While many site contractors understand and comply with the flushing requirements of NFPA #24, we routinely encounter some that simply do not understand and/or play dumb as a roofer when we explain the requirements to them. Some of these guys have been in business upwards of 50 years, and from the look on their faces, they've never heard of flows of this magnitude; and they don't understand why the 150 PSI accepted by the water company isn't good enough, after all- it's a water line!
We often feel like we're the policing agency and we spend about 40 to 80 hours a year educating these guys and emailing the U Certificate pdf around. The GCs generally understand the need to flush properly and when I explain plugged sprinklers, liability, and negligence issues/impacts to them, and they realize they have a vested interest in seeing that it is done properly, they're on our side. We often, like today, end up with the flushing being added to our contract. Usually its not a big deal; today's is a little unusual since we need to rent a temporary pump (2,000 @ 150) to accomplish it, 6 Hose Monsters, and there are 8 lead-ins for this >800,000 SF building; so it'll be $15~20K. So my question is: Do any of you encounter the same level of ignorance from site contractors as we do? Do you bother getting a U Certificate to attach to you're a Certificate? If you're an AHJ on this Forum, do you enforce and witness flushing and testing of the underground on a regular basis? Either the site guys are playing dumb, or no other sprinkler guy or inspector has explained the requirements to them. Since they don't have the equipment to perform a proper flush, its obvious to us that there must be a host of UG installations that have all the original stones in the UG. Does this bother any of you? I don't feel warm and fuzzy about it. George Church Rowe Sprinkler _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
