Public Schools and Lakeville North High School will reveal rat rod karts they built in class as part of a new, year-long program developed by Northern Tool + Equipment. The karts are powered by 740cc NorthStar EFI engines and will be revealed in front of thousands of car enthusiasts at Minnesota Street Rod Associations Back to the 50s event.

➤ Turn to Go-Karts, page 12

EDITORIAL STAFF

VP/Market Leader-Buildings & Construction

Mike Hellmann, mhellmann@endeavorb2b.com

Group Editorial Director-Buildings & Construction Mike Eby, meby@endeavorb2b.com

Editor-In-Chief Steve Spaulding, sspaulding@endeavorb2b.com

Editor-At-Large John Mesenbrink, jmesenbrink@endeavorb2b.com

Contributing Writer Kelly Faloon

COLUMNISTS

Al Schwartz, Management

Pat Linhardt, Hydronics & Radiant Patti Feldman, Technology Matt Michel, Marketing

Art Director, Susan Lakin

Ad Services Manager, Deanna O’Byrne

Production Manager, Sam Schulenberg

its

Billy Lane (left) and Richard Petty.

In Brief

This past March at their annual National Sales Meeting, Watts honored the three recipients of this year’s Manufacturers’ Rep Lifetime Achievement Award, Roger Withers of Fitzpatrick Sales Inc., Dave Watson of Dave Watson Associates, Inc., and Roland Lajoie of Lajoie, Inc. The Award is a testament to a career marked by dedication, leadership, and innovation.

The National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors has announced the selection of Dr. George K. Guszcza, D.Eng., as the new President and CEO. Dr. Guszcza officially joins NIBS on July 1, 2024. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the built environment spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in the US, UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

ASHRAE and the American Industrial Hygiene Association have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing the organizations’ relationship. The agreement defines parameters by which ASHRAE and AIHA will work cooperatively on common public affairs goals and the coordination of technical activities.

Forte Construction Corp. has launched the Forte Construction Corp. Scholarship Fund at New York City’s The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The fund, valued at $100,000, will fund the education of one four-year undergraduate student earning his or her degree at The Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union.

The Associated General Contractors of Georgia recently elected Joe Tuggle as its chapter president. Tuggle is the president of Peachtree City-based Tuggle Construction, a GC working in the industrial and commercial markets. The Auburn alumnus also established The Tuggle Construction Foundation to give back to the local community.

Infinity Drain has launched a new online CEU in partnership with Architectural Record. The new course, Understanding Architectural Linear Drains, explores the various design applications of linear drains as well as the unique details available and waterproofing methods recommended. Visit infinitydrain.com.

CONTRACTORmag.com

Visit www.Contractormag.com for your daily dose of industry news!

• Pfister Faucets’ American Plumber Stories Docuseries Wins 3 Telly Awards

• Bradford White Supports Women in the Skilled Trades with New Scholarship Funding

• Navigating a Complex Construction Insurance Market

• ASHRAE Applauds the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building

Videos & Media Galleries

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Saving Homes and Businesses After Water Damage

BY

Flooding, major water leaks and water damage from putting out a fire can wreak havoc on a home or business. Add the cost of remediation and restoration, and business owners’ and homeowners’ stress levels quickly rise.

“Even a little water can quickly cause major damage,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notes on its Floodsmart.com site. “Just one inch of water in a typical home can cause up to $25,000 of damage. Water can damage or destroy drywall, flooring, carpet, furniture, personal belongings and anything with electronics. If not removed quickly, it can cause dangerous mold and structural damage.”

Carpet and vinyl flooring can be thrown out, but wood floors are another matter.

“Moisture trapped within the wood creates an ideal environment for mold and mildew growth,” blogs DRYmedic Restoration Services. “Within 24 to 48 hours, mold spores can begin to colonize, posing health risks to residents and further compromising the structural integrity of the flooring. The presence of mold not only exacerbates the damage, but also leads to more serious and costly remediation efforts.”

Matt Black and John Rossi add the DRYmedic Restoration Services franchise to their Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchises.

In older homes, flaking lead paint and asbestos removal are concerns for residents and properly trained and certified remediation/restoration workers after a water-damage incident.

Would you like to add water remediation and restoration to your

plumbing business? It seems like a natural progression for plumbers, who are water experts.

We talked to two Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisees who added water remediation/restoration through the DRYmedic Restoration Services

franchise. Both franchises reside under the Authority Brands umbrella.

Prioritizing Customer Care

“As a Northern California native aware of the region’s challenging weather, I saw an opportunity to add a restoration company to my plumbing business,” explains John Rossi, franchise owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of San Francisco Bay Area, DRYmedic Restoration Services of East Bay and North Bay, CA, and Mister Sparky Electric of North Bay, CA. “For the first three months of operation, I did no marketing, relying solely on leads from our Benjamin Franklin Plumbing plumbers—a testament to the power in having both of these companies in my business portfolio.”

He has nine team members across two locations (Concord and Novato, CA): three in-office and six field technicians.

It was a matter of reputation for Matt Black—franchise owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Port St. Lucie, FL, and DRYmedic Restoration Services of Treasure Coast, FL. He had recommended a local water remediation and restoration company to one of his plumbing customers.

“That customer returned and showed me a list of work he was billed for but the company never completed,” he recalls. “I didn’t want to take another hit to our reputation, so adding a DRYmedic franchise made sense.” Black has one mitigation director, two project managers and two demo techs for the franchise; his wife also is working with him.

Rossi notes that in-person training was held at DRYmedic Restoration Services’ new, state-of-the-art facility in Bloomfield Hills, MI, over two weeks: half in the classroom and half in the field. “Unlike other restoration companies, in-field training takes place on actual jobs within the community rather than staged projects or flood houses,” he says.

KELLY L. FALOON OF CONTRACTOR’S STAFF

John Rossi (center, standing) during one of his weekly safety meetings for his California DRYmedic technicians.

Matt Black’s DRYmedic technicians wear personal protective equipment while removing drywall in a customer’s home.

Technicians with John Rossi’s DRYmedic Restoration Services in California remove a customer’s kitchen floor after water damage.

44

Service Experts Partners with Military Makeover with Montel

➤ Continued from page 1

“We are grateful to play a small part in the meaningful work being completed by the Military Makeover team,” said Service Experts Chief Operating Officer Cary Reed . “Many of our Service Experts employees are

veterans themselves, and we are committed to supporting the military community through our ongoing partnerships with programs like Hiring Our Heroes. Being a part of the Military Makeover mission gives us another way to serve this community.”

Military Makeover is led by talk show legend and military advocate Montel Williams, a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Navy. The cast also includes co-hosts Art Edmonds and designer Jennifer Bertrand. The show enlists conscientious

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designers, contractors, landscapers and other home improvement professionals to transform the homes and lives of military families across the country.“We are thankful for the partnership of Service Experts and look forward to working with them to provide comfortable and safe homes,” said EVP of Programming, Jack Schwartz . “Their wide array of offerings will allow us to make these deserving families feel right at home.”

“For our part in the makeovers, we will be providing the families with anything they need to transform their home into a haven of comfort, well-being and energy efficiency,” said Reed. Service Experts, which has over with 98 locations across the country, is the leading provider of total home comfort in the US. HVAC installation and repair, plumbing, connected home automations and solar energy solutions are just a few of the services the company provides. “Our team will address each family’s individual needs to determine how we can help transform their home,” said Reed. “We look forward to giving this gift of total home comfort to these deserving families.”

Military Makeover with Montel ® will premiere later this year on Lifetime TV.

For more information on Service Experts sales, rebates, products and services, visit ServiceExperts.com

Cary Reed, COO of Service Experts.

Navien leading the way year after year

2012

Navien NPE-A set the standard for tankless with ComfortFlow® built-in recirculation technology

TODAY

Navien is not only the first but still the only tankless brand with ComfortFlow® built-in buffer tank and recirc pump, saving installation time and costs by eliminating the need for an external pump. ComfortFlow allows the system to run at minimal flow rates to recirculate hot water through an external recirc line. For over a decade, ComfortFlow has not only made internal and external recirculation easy but also reduces the “cold water sandwich” effect and delivers endless hot water to fixtures faster than ever.

As the competition is trying to catch up, Navien keeps pulling farther ahead with the next big innovation in tankless technology.

To learn more about the bestselling condensing tankless brand in North America, visit us at Navieninc.com.

Construction Materials Prices Decrease in May

Continued from page 1

prices are 2.1% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 2.2% higher. Prices decreased in 2 of the 3 energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices were down 8.7%, while unprocessed energy materials prices decreased 6.6%. Natural gas prices were up by 1.7%.

“For contractors, this data provides excellent news along two fronts,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “First, construction input prices fell for the first time since December and, despite rising somewhat sharply over the first four months of 2024, are up just 2.1% year over year. Second, the Producer Price Index’s economywide measure of final

Overall construction input prices are 2.1% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 2.2% higher.

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demand prices fell in May. This, along with yesterday’s cooler than expected Consumer Price Index data, signals slowing inflation and that the Federal Reserve may begin to cut rates sooner than expected. With contractor confidence regarding profit margins at the lowest level in seven months according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, falling materials prices and the prospect of lower interest rates in 2024 are welcome developments for the construction industry.”

Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.

Authentic Connections

A REIMAGINED CONNECT FOR A REIMAGINED FUTURE.

PHCC CONNECT is coming to Birmingham with a condensed and jam-packed new schedule, PHCC is delivering focused opportunities for networking, information, and education.

We look forward to meeting you there!

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

» 20+ educational sessions

» Technology and product hubs

» Two keynote speakers

» Relaxed networking events

» Plumbing & HVAC apprentice contests

HS Students to Unveil Custom Go-Karts They Built with Racing Legends

[Check out the two-minute teaser trailer before the big reveal on YouTube.]

Students were assisted by mentors NASCAR legend Richard Petty , the team at Petty’s Garage and founder of Choppers Inc. Billy Lane

“It’s been really cool watching the students create rat rod karts out of nothing over the last eight months,” said Lane. “Watching their skills and confidence grow each month has been a fulfilling experience, and I’m excited to see the final karts and run them at the fairgrounds.”

The Rat Rod Kart Build-Off is part of Northern Tool + Equipment’s Tools for the Trades™ program. The program is designed to fuel a growing inter -

est in the trades with high school students through donations of tools and equipment to career and technical education programs. The donations give instructors professional-grade tools and equipment to properly teach the trades as well as expose students to

trade career-like experiences.

“Watching the kids work on these karts with their own two hands is what this build-off is all about,” said Petty. “This isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about those students learning valuable hands-on skills that could

help them get a job in the trades one day.”The rat rod karts will be revealed at 11 a.m. CT on Friday, June 21, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds during the 50th anniversary of MSRA’s Back to the 50s weekend. Petty, Lane and the Petty’s Garage Team, including NASCAR Driver Thad Moffitt, will be present at the reveal to celebrate the completed karts.

“We know how valuable trade careers are to our communities, which is one reason why we started Tools for the Trades,” said Suresh Krishna, CEO of Northern Tool + Equipment. “Most of the students involved with this build-off will pursue trade careers after high school. We’re thrilled we could play a part in fueling that fire.”

Two of the finished racers head out to the track.

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GSA’s P100 Document Requires ARCSA Standard Compliance

Continued from page 3

P100 while programming, designing, and documenting GSA buildings.

ARCSA International submitted the proposal in fall 2023. Proposals were reviewed by a technical committee, the P100 Steering Committee, the GSA Regions and PBS business lines. GSA

officially released the 2024 P100 on May 31, and it may be found at www. gsa.gov/p100.

The new language, which is in Section 2.5.3.2 WATER USE, reads as follows: All major capital projects, with a scope of site work exceeding 5000sf, are required to comply with the equivalent of SITES prerequi-

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site 3.2 to ‘Reduce Water Use for Landscape Irrigation’ and credit 3.4 to significantly ‘Reduce Outdoor Water Use’ for a minimum of 5 points. The goal of this requirement is to protect and conserve water. Where SITES certification is not being pursued, design submissions must follow SITES certification procedures for approach and documentation of this element.

Rainwater catchment and harvesting systems from architectural rooftops must comply with ARCSA/ASPE/ANSI Standard 632020: Rainwater Catchment Systems, while systems harvesting sidewalk, plaza, and/ or parking lot runoff must comply with ARCSA/ASPE/ANSI 78: Stormwater Harvesting System Design for Direct End-Use Applications. In addition to the above, capital projects may use recycled water sourced from a centralized treatment facility to meet these requirements. Testing of the recycled water must be conducted to determine if the chemistry is compatible for sustaining the proposed plant palette. Utilize EPA REUSExplorer Tool for State and local requirements for water reuse. CxP to confirm installed features are functioning as per design and Facility Managers are trained.

P100, which is updated every three years, establishes mandatory design standards and performance criteria for GSAowned buildings.

“ARCSA International has been working to expand our reach and provide our rainwater and stormwater design standards to the public via the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®), the EPA WRAP Action, and through the Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service (P100),” ARCSA International Executive Director Heather Kinkade said. “We are extremely pleased that we have been successful in all these efforts and will continue to offer our professional design assistance and rainwater catchment personnel training where we can.”

ARCSA International, which joined IAPMO in September 2023, provides resources and information on rainwater and stormwater collection to promote the advancement of rainwater conservation and to work with government at all levels in promoting rainwater and stormwater management. For more information, visit www.arcsa.org.

by Al Schwartz

Having to Defend Honest Profit? What’s Next?!

This column expresses the author’s opinion only and does not reflect the opinions, values or politics of the management of this magazine. I’ve thought long and hard about writing this column, and here’s why: this magazine is celebrating its 70th year of publication. It was conceived, and until very recently, published on the capitalistic model. It has supported and celebrated our industry for almost three quarters of a century. As have I. My bona fides: I have been in the plumbing industry for almost my entire life... since age six (helping my dad and granddad on weekends). The son and grandson of master plumbers, the father on a fourth-generation master plumber. My grandfather was an indentured apprentice from Europe, who emigrated to our shores in the late 19th century. My dad, who was an apprentice to my granddad, met and married my mom and they produced yours truly. I am now seventy-six years of age, retired, and in a way, the magazine and I have grown up together in the plumbing industry.

During my time on planet earth, I have been a helper, apprentice, journeyman, foreman and master plumber as well as a successful business owner. My last company is still in business, run by my oldest son, and is celebrating its 44th year of operation in the greater Phoenix area. So when I say that I have more than a passing familiarity with the trade and the industry, you can pretty much take me at my word.

Making a PROFIT!

Our industry is, was, and always has been about making a profit, doing what we do to advance the industry, improve the skills and education of those who make it a career and continue the long traditions and heritage of our trade. The people who take the risks and go into business in this industry are, and as far as I know, do it to improve their lives and make a profit. The operative word here is PROFIT! So you can imagine my shock at reading not one, but two articles in the

Imagine my shock at reading not one, but two articles in the last issue espousing socialist ideology!

last issue espousing socialist ideology!

Nothing could me more oil and wa ter than socialism and capitalism, yet here, in this magazine, are two pieces that try to equate current “woke” the ory with profit making without sharing “appropriately” according to someone who is not working in the industry, as a bad thing!

So it Begins

First is the article about Ferguson (one of, if not the most expensive supply houses in the Phoenix area) imple menting as department of Environ mental, SOCIAL, Governance! In my humble opinion, you could just as eas ily replace ESG with the acronym DEI and all that it involves. It didn’t work out too well for Bud Light and hasn’t for many other companies who have “gone woke.”

The idea of hiring and bringing people into the trade based upon the spurious notion of DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION is ludicrous when one considers how difficult it is to find anyone even interested in making the trade a career in this day and age. Searching for “equality of outcome” instead of excellence of input and the desire to learn a trade might work for some office drone jobs, but

may not, have what it takes to invest in a trade career. These companies are not giants, as in the “Book of Giants,” but rather are small, medium or large shops built for one reason... to make a profit and improve the lives of the owners as well as the employees.

And Continues

Which brings me to the second article, “On Being a Good Corporate

The Brooklyn, NY-born author is a retired third-generation master plumber. He founded Sunflower Plumbing & Heating in Shirley, N.Y., in 1975 and A Professional Commercial Plumbing Inc. in Phoenix in 1980. He holds residential, commercial, industrial and solar plumbing licenses and is certified in welding, clean rooms, polypropylene gas fusion and medical gas piping. He can be reached at allen@proquilldriver.com.

150 Years of Watts Water –Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Our conversation with Andrew Windsor, Sr. Vice President of Sales, Americas.

BY STEVE SPAULDING

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — Back in 1874, English immigrant Joseph E. Watts opened an independent machining shop in Lawrence, MA, the Watts Regulator Company, supplying parts and fittings to local textile mills.

Since then the company has grown to become a global brand supplying quality water solutions for residential, industrial, municipal, and commercial applications. Headquartered in North Andover, MA, the company has expanded, both organically and through a series of acquisitions including BLÜCHER in 2008, Socla in 2011 and water heater manufacturer AERCO in 2014. The company most recently welcomed commercial fixture manufacturer Bradley into the company in 2023.

CONTRACTOR spoke with Andrew Windsor, Sr. Vice President of Sales, Americas about the company anniversary, its formula for success and what it sees as the future of the plumbing industry.

CONTRACTOR: First, congratulations on Watts’ 150-year anniversary. It’s a big deal! What are some of the key factors that have contributed to the company’s success?

Windsor: Thank you, it is a big deal. If you think of the journey this company’s gone on over 150 years and the number of associates and customers that have contributed to our success, it’s really an incredible story. We’re a company that was founded on products that helped create a safer world. Our original product was a relief valve for steam manufacturing up here in New England to make sure that these high pressure steam units wouldn’t explode. That evolved to mixing valves to make sure that water is provided safely at the right temperature for showers and hand washing, and backflow preventers to help protect buildings from Legionella and other waterborne pathogens.

We’ve really been a company built around providing safety products and protecting people’s water—and in many cases lives. And that’s really what’s made us an incredible company over the years.

CONTRACTOR: So that’s a great thing to have at the core of the company. You’ve probably dealt with a lot of manufacturers reps over the course of your career. What makes a good manufacturer’s rep?

Windsor: I think if you look at our rep network today, most of our reps have been Watts reps for 30-plus years and they have built their organizations in many cases around the Watts line. Being a manufacturer’s rep is a difficult job because everyone’s their customer—they have to do what’s right for the manufacturer and they have to do what’s right for the end customer and navigate that path. We find that the reps that are the most successful are very focused on demand creation at the engineer, contractor, and owner level, and that they are really laserfocused on what the differentiation of our product is. They’re out there solving application

issues for end users. So, when a contractor runs into an installation issue or an application issue, they’re calling them to solve that problem not to sell product.

CONTRACTOR: What do you see as the big challenges for the plumbing industry in 2024, and how do you see Watts’ role as a leading manufacturer in meeting those challenges?

Windsor: I think there are two big challenges in our future. First, I think consolidation is going to continue to accelerate, and that’s on every level; at the distribution level, at the rep network level, at the contractor level, and certainly at the manufacturer level.

The other challenge we have is labor. I think as an industry we have to think about labor differently. If you look around this industry, it’s a lot of people that look like me, in my fifties. We need to think about how we attract different talent into this organization, into this industry, and at every level.

For every two people that the industry, five people leave. So that’s going to become a huge challenge. We have to figure out how to make this a more appealing industry for people of different races, different genders. We just have

to get better at this or talent is going to become a real limiting factor for us.

CONTRACTOR: So the big challenge becomes a combination of outreach and education.

Windsor: One of the things I’m most proud about the journey we’ve taken at Watts is our focus on training. We’ve invested tens of millions of dollars over the last 10 years in our training capabilities. We have five training facilities around the country, our flagship here in North Andover, MA, where we’ll bring in well over a thousand engineers, contractors, wholesalers in for in-person training. And that’s hands-on training along with classroom training. I think the organization has developed a just incredible assortment of what we call Lunch-and-Learns e-trainings. Over 30,000 individual people in the industry have participated in our Lunch-andLearns. In our online training platform, Watts Works, we have over 400 courses available for contractors, engineers, wholesalers, and reps. Last year over 200,000 individual courses were taken on that platform.

We’re passionate about it. It’s one of the things I’m most proud that we’ve developed in the 10 years since I’ve been here.

CONTRACTOR : Does the company have any celebrations planned for the big anniversary?

Windsor: It’s an ongoing celebration. A lot of focus on our associates. I think a company is only as great as its people. We’re trying to host a 150 event at every facility we have around the world with our global leadership team attending each one of those. It’s all just a huge thank-you to our loyal customers and our associates. It’s been an awesome journey for 150 years and hopefully we have another 150 years in front of us, continuing to find ways to innovate and provide value, protect water systems and protect people as they engage with water.

OF CONTRACTOR’S STAFF

A senior instructor helps trainees get hands-on. Over the last decade, Watts Water Technologies has invested tens of millions into training and education.

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By Steve Spaulding of CONTRACTOR’s staff

Let’s visit with some great American companies and learn about their formulas for success— and hopes for the future.

Welcome once more to our annual Made in America feature where we shine a spotlight on US-based manufacturers serving the equipment and materials needs of the plumbing and hydronic heating industry, from pipes and fittings to faucets and showerheads to water heating appliances and everything in-between.

The good news in 2024 is that the avalanche of federal money invested in domestic manufacturing has finally struck. As of February 2024, annual investment in new manufacturing facilities hit nearly $225 billion dollars, a record high even after adjusting for inflation. While the skilled labor market remains tight (a problem both manufacturers and the construction trades have in common) the manufacturing sector gained 8,000 new jobs in May, a boost from April.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act) are driving investment in critical supply-chain technology (like semiconductors) and green technology (such as electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines). For the plumbing and heating industry, the big story is heat pump technology, with expanded product offerings and ever-increasing shipments. These federal initiatives demand domestic production and (when possible) domestic sourcing of raw materials.

But producing and buying domestically is more than just good politics, it’s good sense. Buying American-made shortens the supply chain, cuts down shipping and delivery times, reduces fuel emissions, and supports local jobs and the national economy.

It’s also good customer relations. The Alliance of American Manufacturing reports that 75 percent of American consumers prefer to purchase items made in the United States.

Buying American-made makes for a more secure, more prosperous economy, something we all end up feeling the benefits of. So let’s visit with some great American companies and learn about their formulas for success—and hopes for the future.

uAB&I Foundry

AB&I Foundry is a U.S. manufacturer of cast iron soil pipe and fittings used in commercial construction for drain, waste, and vent (DWV) plumbing systems. When you work with AB&I, we make you part of the family. Our team cares about every customer at every level, finding solutions to help you succeed. AB&I products are Made in America and set the standard for quality and durability. When buying from AB&I, contractors can be confident they are receiving quality products from people who care.AB& Foundry: Your True Industry Partner.

www.ABIFounry.com

uAnaco-Husky

The Husky High-Performance Heavy Duty Coupling by Anaco is specified by more engineers than all other brands combined. Manufactured at their state-of-the-art facilities in Corona, California, no other coupling is more dependable, durable, or built to a higher standard of quality. From the specially-designed gasket made from Neoprene to the Series 300 stainless steel shields, bands and screws — only the finest, most corrosion-resistant materials are good enough for the Husky. Available in 1½-inch – 15-inch sizes, there’s a Husky for virtually every application.

www.Anaco-Husky.com

A. O. Smith’s Cyclone LX is designed, engineered and assembled Mcbee, SC. The LX design is the latest advancement for the industry leading Cyclone family of condensing gas water heaters. The Cyclone XL models are all Energy Star qualified products, delivering efficiencies of up to 97 percent. It features a unique dual stainless-steel heat exchange system, providing a two-step heat transfer process that delivers a thermal

efficiency of 97 percent. It also works seamlessly with the A.O. Smith iCOMM™ connectivity platform, which provides remote monitoring, control of the set point and differential, and run history for each connected unit.

www.aosmith.com

uBradford White

From its start more than 140 years ago Bradford White’s goal has been to deliver high-quality, superior products made by American craftspeople. The company remains committed to that goal in 2022 and proudly employs over 1,800 people at their American facilities to manufacture Built to be the Best™ commercial and residential water heaters that lead the industry in performance, reliability, efficiency, safety and innovation.

www.bradfordwhite.com

uBradley

For more than 100 years, Bradley has created the most complete and advanced commercial washrooms and comprehensive solutions that make industrial environments safe. Bradley is the industry’s leading source for multi-function handwashing and drying fixtures, accessories, partitions, solid plastic lockers, as well as emergency safety fixtures and electric tankless heaters for industrial applications. Bradley is committed to manufacturing in the US with two plants in Wisconsin and one in Ohio. The company’s USA-made products include lavatory systems, such as Verge, Express and Frequency models, lockers, and many washroom accessories and partition models. Headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., USA, Bradley serves commercial, institutional and industrial building markets worldwide.

www.bradleycorp.com

uBrass Craft

Since its founding in 1946, Brasscraft Manufacturing Co. has been proud to be a high quality and innovative American manufacturer where products are engineered in the USA and assembled by skilled professionals that provides the quality assurance the professional plumber looks for. Look for the DMA flag logo (Designed, Machined and Assembled in the USA) on BrassCraft brand water connectors, water stops, gas connector and appliance connectors - they are designed in the USA, machined at one of our plants – Lancaster, Texas; Corona, California or Thomasville, North Carolina, and assembled by our American work force. When you buy product manufactured in America, you help to keep American businesses strong and support domestic job growth at the same time. BrassCraft, This is Our Craft. www.brasscraft.com

uChannellock, Inc.

Channellock, Inc., is investing in a 35,000 square foot expansion of its finished goods warehouse and distribution facilities. The project will bring the company’s total presence in Meadville to more than 260,000 square feet of production and distribution space. With more than 370 full-time associates, Channellock, Inc., is among the largest employers in Crawford County, PA. www.channellock.com

uCharlotte Pipe and Foundry

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company is the nation’s top manufacturer of cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings. As a leader in innovation and quality, they offer the industry’s broadest range of standard and specialty DWV products. They are the only manufacturer that offers a system of ABS, PVC, CPVC, cast iron, FlowGuard Gold, ChemDrain, ReUze and RePVC pipe and fittings. All Charlotte Pipe products are proudly made in the USA. Charlotte Pipe is headquartered in

uA. O. Smith

Charlotte, NC, has seven plant locations across the United States, and employs 1,350 associates. Combining modern technology with 115 years of craftsmanship and experience, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry has a proud legacy of commitment to the industry and its customers..

www.charlottepipe.com

uCherne Industries

Part of the Oatey Co. family of companies, Cherne Industries, is the industry-leading manufacturer of test plugs and testing equipment for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal piping systems. In 1953, Cherne Industries created an innovative inflatable device for stack testing. Cherne’s pneumatic product offering expanded to include testing, maintenance and repair equipment for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal systems. Acquired by Oatey Co. in 1990, Cherne Industries maintained its focus on system testing, maintenance and repair with an unrelenting commitment to quality.

www.oatey.com/brands/cherne

uChicago Faucets

Chicago Faucets has been America’s leading manufacturer of commercial faucets for over 110 years. With manufacturing, research, and development facilities located solely in the United States, the company produces products that are made with an unwavering commitment to quality. The Chicago Faucets’ foundry, manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facilities are located within a 350 mile radius of their corporate office. This provides a high degree of control of product quality and an ability to deliver quickly to any location in the United States. On July 12, 1901 Chicago Faucets founder, Albert C. Brown, took his savings and opened a small shop in the near West Side of Chicago. Today his spirit lives on in the hundreds

of Chicago Faucets employees who every day seek to meet customer needs with innovative, high quality products. Whatever your requirements may be, Chicago Faucets offers standard and made-to-order products that are designed to meet any commercial application. www.chicagofaucets.com

uClimate Control Group

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, the Climate Control Group (CCG) is a diverse collection of subsidiaries providing HVAC products and solutions for a variety of applications and markets. CCG designs and manufactures market-leading products essential for the comfort and efficiency of climate-controlled spaces. The ClimateMaster brand specializes in geothermal and water source heat pumps, offering sustainable solutions for energy-efficient heating and cooling. CCG continuously advances the field through innovation and quality, making significant contributions to the comfort and sustainability of climate-controlled spaces across different sectors. www.ccgi-hvac.com

uDaikin

The Daikin Texas Technology Park (DTTP) is a new state-of-the art business campus that consolidates many of Daikin’s HVAC manufacturing and logistics facilities across North America. Daikin invested over $400 million to construct the facility on a 500 acre site just outside of Houston, TX. With over four-million operational square feet available, which is equivalent to 74 football fields with end zones, the DTTP supports the design, engineering and assembly of a wide array of energyefficient heating and cooling products. www.daikincomfort.com

uDeWalt

DeWalt, a Stanley Black & Decker brand, is celebrating its 100th anniversary of powering the pros. Through its commitment to innovation, safety and productivity, DeWalt has been delivering tools to meet the needs of professional tradespeople around the world since 1924 when Raymond DeWalt’s forward-looking

vision resulted in the founding of DeWalt. DeWalt has championed the trades sector since its founding, and in 2019, the company began offering annual DeWalt Trades Scholarships to support and grow the next generation of trades professionals. DeWalt continues to expand its commitment to the future generations of tradespeople.

www.dewalt.com

uElkay Manufacturing

The Elkay Manufacturing Company began as a vision of Leopold Katz and his son Louis on the North side of Chicago back in 1920. Founded with the goals of manufacturing the highest quality sinks and providing the best service possible, the company began to thrive. Today, Elkay’s products, designs and innovations continue to lead the industry, such as the Perfect Drain (pictured), where they eliminated the flange to create a seamless surface that’s more attractive and hygienic. With more than 3,500 employees worldwide, they are proud to be America’s number-one selling stainless steel sink company. Over the years the company has expanded to include the manufacture of faucets, water coolers, drinking fountains and bottle fillers. A cabinetry division achieved Elkay’s goal of being a more complete supplier of kitchen and bath products for both residential and commercial installations.

www.elkay.com

uGeneral Pipe Cleaners

Clogged drains demand “The toughest tools down the line.” And General Pipe Cleaners - a fourth-generation, family-owned business, based proudly in the USA - has remained a leading manufacturer of high quality draincleaning and pipe inspection equipment for nearly 90

Our crew stands behind you.

We get it. With relationships built for the longhaul, our pros are determined to help you find the right fit. Our trusted PEXa plumbing system has choices that set you up to win big. na.rehau.com/plumbing

years! Company breakthroughs began with Flexicore cable, a radical design introduced in the 1940’s. With its patented process of wrapping spring wire tightly around a wire rope core, General’s innovation surpassed all competitive products – remaining the standard for drain cleaning snakes ever since. Trusted industry standards – like the long lasting Super-Vee, best selling Speedrooter 92, and unique Kinetic Water Ram drain cleaners – followed. Jet-Set water jets slash though grease, sand and ice, and the Gen-Eye video pipe inspection systems and Hot Spot digital pipe locator feature everything to trouble-shoot 1-1.2” through 10” lines – including Wi-Fi capability. Surveys confirm: multiple generations of plumbers and drain cleaning professionals call General their preferred brand. www.drainbrain.com

uGoulds Water Technology

For the 43 million Americans who rely on water wells for their drinking water, Goulds Water Technology, a Xylem brand, is committed to helping communities in need gain access to safe, clean water. At the Goulds Water Technology facility in Auburn, New York, 200 dedicated workers build nearly 2,500 residential and wastewater pumps every day with pride and a pledge to quality. Our employees and partners also make a positive impact one project at a time through Xylem Watermark, our corporate citizenship program. www.goulds.com

uGreenlee®

For over 150 years, Greenlee® has been engineering, making, assembling, and packaging many products here in the U.S. The American-born and owned company is based in Rockford, Illinois where we proudly support our local manufacturing workforce as well as at our facilities in Ash Flat, Arkansas, Elyria, Ohio, and South Haven, Mississippi. Greenlee utilizes a combination of traditional hand craftsmanship and state-of-the-art equipment to produce high quality tools for professionals in the electrical trades. Elyria, Ohio is our home for manufacturing Knockout punches and Step Bits; Ash Flat, Arkansas manufactures benders, pullers, storage and material handling equipment; and Fish Tapes, along with a lot of our high-voltage test equipment, are manufactured in South Haven, Mississippi. www.Greenlee.com

uHarris Products Group

A leader in serving brazing and soldering needs for HVAC/R and plumbing professionals, the Harris Products Group has manufactured quality products for more than 110 years. A Lincoln Electric company, Harris operates plants in Mason, Ohio, Gainesville, Ga. and WinstonSalem, N.C., where it produces brazing and soldering alloys (including Sterling and Bridgit) that are available in rods, solid wire and rings; air-fuel gas equipment; oxy/fuel equipment; and MAP gas. Its products are available through a network of wholesalers. www.harrisproductsgroup.com

uInSinkErator

Based in Racine, Wis., InSinkErator, a business unit of Emerson Electric Co., is the world’s leading provider of food waste disposers. InSinkErator also produces instant hot water dispensers and organics recycling systems, which divert food waste from landfills to anaerobic digesters for recycling into renewable energy.

Racine architect John W. Hammes invented the disposer in 1927 and founded InSinkErator in 1938. Eighty years later, the company still calls the USA home, has operations in over 80 countries with 1,300 employees, and offers a high-performance line of disposers called Evolution Series®, with advanced sound, grind and antijam technologies. Worldwide, InSinkErator advocates for disposers as an environmentally responsible alternative to landfilling of food waste. www.insinkerator.com

uKohler

and strength, and lasting beauty. Available in many shapes and sizes, along with various installation styles, Kohler enameled cast iron provides a functional and stylish option for any kitchen. Sterling’s exclusive Vikrell material is manufactured in the plumbing brand’s Alabama plant. Vikrell offers consumers a durable, beautiful product and for trade professionals, it is a great solution as it is lightweight and easy to install. Many Sterling Vikrell baths and showers are multi-piece units, allowing easy maneuvering around the jobsite and some models offer caulk-free installation. With many sizes and styles available, Sterling Vikrell baths and showers provide a solution for any bathroom layout and decor.

www.kohler.com

uLaars® Heating Systems

Laars® Heating Systems is based in Rochester, N.H., where a team of 168 dedicated American tradespeople manufacture and distribute top-rated products used in residential and commercial space heating, radiant floor heating, volume water heating and the industrial process markets. The company’s innovative solutions for heating applications are powered by advanced design and technology and offer durability, performance and efficiency.

www.laars

uLiberty Pumps

Liberty Pumps is a leading U.S. manufacturer of pumping products for ground water and wastewater removal in residential and commercial applications. With a focus on innovative product design, our wide range of pump styles includes sump pumps, sewage pumps, effluent pumps, drain pumps, grinder pumps, complete pre-assembled sewage packages, and pump accessories. Over 90% of our high-quality, innovative, American-built products are assembled/manufactured in our modern 250,000 sq. foot manufacturing facility in Bergen, NY.  Liberty prides itself in not only the performance of our products but providing a great customer experience through a customer service team that is second to none in the industry.

www.libertypumps.com

Kohler enameled cast iron kitchen sinks are handcrafted in the global plumbing company’s Kohler, Wisconsin, headquarters. Enameled cast iron is a premium material that offers exceptional durability

uLochinvar

Lochinvar’s heritage of excellence dates back to 1939, when Walter Vallett, Sr. founded the Walter Vallett Company. For generations, employees and customers have enjoyed growth and energy-saving innovations from Lochinvar. Today, Lochinvar continues its leadership position in the industry and is proud to offer products designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA.

The company is a leading producer of energyefficient boilers, water heaters, pool heaters, commercial package systems and other sustainable options. Lochinvar focus solely on serving their customers and offers them a product portfolio that delivers unmatched quality, performance and application flexibility.

Lochinvar has a solution for every water heating need.

The image represents Lochinvar’s most recent product launch, CREST with Hellcat™ Combustion Technology. www.lochinvar.com

uNexus Valve

Established in 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Nexus Valve was one of the earliest innovators of specialized hydronic components and packaging. Currently, Nexus Valve is the largest domestic manufacturer of balancing valves and hydronic specialty products thanks to American workers taking pride in assembling American made products. Nexus Valve offers millions of valve and valve kit configurations, all designed, assembled, and tested at our world headquarters in Fishers, Indiana. We take great pride in providing value to our customer’s projects in the U.S., and are excited to expand our remarkable American made products to overseas markets. To Nexus Valve “Made in America” means accountability of quality made products for customers we care about. Our extensive family of flow control and related products for the commercial and residential hydronic HVAC industry stands alone for quality, selection, and value. So, we don’t just take pride in our innovative designs, we build them too.

www.nexusvalve.com

uNibco

Headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, NIBCO operates manufacturing plants throughout America in Arkansas, California, Texas, Wisconsin, Virginia, Massachusetts, Georgia and Indiana. Since its founding in 1904, NIBCO has been a leading provider of flow-control products and systems for the residential, commercial, industrial,

marine, irrigation and waterworks markets. NIBCObranded products are manufactured using high-quality materials and innovative processes and technologies. For every high-quality valve or fitting made at NIBCO, each is made with pride by the hundreds of NIBCO associates who work there. www.nibco.com

uNiles Steel Tank

For 122 years, Niles Steel Tank has provided industries around the world with the highest quality water storage and heating equipment. As the premier manufacturer and supplier of custom pressure vessels, process tanks, glass-lined water storage tanks and OEM vessels for major manufacturing operations in automotive, the compressor and press industries, air conditioning, water filtration, chemical and pharmaceutical companies and a host of other industries. In 2020, the company launched a fully integrated facility to expand their production of American-made stainless steel products for the hydronics, chemical and petrochemical, dairy and food processing, brewing and winery, pharmaceutical and air products industries. www.nilesst.com

uOatey Co.

Oatey Co. was founded in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio by L.R. Oatey. In 1947, Oatey established its first manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters on

Berea Road. After a century of incredible progress and many company acquisitions, Oatey has changed with the times, meeting the needs of its customers and manufacturing products designed to deliver quality, build trust and improve lives. More than 100 years and counting, Oatey is still over-delivering on that promise. Because of this evolution, Oatey is recognized today as a leading manufacturer of high-quality plumbing products www.oatey.com

uProVent

ProVent Single Stack DWV Sovent type PVC Fittings are completely made in America along with other PVC fittings that form the PVC DWV single stack system. It’s called the new “System of Choice” over conventional waste, vent and revent methods for multi-story hoteland apartment-type construction. The system helps contractors save precious time and money when plumbing these types of buildings. ProVent and ProSet products have been creating unique time and labor saving product solutions for over 36 years. All ProVent, ProSet and Trap Guard products are American-made for plumbing and heating contractors. proventsystems.com

uREHAU

For 28 years, REHAU’s dynamic production center in Cullman, Alabama has been committed to continual growth and process improvements to support the plumbing, automotive and refrigeration industries. Starting as a modest 200,000-sq-ft facility in 1996, the plant now spans about a million square feet and operates as two segments–one focused on automotive painted exterior components and another on PEXa piping for plumbing and mechanical systems, alongside gaskets for household appliances. The recent integration of four new silos stands as a testament to the site’s evolution. Specifically designed for PEXa production, the silos enhance storage capacity and streamline material management, positioning REHAU to grow its PEXa production even further in the future. www.rehau.com

You’re Invited to the Largest Event for Plumbing System Professionals

+ New plumbing technologies from more than 250 global exhibitors Practical solutions to your plumbing design challenges directly from product engineers

A show floor filled with industry experts providing hands-on technical solutions

New skills from professional development and technical education sessions

uRheem

Founded in 1925, Rheem is the only North American company that produces heating, cooling, water heating, pool/spa heating and commercial refrigeration products. Today the company’s portfolio of premium brands includes Rheem®, Raypak®, Ruud®, Eemax®, Richmond®, as well as commercial refrigeration brands Russell®, Witt®, ColdZone® and Kramer ® , which are part of the Heat Transfer Products Group (HTPG®) division. Rheem is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has five manufacturing facilities across the United States. As part of the company’s “Greater Degree of Good” initiative, Rheem has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and achieving zero waste to landfill in the company’s global manufacturing operations by 2025. Rheem is dedicated to developing innovative solutions to deliver just the right temperature while saving energy, water and supporting a more sustainable future. www.rheem.com

uRinnai

Rinnai’s new 300,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Griffin, Georgia is now open and ready for production. The company will start by producing inventory for the RE Series tankless water heater which will be available for purchase in August 2022. After production ramps up for the RE Series, the plant will begin to expand into the production of other Rinnai branded products. The facility establishes Rinnai America as the only tankless water heater company to manufacture units in North America and is the full realization of a dream of Rinnai’s Japan-based ownership, to have such a facility in North America, first expressed in 2014. www.rinnai.us

uRWC

As an RWC brand, SharkBite manufactures its EvoPEX push-to-connect fittings and PEX-B pipe in Cullman, Alabama, as it provides hundreds of manufacturing jobs to the Cullman community. The majority of its new SharkBite Max fittings are either made or assembled in Cullman, too. From start to finish, SharkBite is able to

control the quality of its products, offering professionals a more efficient method for rough-in plumbing compared to traditional methods. www.rwc.com

uSloan Valve

Sloan’s AER-DEC® is an integrated sink system with a soap dispenser, faucet, hand dryer, and sink basin all designed to work together as one touch-free and highly efficient system. The sink helps maximize space and allows for a cleaner design by moving the soap dispenser and hand dryer to the deck. The all-in-one sink system is made at a Sloan facility in Mesa, AZ. www.sloan.com

uStellar

Founded in 1990 in Garner, Iowa, Stellar has grown into a prominent manufacturer of top-quality work trucks, trailers and service truck and van accessories. With operations spanning across multiple U.S. locations, Stellar takes pride in being a 100% employee-owned and -operated company. Today, Stellar has achieved international recognition and is the No. 1 choice for productivity solutions in numerous markets. With a reputation for quality and reliability, Stellar continues to meet the diverse needs of customers worldwide. www.stellarindustries.com

uTyler Pipe

Tyler Pipe and Coupling is an American Manufacturer of cast iron soil pipe and fittings used primarily in commercial construction DWV plumbing systems. This sustainable and environmentally safe product is made from nearly 95% post-consumer scrap metal and is recycled at the end of its long service life. That’s Tyler Tough. www.TylerPipe.com

uWoodford Manufacturing

The Woodford Model 19 freezeless, anti-burst residential wall faucet prevents burst pipes — even if the hose is attached in freezing temperatures. The Woodford Model 19 outdoor faucet, with its easily identifiable oval handle, features a patented pressure relief valve that prevents pressure build-up and burst tubes. For just a few dollars more than a freezeless faucet, the homeowner can rest easy knowing their faucet won’t burst in freezing weather, even if they forget to remove the hose. This product is made in the USA and is backed by a 5 year Limited Warranty. woodfordmfg.com

uWright

For nearly a century, Wright has been manufacturing USA-made, professional-grade wrenches, sockets, drives and other hand tools for hardworking Americans in the industrial, contractor and MRO markets. With three patented innovations, Wright Grip 2.0, Wright Drive 2.0®, and Wright Square™, Wright is known for innovation, engineering and forging excellence. Located in Barberton, Ohio, equipped with cuttingedge technology, fueled by all-American ingenuity and a commitment to high-quality professional grade tools, Wright is ready to take on the future. www.wrighttool.com

Mechanical contractors will notice that Mueller duplex and select wye strainers now come with pre-installed pressure sensors.

Don’t remove this tag during installation. It simply reminds the maintenance engineer to purchase an add-on Connection Kit to activate the pressure monitoring technology. Once activated, they’ll receive mobile or BAS/BMS alerts so they can:

• Maintain consistent flow and efficient system performance

• Proactively perform strainer maintenance

• Protect costly equipment from damage

Presented in partnership with Radiant Professionals Alliance

by Patrick Linhardt

HYDRONICS MANAGER AT CORKEN STEEL PRODUCTS CO.

Hydronics on Tour - Radiators in Spain

For the second year in a row, my wife and I travelled in Europe. This year we were in Spain for two weeks. The weather was nice, sorta like San Diego. The food was great, lots of interesting dishes. The places we stayed were excellent, with very friendly and helpful staff. If only the airline didn’t delay the arrival of our luggage for two and a half days.

We started the trip with four days in Barcelona, exploring the city and shopping for shoes. We then rented a Tesla and spent three days in the Pyrenees, driving around to the tiny tax-free country of Andorra, to the sprawling city of Toulouse in France, and to the fairy tale village of Puigcerda in Spain, shopping for shoes.

We finished the trip with four days on the island of Majorca in the middle of the crystal-clear Mediterranean Sea, again shopping for shoes. The highlight of that leg of the trip was a five-hour catamaran voyage with seventy drunk Europeans, including both a bachelor and a bachelorette party. I’ll never again hear the Momma Mia song without remembering the crew and the ladies dancing it up.

Very Different Missions

My wife’s mission was finding just the right shoes that were made in Spain. I think she ended up buying five pairs for herself and one pair for our granddaughter. Full disclosure, I bought one pair. But since I’m a hydronic geek, my mission was to find out how they heat buildings on the other side of the Atlantic. I found five examples of cast iron hot water radiators.

We checked in to our Bed & Breakfast in Barcelona the first day, without our luggage. We both had the one change of clothes they recommend in our carryons, but not our toiletries. It turns out that I can miss a day or two of shaving, but my wife can’t be without her stuff for long. We did shop for some things other than shoes.

The author is on a mission to find out how they heat buildings on the other side of the Atlantic.

The nice guy at the desk explained that our room was in the building next door. So off we go down the steps, through the lobby, take the sidewalk to the right, through another lobby, and up three floors in an antique elevator.

Let’s Talk Radiators…

The radiator in photo A was in the hallway leading to our room. I hadn’t seen this style cast iron radiator in my forty years of looking at cast iron radiators. It was perfect for a hallway because it only stood off the wall about two inches. A flat cast iron radiator before there were flat panel steel radiators. Please notice the beautiful tile floor. Tile floors were everywhere and always interesting.

The B&B was in apartment building built in the 1920’s. Our room had a column style cast iron radiator from that era, similar to the radiator in photo B. It was in the other building, on the terrace where we had our breakfast every morning. Like most radiators in Europe, it has a thermostatic actuated radiator valve.

The valve regulates the flow of hot water into the radiator to maintain the room temperature at the setpoint on the dial of the actuator. Europeans like the comfort and savings that these valves provide. I’ve found that most Americans are not that interested. In the Midwest market, not many radiators get this upgrade.

What interested me about this radiator was how they do the manual air

vent. The end sections of the radiator do not have the boss cast into the section to drill and tap for an air vent. American radiators almost always have that. I guess the Europeans like to use a bunch of bushings to install the manual vent.

The radiator in photo C was hanging over the fireplace in the hotel we stayed at in the Pyrenees. Actually, it was a picture of a greenhouse that used to be on the property. This place was built in 1910 as a summer home, then repurposed as a luxury hotel twenty years ago. My wife and I were spoiled by this place. I can’t imagine a hotel being nicer. In fact, when we got to our five-star hotel in Majorca, it seemed like a complete letdown.

And More Radiators…

The radiators in photos D and E were in shoe stores (imagine that) in the nearby village of Puigcerda. This is up in the mountains near some major ski resorts, so it must get cold in the winter. The radiator in photo d is about the longest radiator I can remember. It has seventy sections!

It has the thermostatic valve on the supply end, and a regular union elbow on the return. These type of valves have to be on the supply side because of the internal construction. If the water flows through it the wrong way, it chatters as it closes.

The radiator in photo E only has 26 sections, but unlike the 70-section radiator where the supply and return are on opposite sides of the radiator, the connections are through one valve on the same side. I’m not sure what magic is going on to get that radiator to heat end to end, maybe a long horizontal dip tube.

…And One Radiator-Free Island

I did not find any cast iron radiators or panel radiators on the island of

➤ Turn to Hydronics, page 34

Presented in partnership with Radiant Professionals Alliance

Heat Pumps Get Us to Net Zero

The pivot from fossil fuels to a non-carbon future presents tremendous challenges and opportunities. What will the role of mechanical contractors be?

By BRIAN NELSON, SPECIAL TO CONTRACTOR

Over the last 30 years, as I have progressed from plumbing apprentice in the field to Master Plumber and business owner, I have watched our industry change dramatically.

I love all things hydronic and the world of mechanical contracting. I have seen our role as mechanical contractors become more and more important in the global effort to conserve energy and water.

We serve as the voice of reason with the courage to try new things— we know what works but we are willing to learn about and install new technologies.

Three decades ago, I started in the trade installing oil boilers and baseboard fin tube piped with 3⁄4 copper tubing that I soldered together. Most equipment was oversized, but energy was cheap and climate change was not on our minds. Today’s world is completely different; we are responsible for using Manual J to correctly size the equipment, we must know and abide by ever-tightening code requirements, and we need to know which HVAC and plumbing technologies will be reliable, cost effective, and long lasting.

Decarbonization - The Wave of the Future

We are all affected by climate change— even if you don’t like baby seals and polar bears, you can appreciate how weather patterns are changing.

In response, the push for going all-electric and reducing our carbon footprint is getting stronger and stronger. Scientists, architects, politicians, code officials, and the general public are all pushing for policy, permitting, and code changes to fight climate change. But only mechanical contractors can provide the critical insight on what approaches work, what approaches are unrealistic at the moment, and what approaches actually work in the field. Banning fossil fuels from a city may be nice policy, but the implementation of

Will we fight change or embrace it?

this has significant challenges and real-world consequences that require the input of mechanical contractors.

From the Simple World of Boilers and Baseboard to the Magic of Heat Pumps

My next-door neighbor has a Smith oilfired boiler from 1950 with a J pump— this was the flathead engine of boilers—smooth, quiet, indestructible, and 50% efficient right after you cleaned it! When oil was 25 cents a gallon it made a lot of sense...

As the price of energy rose and rose the search for alternatives to boilers became more urgent. Heat pumps became more and more appealing; their ability to collect free thermal energy made them much more efficient than an oil boiler. Because the sun would never send us a bill (I think I coined this phrase twenty years ago but I’m sure someone thought of it before me), we could spend one dollar on electricity to run the heat pump, and the sun would give us three dollars of solar energy for free, and we could heat our houses with four dollars’ worth of heat.

As more and more people became aware of heat pumps, more and more of our customers turned to us for

our insight and expertise on how to use heat pumps in their buildings.

We scrambled for a bit to get up to speed on what heat pump approaches were robust and efficient, but we ultimately built our business on this expertise.

We have installed quite a few geothermal heat pump systems of all kinds (I still have DX geo at my house) and rescued quite a few poorly installed geothermal systems.

The first generation of air source heat pumps struggled in the middle of winter but over time these heat pumps became more and more efficient.

With modulation from inverterdriven compressors they now approach the efficiency of geothermal at a greatly reduced installation cost.

Heat pump water heaters had been experiments from the Jimmy Carter days—they were also in my old engineering books dating back to the 1940s—but now they have matured into a very robust and efficient way to heat domestic hot water.

The Land of Net Zero – Free Heating, Cooling, and DHW

The huge push to pivot from fossil fuels to a non-carbon future presents tremendous challenges and opportunities.

What will the role of mechanical contractors be? Will we fight change or embrace it? Will we be the experts and voices of reason and progress, or will we end up on the wrong side of history?

Fortunately, there is a happy intersection of being fossil free, saving the baby seals, lower operating costs, and saving money, and that is the land of net zero!

By enlarging our vision of what an HVAC system can look like, we can provide not only the heating, cooling, and DHW production but also the means to pay for its operation. It boggles the mind, especially starting my career installing oil boilers, that we could install systems provided free heating, cooling, and DHW! Not something you can do with a fossil-fueled boiler.

NMD Net Zero Project

As forward-thinking mechanical contractors, we had to put our money where our mouths were and practice what we were preaching. Was Net Zero really realistic? Could it be done with an existing building that was built in the 1980s? Could we really power the entire building just from the free energy from the sun? What better place to demonstrate that than to make our own shop, office, and staff housing building net zero?

My business partner Dave Sprague and I bought our two story, 6,000 square foot building in 2020 as we were bursting at the seams with 25 employees at our old location. This building was built in 1982 and had a large roof, no air conditioning, and an aging propane boiler connected to baseboard fin tube—just like when I started in the trade.

On the first floor we converted the front half to office space and the rear half became our shop. There were four employee housing apartments on the second floor. The building was in good condition and the envelope was reasonably tight. We replaced the shingles on the roof to prepare for our Net Zero project.

Dave Sprague and Brian Nelson with heat pumps.

Hydronics & R adiant

Presented in partnership with Radiant Professionals Alliance

Heat Pumps Get Us to Net Zero

➤ Continued from page 32

We briefly considered solar hot water (full disclosure, I have six 4 x 10 solar hot water collectors on my home with multiple storage tanks, so I am somewhat biased) but realized we didn’t have room to store the solar input in a cost-effective way. We also knew that solar hot water couldn’t provide cooling and couldn’t compete with net metering. With net metering, any electricity generated from solar PV panels on your roof earns you a credit on your electric account that you are then able to use later when you need it. Net metering is supported in 45 states with varying restrictions on how and when you can net meter from your solar PV array.

We partnered with Cotuit Solar to get a quote for solar PV panels on the roof, their estimate of kWh annual production, and financing for the solar project. Once we had these annual kWh production numbers, we quickly realized that if we heated the building with an electric boiler at 100% efficiency, our solar PV array on the roof would cover about half of the annual operating cost. Net zero would not be possible and we would need a fossil fuel backup.

But if we installed air source heat pumps (at 300% efficiency) then the solar PV array would meet the building’s annual heating and cooling electrical needs! We would be Net Zero AND fossil free and the savings would pay for the project. Cotuit Solar installed the solar PV panels on the roof and the inverters and net metering meters to connect to the grid. Our techs installed the air source heat pumps outside and ceiling cassettes and wall units inside. We installed all electric appliances in the second-floor apartments and a heat pump water heater for DHW.

The NMD shop with its PV solar array.

Our Net Zero project was successful because our roof was large enough (and the correct orientation to the sun) to support a solar PV array that was able to meet the annual electrical needs of our heating and cooling loads. In other situations, you might need to improve the building envelope to reduce the heating and cooling loads or have a ground mounted solar PV array with better orientation.Now that the Net Zero system has been in operation for several years, we can confirm that the concept works—we are producing around 27,000 kWh annually. After meeting the annual electrical needs of our shop, we have enough electricity left over to send the excess to my house and my business partner Dave Sprague’s house!

Both Dave and I have smaller solar PV arrays on our roofs and heat pumps for heating and cooling and DHW. Our two-employee staff houses also have heat pumps. Eventually we will install solar PV panels on those buildings as well.

Distributed Generation

Our Net Zero project is a great model of distributed generation; because we

are using most of the electricity that we produce on site, the local grid can easily handle the excess that goes to my house and my business partner Dave’s house. Because grid infrastructure improvements are very expensive and a logistical and permitting struggle, distributed generation projects are often easier to get permitted. For us, developing a partnership with a local solar PV firm has been a win-win scenario. Their customers are looking for heat pumps to efficiently heat and cool their homes and our customers are looking for solar PV arrays to make their homes net zero.

Forces Moving Us Back to Hydronics

The push towards Net Zero installations is only going to grow as people realize how realistic it is. Net Zero projects seem to be most successful when heat pumps are used.

What does this mean for hydronics? Will using water to meet heating and cooling needs have a place in this approaching Net Zero world?

We have seen VRV inverter driven heat pump systems successfully compete with traditional hydronic chilled water and hot water HVAC installations.

They are very efficient but have a large refrigerant charge in all of the piping and inside units spread throughout the buildings in which they were installed.

This large refrigerant charge has now become their Achilles heel—the

Hydronics on Tour - Radiators in Spain

➤ Continued from page 30

Majorca, which has a very temperate climate. Our modern hotel room had the typical forced air system, and light switches that I had to ask at the front desk how to turn off. The answer was too obvious to share, or you’ll think I’m a dolt.

There were a couple of things like that to remind you that you weren’t at home. My phone was the remote control for watching Netflix in the room; that fact was only apparent after two visits to the room by the nice lady at the front desk. I’m glad I only travel once a year, my PTET was kicking in.

Patrick Linhardt is a forty-year veteran of the wholesale side of the hydronic industry who has been designing and troubleshooting steam and hot water heating systems, pumps and controls on an almost daily basis. An educator and author, he is currently Hydronic Manager at the Corken Steel Products Co.

phasing out of R410a and replacing them with flammable refrigerants is now creating unique challenges for the use of heat pumps in buildings.

With the move towards flammable refrigerants and concerns about total refrigerant charge, I believe there will be a concerted effort to get the refrigerant out of the building envelope and use hydronic chilled and hot water distribution systems inside.

The VRV heat pump manufacturers are scrambling to develop leak detection protocols that will suck all of the refrigerant out of the inside piping and units if a leak is detected. Of course, this would mean that there would be no heating or cooling until the leak is located and repaired. A hydronic distribution system using water to deliver heating and cooling would not have this problem. We also have a tremendous amount of experience with installing and designing successful hydronic systems using the lower temperatures from air source heat pumps.

I discussed this in depth with my business partner Dave Sprague and the head of our heat pump department, Nick Lucas

We predict that smaller net zero projects will continue to use one-toone mini split heat pumps but that the larger residential and light commercial systems will move towards outside air to water heat pumps connected to buffer tanks with PEX water lines distributing hot and chilled water to inside units.

All of the boiler manufacturers are adding air-to-water heat pumps to their offerings—just recently Taco unveiled their System M air-to-water heat pump. Multiple other manufacturers are following suit with similar products. In short, this means that hydronics and our expertise as modern mechanical contractors will be a critical part of any successful net zero project.

Brian Nelson is a Master Plumber and coowner of Nelson Mechanical Design. Since 2004, NMD has been a green mechanical contractor specializing in energy- and water-efficient systems and serving the heating and cooling needs of the residents of Martha’s Vineyard.

Streamlining Daily Operations

Project2Payment is invoicing and customer management software for home services businesses and the skilled trades, including field service contractors. It can be used to create projects and send branded estimates and invoices, create customer contacts, save preferred payment methods, create reports, track payments, and receive payments, including credit card payments in real time online or through the mobile app, e-Check, paper check, or cash. In addition, you can add optional down payment details customizable to each client.

To expedite pricing for repeat, duplicate, or similar projects, you can duplicate past projects and add prepriced line items from a customizable item library. The software also offers recurring project and payment capabilities, team scheduling features, and the ability to send tailored prospect and customer email blasts (these set to be released in June 2024).

The solution can also be proactive: it offers the ability to add a “project request” form to your business website which enables prospective clients to enter contact information and their service needs, and you are alerted immediately of that interest.

It is possible to send customized alerts advising the customer of a scheduled appointment anywhere between 1–90 days in advance as well as set optional day-of reminders; that they have an outstanding invoice with a customizable reminder frequency; and that they can leave a review as soon as the project has been paid.

All business data stored in Project2Payment integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks for your book of business.

Pricing: fee per month for unlimited users plus processing fee for each card and eCheck payment. Free 30-day trial. A mobile app for Android (included in the fee) is available, with (according to the developer) an Apple app in the works.

Acumatica Cloud ERP

Acumatica Cloud ERP Construction Edition with mobile app is a single software system for small to midsize companies that aims to streamline

Reviews of Project2Payment software, Acumatica Cloud ERP Construction Edition, the Freshworks customer service suite and XAPP AI Complete.

day-to-day operations and enable real-time insights on any device.

Featuring shared data and cross-team workflows, it addresses project, order, and service management including contracts and change orders, route optimization, equipment management, job cost accounting, and progress billing including retainage.

Material management capabilities include service expense entry with scanned receipt image recognition from the mobile app. Plus, users can streamline change orders for multiple construction projects with unit rate changes, custom retainage, and costonly change requests.

Flexible payroll options support multiple benefit packages, complex wages, and commission structures. The software can maintain photo logs and generate daily field reports, including actual costs and cost projections. You can help control cost overruns by automating project commitments and change order processes, enabling automatic calculation of budgeted quantity against projected cost.

Compliance capabilities include waivers and releases, insurance certificates, and status updates, providing expirations and other alerts to staff and suppliers and automatically creating compliance documents.

The solution, which supports progress billing by percentage of completion or by quantity, simplifies tax calculations for a project, with tax zones specified directly into the project and automatically retrieved and calculated for all invoices, purchase orders, subcontracts, and expenses.

CRM capabilities include instant access to role-based dashboards showing all customer activities (e.g., quotes, orders, invoices payments, service calls) and a customer self-service portal that enables access to the information they need.

The mobile app supports access to critical reports 24/7 and the ability for field personnel to electronically enter employee time and equipment details.

Pricing: licensing plan, based on application, transaction volumes, and deployment option.

Freshworks

Freshworks AI-powered Customer Service Suite ( www.freshworks.com) brings together self-service bots, agent-led conversational messaging, and automated ticketing management in an all-in-one solution. It unites Freshchat, Freshdesk, and the company’s generative artificial intelligence technology, Freddy AI, offering capabilities designed to deliver a

modern customer support experience

The solution automates and personalizes self-service across channels. Freddy Self Service AI-powered bots work across channels to help customer find answers quickly, resulting in quicker ticket deflection.

Freddy Copilot equips agents with next-best-action suggestions, streamlines workflows, and enables agents to deliver accurate, individualized service.

Freddy Insights continuously analyzes data to surface key issues, make recommendations to fix those issues and generate reports using conversational prompts.

Pricing : fee/agent/month, billed annually.

XAPP

XAPP AI Complete ( https://xapp.ai) is a suite of pre-built industry script models, tailored to a variety of sales and service-based businesses, that acts like a digital virtual assistant. Designed to accommodate AI-assisted conversations with potential customers and with the ability to send leads to your preferred platform, it is pre-trained on many trades, including HVAC and plumbing.

The platform enables users to ask questions expressing their need for information on industry-related products or services, such as what is a SEER rating or estimate on a new air-conditioner. The software is configured to trigger automatic responses to many types of inquiries with the aim of capturing, qualifying and routing of leads and, possibly, converting leads into customers who then can self-schedule a service call.

The solution includes chat transcripts and the ability to trigger live chat takeover.

Pricing: monthly fee, free trial available. (In addition to availability as a standalone solution, XAPP integrates with several CRM platforms including Jobber, Salesforce, Service Fusion, and Service Titan.)

Patti Feldman writes articles and web content for trade magazines and manufacturers of building products. She can be reached at productpad@yahoo.com.

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Available in natural gas or propane, indoor or outdoor, non-recirculation or with built-in recirculation pump. Can be used with air handler space heating applications.

4 Key Things Contractors Should Know About Finance

Can you become a successful, prosperous contractor without a solid grasp of the financials? It may be possible, but the odds are against it. Most extremely successful contractors have a solid grasp of the financial aspects of running a service business. Here are four things you should know—at a minimum— about finance.

If you do not have a good grasp of the financials, it is probably because no one ever taught you. No one is born knowing their way around financial statements. This must be learned. It is up to you to learn it. Fortunately, there are lot of resources in the industry where you can pick it up.

1. Understand Your Income Statement

The income or profit & loss statement is about as basic as it gets. It shows the flow of money through a business over a period of time, such as a month, quarter, year, or year to date. Basically, revenue minus direct costs of sales equals gross profit. Gross profit minus overhead equals operating profit. You must understand what expenses are direct and what are overhead. Then you need to ensure your gross profit is strong enough to cover your overhead expenses.

2. Understand Your Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows the financial value of a business at a specific point in time. It works with the income statement to give you a picture of the fiscal health of a company.

The balance sheet shows the balance between assets and liabilities. The difference between them is the owner’s equity in the business. This is often called the book value. In theory, this is what the owner’s would have if every asset was sold for its book value and every liability was paid. So, assets minus liabilities equals owner’s equity.

The most important two items on the balance sheet are your cash and your receivables. No business was ever

No one is born knowing their way around financial statements. This must be learned. It is up to you to learn it.

forced to close if lots of cash was on hand. Businesses close when they run out of cash. Too many receivables is a good way to run out of cash. While some commercial customers might insist on being invoiced, you should keep them to a minimum and all residential work should be collect on delivery.

3. Know the Difference Between Margin and Mark-Up

A surprisingly large number of contractors get mark-up and margin confused. If they have $100 in direct costs and want to earn a 60% gross margin, many contractors will simply mark up the $100 by 60% and arrive at a selling price of $160. However, $60 in profit divided by a $160 sales price results in a 37.5% gross profit (60 / 160 = 0.375).

The contractor underprices.

To get a 60% gross margin, divide the direct costs by one minus 60%, or 40%. When you divide $100 by 40%, you arrive at a selling price of $250. To check it, divide the gross profit (i.e., $250 sell price - $100 direct costs = $150 gross profit) by the sell price. Divide $150 by $250 and the result is 0.6 or 60%.

4. Know How to Price

Most contractors have little understanding of how to price for profitability. This is the most common problem in the industry and the easiest to correct. Start by understanding overhead and where it should be assigned. Start with the simple concept that labor carries more overhead than material. Accordingly, overhead should be

associated with labor. If you figure out your labor selling price and all of your overhead is spread over your projected billable hours, you will be profitable whether you are selling a high labor or high material job. Moreover, you will not underprice or overprice either.

There is more to know than these four items. For example, you should become well-versed with the key business ratios that apply to your business. You would also develop key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business that can help you know at a glance how smoothly things are operating or whether you need to look under the hood. However, these four areas: the income statement, balance sheet, understanding the difference between mark-up and margin, and knowing how to price will put you on a path to prosperity.

Buy Matt Michel’s book, “Contractor Stories” at Amazon. See him speak at the Service World Expo in October, where he is a keynote speaker. Learn more at www. ServiceWorldExpo.com.

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Charting the Prefabrication Journey in Five Phases

BY AARON HEILBRUN AND WARD SMITH

For companies ready to make a jump into off-site fabrication and Building Information Modeling (BIM), it may be helpful to understand what’s ahead in your journey:

• How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) will be required?

• What principal challenges will you face at each phase of your journey?

• What level of investment will be required?

• How much of your work will be prefabbed, at first and ultimately?

To answer these questions, we conducted research among contractors that were experienced in building offsite prefabrication capabilities. About half the research participants were in plumbing or mechanical trades. While the remaining half were in electrical, our research focused on the commonalities among the trades as they made their way through the prefabrication journey.

For all trades, we found the journey breaks down into five phases, with distinctive logistical, financial, technological and cultural challenges surfacing during each of these phases. Because our research was qualitative, based on in-depth interviews, we were also able to capture verbatims documenting the challenges, as well as common solutions. Let’s briefly explore the journey.

Phase 1: Startup

Resources: 2-3 FTEs (full-time equivalent employees)

Typical Square Feet: < 5,000

Percentage of the Business Prefabricated: ~10%

Startup Costs: $1 million to $1.5 million

Contractors usually start with smaller, easier applications—ones they are familiar with. At first, they are staking out manageable opportunities, creating a trial, and aiming for success on a small scale. In mechanical, the focus might be on cutting pipe. In plumbing, carrier groups are often prefabricated. The most significant organizational challenge in Phase 1 is company buy-in and education. All levels of the organization need to understand what off-site

For all trades the journey breaks down into five phases, each with distinctive logistical, financial, technological and cultural challenges

prefabrication is: what it will be at first, what it can become, why the organization is undertaking it, and why it will take some time to ramp up.

Without this kind of grounding across the organization, prefabrication managers come up against various forms of resistance (e.g., skepticism, lack of cooperation), which may slow down the process and inhibit results, according to the research participants. Ramp up can be a difficult process, with the first project being the most challenging hurdle. Many companies report that “it gets worse before it gets better.”

That’s why there needs to be total support from the upper levels of the organization. As a new business venture, off-site prefabrication requires an investment without an immediate return. One manager of a prefabrication

program explained the challenge like this:

When push comes to shove, it is difficult to get it going. It’s not turnkey. It is not a profit center. What you do in prefab is to save labor and cost on job, not to save money in shop. To get ownership to buy in, you are saying we are going to g ive this money to the department for free for a while.

Along with financial support, management needs to support a culture of learning. To ramp up prefabrication requires a high degree of trial and error. Not everything is going to work right the first time around. People need to be encouraged to try new things and, if they don’t work out, share their mistakes so everyone can learn. Obviously, this type of culture is very different from the traditional culture of the trades, which

reveres self-assurance and mastery. Because off-site prefabrication is new territory for everyone, many participants in our research looked for support from noncompetitive peer organizations. They identified like companies through trade associations, formed informal groups, and met a few times a year to exchange ideas. One prefabrication manager recalled:

The most important input was from live people from our peer group. Once a year they fly in and look things over. We have five to six companies around the country who are committed to a once-a-year gettogether to share ideas.

Phase 2: Expanding the Portfolio

Resources: 4 FTEs

Typical Square Feet: < 5,000 (no change)

Percentage of the Business Prefabricated: ~25%

Costs: Incremental expenses for tool acquisition In Phase 2, many companies round the bend in terms of support within the organization. Prefabrication managers report feeling more trust from their colleagues in the field. Management is now behind them. The volume of prefabrication is increasing.

On the other hand, this phase represents another major transition. As volume increases, challenges arise around space (i.e., sufficient square footage) and the flow of work and storage within that space.

One research participant explained: We are running out of room. It is creating a logistical nightmare to move stuff around in the warehouse. It’s a good thing because it means more work, but I would like two times as much room.

This is a time when contractors often begin to restructure the shop to improve flow. It may also be a time when contractors invest in larger prefab-specific equipment (e.g., table benders, positioners or pipe spinners, a pipe fabricator, groover, sub arc welder or plasma pipe cutter).

As a result, another challenge in Phase 2 is the shortage of skilled labor

Turn to Charting, page 43

, OF STANLEY BLACK & DECKER

Aaron Heilbrun Ward Smith

Research by Dewalt attempted to answer major questions that any contractor faces as they undertake the prefabrication journey. For example: How much of your work will be prefabbed, at first and at later stages?

Entrepreneurial Farmers Opt for Sustainable Hydronics

➤ Continued from page 1

“Coffee beans don’t like our cold weather, yet we’ve become one of the region’s most popular coffee roasters,” said Janessa Frey.

Dream Home Comes to Life

Jenessa Frey’s dream was for a home with loads of sunlight and a roomy kitchen. KeithFreywantedradiantheat,geothermal energy, and a fireplace. Their wishes took form in a 3,500 sq .ft., five-bedroom log home.

Keith Frey built and equipped a space to serve as the sprawling mechanical system’s command and control center. Yet now, a decade later, they decided to refine the many interconnected plumbing and mechanical systems. Not far from the house, they installed a biofuel boiler inside a barn that serves as a district heating system. Insulated underground tubing conveys heated water used for the family’s space heating and domestic water.

When trenching the insulated hydronic lines in 2014, they were careful to avoid excavation near an extensive geoexchange field. The geothermal tubing lies underneath a corn field behind the home and accommodates a four-ton water-to-air heat pump, chiefly installed for summer cooling.

Retrofit Specialists

The Freys chose Stevens, PA-based Vertex Mechanical to enhance system operation.

“The Freys did almost everything right from the beginning,” said Vince Youndt, president of the firm. “The existing mechanical systems were impressive, though they had a few performance issues, and the operational efficiency left room for improvement.”

After speaking with the Freys and studying their system design, Youndt found that when they built the home, the original installer used 1,900 lineal feet of ½" Watts PEX radiant tubing in the lower concrete slab and 3,160 feet of 3/8" Onix synthetic rubber tubing for the under-floor areas in a five-zone system that would warm most of the home’s floors. They also hung three prefabricated, pre-engineered Watts Hydronex panels to manage hydronic system flow.

Jumping forward a decade, Youndt believed one key technology was needed for the improvement project. “The contribution of the tekmar 294 control is the ability to orchestrate multiple sources to feed the radiant heat and domestic water,” said Youndt.

Youndt was relatively pleased with the existing system’s ability to heat and store domestic water. Yet, the back-up wallhung boiler was having issues. He opted to install a new combi boiler to provide heat when the large biofuel boiler wasn’t in use.

A Decade of Dirt and Grime

Youndt’s first order of business for the retrofit was to call Eric Grant, regional sales manager with Fernox.

After Youndt drained the Frey’s hydronic system, Grant connected to the main supply and return lines, refilling the system with clean water containing Fernox F3 cleaner. When the Powerflow flushing machine was powered on, water forcefully circulated through the entire network of pipes, tubes and components. Forty-five minutes later, the result of the chemical cleaning was made evident with crystal clear fluids returning to the flushing unit.

New Design Takes Shape

Youndt also installed a 500 MBH Taco plate and frame heat exchanger, with circulation provided by a Taco 0015e3

pump. This unit provides transfer of heat from the biofuel boiler to the home’s DHW supply.

To accommodate the heat exchanger, Youndt redesigned the primary/secondary boiler supply loop to allow heat from the biofuel boiler to pass through the domestic water heat exchanger. The other route allowed the small backup boiler to provide heat to the domestic water indirect if the wood boiler was dormant.

The sensor monitoring for the Taco heat exchanger monitors inlet temp; anything above 160°F automatically uses the call for heat using the heat exchanger. If the temp dips below 160°F, the tekmar control taps the LP boiler for DHW heat.

Youndt also installed another key hydronic system component, a Taco hydraulic-separator. “The Hydro-Sep gives us a lot of flexibility with the multi-boiler application. It balances flow between the primary and secondary piping, protects the system from ferrous and non-ferrous debris, and also offers redundance with air elimination,” said Youndt.

Hydronics, Optimized

The enhanced system—now with the tekmar 294, coupled with tekmarNet controls—would soon provide an entirely new level of system operation, and management.

“While the Taco Hydro-Sep assured

optimal flow, the tekmarNet capability added advanced logic—a capability that simply wasn’t available until recently,” Youndt said. “The Frey’s system now has what tekmar likes to refer to as ‘indoor feedback’—an ability not only to know what the zones are seeing and how they respond, but also the ability to modify boiler [or buffer tank] temperature based on room or zone temperatures.”

Youndt solved a problem of no wire connecting the main control panel and the wood boiler, 500 feet away, by installing a limit switch on the wood boiler. Its purpose: to activate the wood boiler’s local circulator, wirelessly tethered to a sensor at the hydraulic separator inside the house.

Both boilers were piped to feed heat into the hydronic system’s large buffer tank. The tank’s outdoor reset control, paired with a mixing valve, ensures the correct supply water temperature to the radiant floor circuits.

“Additional tekmar controls are key components of the Hydronex panels,” said Youndt. “The preassembled, pre-engineered Watts panels are remarkable; installers simply hang them, make connections, add power and water.”

The first, primary panel moves hot water from the boiler-fed buffer tank; it includes outdoor sensors and interior thermostats. Injection panels two and three parcel-out heated supply to feed the home’s different-temp radiant heat zones.

“The hydronic panels pull from the buffer tank to meet the home’s heat needs,” added Keith. Populating the Hydronex control panels and managing flow for all of the home’s five radiant heat zones are Taco zone controls, 00 Series ECM circulators, and Zone Sentry zone controls. The circs also control flow to and from both the buffer and indirect tanks. A Taco 4900 air separator ensures that the system isn’t oxygenated.

“We’ve installed Taco circs, pumps, zone valves and zone controls for years,” added Youndt. “With a system as robust as this one, there was no way we’d use anything but the products we’ve come to trust.”

“The district heating plan now works fabulously,” said Keith Frey.

Vertex Mechanical jobsite supervisor Jared Fox sets one of many Taco ECM circulators as part of the mechanical system’s renovation.

Charting the Prefabrication Journey in Five Phases

Continued from page 40

trained to operate large equipment, a problem that most companies address by forming an internal training program or recruiting new, promising and appropriate talent from outside the organization.

Phase 3: Expanding the Facility

Resources: 12+ FTEs

Typical Square Feet: Varies greatly

Percentage of the Business Prefabricated: ~35%

Costs: Significant costs for expanding the facility and inventory

In Phase 3, off-site prefabrication becomes the rule rather than the exception. Volume is growing, and the organization is making the transition to a manufacturing mindset, with greater attention to the design of the space, flow, productivity and efficiency.

Phase 3 is often the time when consultants are brought in to help measure and project future growth, as prefabrication’s potential becomes more evident. During this phase, companies are looking for ways to quantify time and materials per task, job and person.

In addition, the size of the facility is going to increase, either by redesigning the current space or moving into a new space that is designed from the ground up. With more space, there are greater opportunities to address the problems around flow (which first arise in Phase 2). Many shops move toward a linear setup, with materials being received at one end of the facility; assemblies being prefabricated in the middle; and storing and shipping occurring at the other end. As one prefabrication manager explained:

The amount of time touching something is where you will spend a lot of time. Also, you spend a lot of time receiving raw materials, packaging and reshipping the final product. These are the bottlenecks. Putting the product together is not that bad. It’s before and after.

Here are a few common practices that help with flow:

• Assign a control number and brief description to all incoming materials so pallets with related materials end up right next to each other and workers are not wandering around looking for parts.

• Allow for some work stations to be multipurpose so they can be adapted to different jobs at different times. Other stations may be dedicated to a single task, like pipe bending, because they require specific, stationary equipment.

• Put everything on wheels so it can move or spin. Materials can be anchored during work, but make sure they can always move again.

Phases 4 and 5:

BIM and Multi-Trade IntegrationPhases 4 and 5 enable off-site prefabrication to reach its full potential in terms of productivity. During Phase 4, Building Information Modeling (BIM) becomes integral to the prefabrication process by enabling automated three-dimensional design of the various MEP utilities. Then, these spools are pushed directly to fabrication and cut tables on the shop floor, eliminating many manual steps and processes.

In Phase 4, the principal obstacle to BIM integration is design expertise. This hurdle is surmounted in one of two ways: (1) contractors learn the software or (2) software users learn construction. Ideally, both things happen at once because the two groups can learn from each other and the company’s capabilities can grow faster. In either case, some form of outside expertise and a robust training apprenticeship program are necessary.

Phase 5 occurs when companies are prefabricating multi-trade assemblies, drawing on mechanical, electrical and/or plumbing expertise from within one company or through a coordinated effort between companies. In the context of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), this level of cooperation represents a tremendous upside in terms of efficiency. Companies that are ready for this level of prefabrication find that the principal challenge, not surprisingly, is finding qualified and willing partners in the other trades.

Conclusions from the Research

Our research into off-site prefabrication shows that contractors in all trades are passing through the same phases and facing the same kinds of challenges at each phase. In other words, no company is really alone in their journey.

Second, there are mainly two types of challenges

that contractors are facing as they undertake off-site prefabrication: (1) those relating to a shift toward a manufacturing model of work (e.g., space, flow, efficiency, larger equipment, larger volumes) and (2) those relating to software integration, including BIM design, benchmarking, dataflow and measurement. Success requires skill sets in both areas.

Finally, the research shows that at the start of the process (Phase 1) progress is slow and requires dramatic cultural change, but as companies proceed to Phases 2 and 3, the momentum picks up. According to the 2020 Dodge SmartMarket Report, most companies in the plumbing and mechanical trades ultimately prefabricate 30%, 50% or even 75% of their work, because the return on investment—in terms of quality, productivity and safety—is so good.

Aaron Heilbrun is the Director of Trades for Construction Technology at Stanley Black & Decker. He’s worked for different industrial manufacturers across all segments of construction during the last 20 years. Even after all that time, he never tires of seeing how contractors turn design into reality.

Ward Smith is the Director of Product Management within the Power Tool division at Stanley Black & Decker. He has traversed a variety of sales and marketing roles within Stanley Black & Decker for the past 19 years, covering a wide range of portfolios from battery development to concrete drilling and dust management.

0-250 PSI Gage & Differential Pressures Associated High Side & Low Side Pressures -67 to 260 °F Temperature

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One of the principal challenges around BIM integration is design expertise. The problem is solved by contractors learning software; software users learning construction; or a mixture of both.

Saving Homes and Businesses After Water Damage

Continued from page 6

Dealing with customers looking at thousands of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses requires empathy. Both men note that techs undergo soft-skills training to explain the process to customers, respectfully answer their questions and assure them that their homes or buildings will be clean and safe when the process is completed.

“Our technicians handle each project and property with the utmost care and attention to detail,” Rossi says. “We are taught to approach our work with empathy and understanding, recognizing the emotional toll disasters can take on homeowners and their families. Our technicians are very personable and prioritize customer care above all else.”

Focus on Health and Safety

Flood water is likely to contain chemical and biological contaminants that pose various health risks. A sewer backup with human waste is a biohazard. Mold and asbestos exposure can cause respiratory illnesses, even exacerbate existing conditions such as asthma.

Water remediation and restoration technicians must wear protective clothing to protect their health and safety. Contaminants, chemicals and debris can splash into eyes or damage hands.

“We conduct a thorough assessment of the extent and type of mold or

hazardous material present,” Black notes. “Then we follow a detailed plan for removal, including containment measures and safety protocols we have in place. Technicians wear appropriate personal protection equipment such as respirators (N95 or higher for mold spores, and possibly more advanced for hazardous materials), gloves, goggles and coveralls to protect against chemical and biological exposure.”

Rossi adds: “We prioritize the health and safety of our technicians by having them fit-tested annually and holding weekly safety meetings. The topics of these meetings vary, ranging from how to safely enter a crawlspace to climbing and navigating roofs to properly tarp them.”

He also explains the importance of ensuring “a clean and sanitary environment when working in customers’ homes or businesses.” Both men say that identifying the water source(s)—a leaking pipe or fixture, drain pipe blockage, flood waters, etc.—and ensuring water can no longer damage the building is critical. Otherwise, the process starts again, adding unnecessary expense for owners.

“Thoroughly inspecting affected areas is crucial,” Rossi notes. “For this reason, we set up critical containment barriers to separate damaged partsof the property.”

DRYmedic technicians use state-ofthe-art equipment and remediation protocols to clean, disinfect and repair any damage. The five steps to water restoration are:

1. Damage assessment

2. Water removal and extraction

3. Water damage cleanup and sanitizing

4. Dehumidifying and drying

5. Cleanup and approval

Adding Water Restoration Services

“Adding restoration services to an existing plumbing business can be a great idea,” Rossi states. “Already having the experience and existing customer base from running a plumbing business has the potential to get your restoration company started on the right foot.”

However, if you don’t have industry experience, Black notes that “going the franchise route is an easier way to get into the business as the franchise offers established processes/procedures, guidance and coaching to help in your success. It’s harder to start from scratch on your own. The hardest part for our team was getting used to the different software that is required: Dash, Xactimate and QuickBooks. It has been continual training.”

DRYmedic Restoration Services has a menu of services that franchisees can add to their businesses: water and flood damage, fire and smoke damage, mold remediation, storm damage, construction, residential restoration services, commercial restoration services, asbestos removal, disaster planning, sewer water backup, contents cleaning, disinfection, attic stain removal, emergency services and biohazard.

The Institute of Inspections Cleaning and Restoration Certification offers many required certifications for plumbing contractors who enter the business, including for water damage restoration technicians. “These standards serve to develop common,

industry-accepted language and terminology that enables us to discuss concepts and procedures more universally regarding cleaning, inspections and restoration,” Black explains.

As part of Authority Brands, both franchises offer ongoing post-onboarding training sessions through the online training platform, Success Academy. Equipment manufacturers also provide training on their equipment to ensure proper use.

Contractors can rent equipment when they start their new water remediation/restoration venture, but Black and Rossi recommend buying the basic equipment and renting more equipment for larger jobs.

“Compared to independent contractors, many franchise owners can benefit from greater purchasing power due to the strong relationships franchisors maintain with suppliers,” Rossi adds. Independent plumbing contractors interested in more detailed information on the water remediation/ restoration industry can attend Flow Expo, the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, PHCC and Service World Expo. Contractors who want to learn more about franchise options should look at the International Franchise Expo, the Multi-Unit Franchise Conference and the Leadership & Development Conference.

“Being part of a franchise can connect you with a large network of like-minded individuals,” Rossi says. “Whether you share a passion for the restoration or plumbing industries, have a background in entrepreneurship, or desire to help others in times of need, entrepreneurs within the network can offer advice, share experiences, answer questions and provide support as your business grows.”

Kelly Faloon is a contributing writer to CONTRACTOR magazine and principal of Faloon Editorial Services. The former editor of Plumbing & Mechanical magazine, she has more than 35 years of experience in B2B publishing, with 26 of those years writing about the plumbing, heating, cooling and piping industry. Faloon is a journalism graduate of Michigan State University. You can reach her at kelly@falooneditorialservices.com

A DRYmedic Restoration Services technician (California) is equipped with personal protection equipment while cleaning a customer’s home.

A DRYmedic Restoration Services technician (Florida) repairs a customer’s home.

8th EWTS and Advances Water Quality and Efficiency

Continued from page 3

(PMI)—put water front and center.

When talking water scarcity coupled with water conservation techniques, Scottsdale was the perfect backdrop. The two-day event kicked off with a keynote from Sarah Porter, Director, Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Professor of Practice in ASU’s College of Global Futures, who reiterated that, “Conservation needs to be linked to a desired outcome to make it work,” when talking about water use in Arizona.

Porter also spun some facts regarding outdoor water use in the Phoenix area: grass yards and pools account for more than 70% of household water use. Having said that, more than 90% of the water used indoors in Arizona is treated and recycled. And yet, with the recent population boom of 555% in the Phoenix area, water use has actually gone down 3%. The reason? Less agricultural and more residential use.

Here are some snapshots of a few of the presentations.

Goodyear Case Study

Andrew Pirrone , Water Conservation Coordinator, City of Goodyear, AZ, and Joe Fazio, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, Flume Water, a manufacturer of water monitoring and leak detection systems,

presented a case study which saw the city of Goodyear partner with Flume Water to tackle water issues head on. The city faced a severe 15-year drought affecting more than three million residents.

WaterSense Update

Wouldn’t it be cool if every American home was WaterSense labeled? suggested Jonah Schein, National Program Manager for Homes & Buildings, WaterSense EPA. Schein highlighted the Oak Shade and Durango communities in Menifee, CA, where WaterSense Labeled homes save energy and support decarbonization.

As part of its commitment to energy and water efficiency, as well as climate resiliency, KB Home launched two communities—Oak Shade and Durango—comprised of more than 200 all-electric, solar-powered, WaterSense labeled homes in Menifee. The homes use 40 percent less energy and at least 30 percent less water than typical new construction, feature solar panels, and are backed by a microgrid community battery.

PFAS Reports

Two presentations highlighted this ever-popular acronym for “forever chemicals,” which has been brought into today’s worrisome water lexicon. The first, Neal Megonnell, Vice President of Technical Services, AqueoUS Vets, talked about California’s Yorba Linda’s Water District that installed the largest ion exchange PFAS removal water treatment plant in the United States.

The other, Eric Yeggy, Technical Affairs Director, Water Quality Association, talked about point-ofuse (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) water treatment technologies, which can remove PFAS from drinking water.

PILC Hosts Industry Leaders to Discuss Pressing Issues

The Plumbing Industry Leadership Coalition, otherwise known as PILC, gathered the day after the EWTS to discuss topical issues facing the plumbing industry. This annual event is piggybacked off of the biennial location of the EWTS, while usually held in Washington, DC in the off year. This year’s spotlighted topics included discussions on diversity and inclusion within the industry and a stern letter to Amazon.

Members of PILC talked about what their respective groups are doing in terms of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) programs, and what each outfit can do to promote more diversity in the industry moving forward. In other words, all members of the plumbing industry need to continue to welcome more women and people of all races into the plumbing industry.

The other major topic brought up at the PILC meeting was the buying and selling of products on Amazon as kind of a “Wild, Wild, West” of e-commerce in the plumbing industry. Part of the letter drafted for Amazon leadership reads:

“We have observed, with growing concern, an

increasing trend of non-compliant and counterfeit plumbing products being sold through online retail channels, including Amazon. These illegal products undermine the integrity of the plumbing industry while posing significant risks to consumer health and safety and our infrastructure. It is imperative that e-commerce platforms like Amazon take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the plumbing products sold on your platform adhere to the same rigorous standards required by law and expected of brick-and-mortar retailers.”

What can Amazon do about this? PILC proposes, for example, a stricter verification process: implement a more rigorous vetting process for plumbing products, ensuring they meet all legal and safety standards by either requiring certification or at least to verify that certification claims are true.

PILC is mainly comprised of the largest and most influential associations, professional societies, nonprofits and third-party certification bodies representing manufacturers, laborers, contractors, engineers and water efficiency experts.

Unintended Consequences

Mary Ann Dickinson, Dickinson Associates, and Pete DeMarco, IAPMO, discussed the unintended consequences of indoor water efficiency and what those risks might be for diminished returns and rising water utility bills, as state regulators consider reducing flow rates in codes.

Panel Discussion

The wrap-up conversation featured a roundtable with Dr. Tim Bartrand , ESPRI; Bob Bowcock , IRM; Amin Delagah, TRC; Christoph Lohr, IAPMO; Dr. Molly Scanlon, University of Arizona. A culmination of the past two days at EWTS, the topic was what should the next steps be after digesting all of the information presented on water use? Key consideration: how do we incentivize water use?

And Much More

EWTS offered many more presentations over the twoday networking event, including presentations: Premise Plumbing Materials and Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogen Growth by Abraham Cullom, PhD, Special Pathogens Laboratory, a Pace® Laboratory; and Building Water Commissioning: Tools for Establishing Safe, Efficient, and Sustainable Water Management Programs by Dr. Molly Scanlon, PhD, FAIA, FACHA, Research Associate, University of Arizona.

For more information on the 2024 EWTS, and the full lineup of presentations from this past event, visit www.ewts.org.

Sarah Porter gives the opening keynote to the EWTS.

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by Steve Spaulding

In Praise of Capitalism

Despite some accusations of socialism (which I feel are unfounded, but check out Al Schwartz’s latest column on pg. 16) this publication and this author have always been pro-business and pro-free market capitalism.

This is our big Made in America issue (see our feature, starting on pg. 20) where we celebrate the best in domestic manufacturing. Every single one of the companies profiled in our feature is a survivor of a titanic struggle to succeed in the arena that is the free market.

To win in that arena you need to be tough-minded, determined, and above all rational . One of the things I admire most about the capitalist system is that it is based, necessarily, on reality. If your company is losing money you can’t just hide your head in the sand. You need to figure out the problem or you’re going to be shoved aside by those companies that are doing what you do, only better. That means analyzing data on your processes, your products, your customers, your employees, and then adapting.

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Companies win the marketplace through innovation (think of Steve Jobs with Apple), through improved efficiency (like Henry Ford with his assembly line), through expanding into new markets (Ray Kroc and McDonalds for example) or any combination of the three.

Those drives towards innovation and efficiency have created amazing

people. Millions have been lifted out of the depths of poverty. Millions now live without the fear of famine thanks to modern agribusiness. Millions now live longer, healthier lives thanks to modern medicine, pharmaceuticals and modern sanitary plumbing systems.

Capitalism is not an absolute good. Too often the push for efficiency came at

times hazardous—plumbing fixtures was a concern at this year’s PILC meeting.

Capitalism also tends to concentrate wealth into fewer and fewer hands. I don’t have a problem with people making all the money that they want to, but extreme income inequality is bad for the overall economy leaving large numbers of the population trapped in low-paying jobs.

And let’s not forget that bringing a product to market almost always comes at a cost to the environment, a cost sometimes not reflected in the price the consumer pays.

technologies—from the internal combustion engine to the radio to the smartphone—and then made those technologies available to an ever-widening circle of consumers. Those successful companies need to hire workers who are in turn able to sell their labor and skills at a fair price in that same free marketplace.

That virtuous cycle has created a rising standard of living for millions of

the expense of the worker (unsafe working conditions, the use of child labor) or at a hazard to the consumer (such as unsafe products or impure foods).

To this day there are unscrupulous businesspeople who put making a buck before human life. I get angry every time I have to post a story about workers dying in a preventable trench collapse. And the influx of counterfeit—and some -

For all that, capitalism has been a powerful force for progress. It harnesses the most potentially destructive drives of the human psyche—ambition, acquisitiveness—towards constructive ends.

I think it falls to those who have seen the best of capitalism most directly—business owners—to demonstrate the virtues of ethical capitalism to the younger generation; it can be too easy to focus on the negative while dismissing or ignoring the positive.

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