This has been an interesting thread.
It's a retirement home so the sprinkler system would seem to be essential to me, not that any aren't, but...I’d like to know my parents were living somewhere that had a sprinkler system installed properly and not by cutting corners, or making guesses. And, doesn’t “questionable” water supply bother anyone other than me? The correct and only answer is, 1)take a water flow test in accordance with NFPA 291, not messing around with a main drain. 2)Survey the existing system in accordance with NFPA 13 and determine all of the existing pipe size and as-built routing to the new addition. 3)Calculate the new addition with the existing pipe size and fittings, valves, elevation, and so on back to the flow test location. Anything less would not be minimum standard of care sprinkler system design, would it? Scott Futrell Office: (763) 425-1001 x 12 Cell: (612) 759-5556 -----Original Message----- From: Sprinklerforum [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Douglas Hicks Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 3:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: No hydraulic name plate, no existing plans I have been asked to extend sprinkler coverage to an addition, 17.5’ long x 13’ across. The ceiling is a cathedral ceiling, 13’ 2” at the ceiling and 9’ 3 “ high at the sidewall. The existing sprinkler piping is behind the 13’ wall, pointing down the 17.5’ length. No body can find plans from the original construction, there is not a hydraulic nameplate on the sprinkler system. The Fire Chief remembers that during construction, the water supply was “questionable”. There is not a forward flow port so I can not get a water GPM/psi measurement. There is a 1.5 “ FDC at the front of the building. There is a fire hydrant across the parking lot, about 75 feet away. The 5 year average for the static pressure is 34 psi and the residual is 27 psi, through the main drain. The building is about 13 years old and is a retirement home. My concern is the lack of information about the water supply. The building is on a hill, about the level of the municipal water tank, which is on another hill. Can I get an accurate reading on the water supply from the fire hydrant, or the 2” main drain? Or should I put a Forward Flow test port in before doing anything else? And if I do get a good water reading, I still will not know what the system demand is. So then do I need to hire someone to crawl the attic and take measurements of the piping? _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
