Apartment Complex’s Plumbing-System Replacement Proves Challenging

July 30, 2016
The building owners had three goals: minimize disruption to tenants, keep costs under control, and prevent the new piping from being stolen.

At Fairway Apartments, a 45-year-old, 172-unit government-subsidized complex in Austin, Texas, plumbing issues, such as leaks, pressure drop, and insulation problems, were a daily occurrence, so much so the building owners employed a full-time technician whose job was to do patchwork repair. Additionally, anything with scrap value—from copper piping to full-size water heaters—was being stolen during the night. When the building owners decided to replace the plumbing system, they had three goals: (1) minimize disruption to tenants, many of whom were elderly or infirm, (2) keep costs under control, and (3) prevent the new piping from being stolen.

To learn about Fairway Apartments’ solution, click here.