Reeves Journal Nov 17
2018-01-30
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RJ The Western Authority on Plumbing, HVAC and Piping ALSO: 2018 UPC PREVIEW GOLD SEAL MECHANICAL BOILER BUYER’S GUIDE REEVES JOURNAL Western GRAYWATER REGS November 2017, Vol 97, No 11 www.reevesjournal.com Scan with your smartphone to access our subscription page. 001 cover final.indd 1 10/25/17 2:26 PM NOVEMBER 2017 CONTENTS FEATURES 15 27 Whether wall-hung or floor mounted today’s high-tech boilers keep your radiant system running. A regional state-by-state breakdown of what’s allowed and what isn’t. Boilers Buying Guide By The Reeves Journal Staff 20 Gold Seal Mechanical This Spokane company is in it for the long haul. By Rachel Vastyan Graywater Regulations By Allison Deerr 15 32 Tech topic: Radiant Controls All the ins and outs of radiant controls and why they’re not thermostats. By Allison Deerr COLUMNS 6 Pipeline | By Jack Sweet 8 Legal Corner | By Kenneth Grossbart 10 Marketing Mechanics | By Ruth King 18 Service Sense | By Tom Grandy 24 The Dr. Is In | By Michael Farias 26 Coach’s Corner | By Ed Cerier 30 Cracking the Code | By Dan Cole 20 DEPARTMENTS 12 | Industry News 37 | Must-See Products 33 | Industry Calendar 38 | Ad. Index 34 | New Products A facility manager sets the function of an eF water heater installed by Gold Seal Mechanical. Dan Frisch Photography. ON THE COVER REEVES JOURNAL (ISSN: Print 0048-7066 and Digital 2329-0161) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media, Inc., 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 480843333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $135.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $172.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $190.00 (int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2017, by BNP Media. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional mailing offices. For SINGLE COPY SALES OR BACK ISSUES ONLY: contact Ann Kalb at (248) 244-6499 or KalbR@bnpmedia.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: REEVES JOURNAL P.O. Box 2145, Skokie, IL 60076. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. GST account: 131263923. Send returns (Canada) to IMEX Global Solutions, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to REEVES JOURNAL P.O. Box 2145, Skokie, IL 60076. For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at: Phone: (800) 652-8994 Fax: (847) 763-9538. 27 V I S I T U S @ W W W. R E E V E S J O U R N A L . C O M WWW.REEVESJOURNAL.COM 005 toc.indd 5 5 10/30/17 2:25 PM SPOKANE, WASH. PROFILE GOLD SEAL MECHANICAL In it for the long haul By Rachel Vastyan T he year 1967 was remembered by folks in Spokane, Wash. as one of extremes. In February, they had record cold temps — minus 11° F, substantially colder than the average of 22° — and in August, they sizzled with record highs of 99°, 15° higher than normal. And as far as they can recall, Robert Sr. and Richard Dixon — the father/son team who started Gold Seal Mechanical — theirs was the only plumbing and mechanical firm started that year in the thenmuch-smaller town of Spokane. Back in that very last year of the so-called “Swinging Sixties,” Robert and Richard were just a two-man shop, both working out of their own trucks while establishing credit at local supply houses. Customers? They had a few. Today, Gold Seal — now celebrating its 50th year in business — has blossomed into one of the region’s largest plumbing and mechanical contracting firms. It employs more than 120 people, runs 40 trucks and routinely works a territory in a 100-mile radius of the home shop — an area that includes pieces of four states, including Spokane metro and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho areas, providing complete plumbing, mechanical, backflow prevention and drain cleaning services. In their steady economy, Gold Seal is a company that today sees 25% residential new installation work, 30% service work that mostly favors the commercial side of the business, and 45% new installation commercial work — a facet of the business that’s running at full tilt. They mostly split their business between plumbing and hydronic work. After all, hydronic heating is well-suited to the rigors of winter weather in the Pacific Northwest. The company prides itself for its outstanding customer service, well recognized in the area — with a healthy handful of customers who originally signed on in ‘69. Clearly, an edict still works: Getting the job done right the first time. “We’ve done well maintaining the reputation and work ethic through the years, even as the company has grown way beyond our expectations,” says Robert Dixon (Richard’s son), estimator at Gold Seal. 20 NOVEMBER 2017 | REEVES JOURNAL 020-023 gold seal mechanical.indd 20 10/27/17 2:04 PM GOLD SEAL MECHANICAL The company’s experienced journeymen plumbers are all trained to the highest level, licensed, insured, bonded and continue to take courses and certification tests to stay up to date on the latest technology evolving in the industry. Affinity for commercial installation and service work One job within Gold Seal’s 100-mile radius is the Affinity campus in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Though in the neighboring state, it’s actually just 15 miles from Gold Seal. Perched near the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Affinity is an active-adult, 55+ independent living community with all the amenities that prides itself on its lively approach to keeping customers happily engaged: “At Affinity, something’s going on at all times,” said the facility’s manager. With 121 apartments, and private as well as common area restrooms and kitchens, Affinity residents create a healthy demand for clean water, and plenty of heated domestic water, too. Meeting (and preferably exceeding) all facets of comfort was a key design criteria for the facility when it was constructed in 2012. “Maintaining excellence in service isn’t only a job performed for clients, it means providing excellent working conditions for our own employees.” — Richard Dixon “Our Gold Seal crew did all of the underground and above ground drains at Affinity, as well as the above ground water, all of their new fixtures and water heaters — then we ran water and gas lines to them,” explains Mike VanDyke, Gold Seal commercial projects superintendent. “Our ‘recipe’ for mechanical equipment — if you will — includes the best, most reliable equipment,” VanDyke says. “Occasionally, customers demand equipment other than what we’ve written into the contract, though that’s not common. We explain that our many years in the business have helped us perfect the list of ingredients, and — with that understood — we also stand firm on our commitment to fully guarantee our work, and the equipment.” At Affinity, Gold Seal chose to install five Bradford White, 100-gallon, 199,000 Btu eF water heaters to meet all of Affinity’s domestic hot water needs. “So we chose several separate water heaters for a modular approach, assuring redundancy,” VanDyke says. “If a problem arose for one of the units, the others would most likely meet demand without challenge. But with the eFs — systems we frequently choose for commercial jobs because of their durability Gold Seal Mechanical celebrates its 50th year of business this year. Dan Frisch Photography. and great track record with us — we don’t expect problems.” Gold Seal also installed Taco SmartPlus hot water recirculation pumps, assuring the residents wouldn’t have to wait while hot water reaches the taps. Another key advantage of the facility-wide recirculation of DHW is that precious water isn’t wasted, and residents don’t pay to send wasted water down the drain, either. Protecting the cleanliness of the large volume of domestic water at Affinity is a 6-inch stainless steel backflow assembly. VanDyke’s team installed the “Silver Eagle” back flow at the facility to protect the purity of the domestic water. “The backflow’s placed in the mechanical room opposite the bank of Bradford White water heaters for easy access,” says Affinity maintenance supervisor John Rodrigues. “Annual backflow testing is easy, and the assemblies are fully protected there.” “We were extremely pleased with the work Gold Seal did for us,” adds the facility manager. “In fact, we keep using them to do the plumbing work for most of our Affinity locations. We currently have five facilities in Washington alone, two in Idaho, and one each in Colorado and Montana.” Around the town Back in Spokane, service technicians went to perform routine maintenance for a light commercial wall-hung mod-con at an office and warehouse facility. Next to it, they’d installed a small, six-gallon-per-minute Watts OneFlow anti-scale system for the tankless water heater that feeds three bathroom sinks, a kitchen sink and a hot water hose bib used for cleaning off drain equipment. These systems prevent scale by transforming dissolved hardness minerals into harmless, inactive microscopic crystal particles. These particles make their way through plumb- WWW.REEVESJOURNAL.COM 020-023 gold seal mechanical.indd 21 21 10/27/17 2:04 PM GOLD SEAL MECHANICAL Below: A Gold Seal supervisor performs an annual maintenance check on one of many Bradford White eF water heaters at the Affinity independent living community. Dan Frisch Photography. Left: A Gold Seal technician works on an instantaneous water heater. A Watts OneFlow water treatment system protects the unit’s heat exchanger from mineral deposits. Dan Frisch Photography. ing systems without latching on to pipes, fixtures, valves or heating elements and are available in many connection sizes to meet flow rates from 0.5 to 450 gpm or more. Gold Seal has had great success with the water treatment systems, well-suited to combat the heavily mineralized groundwater supplies in their area. “We especially like that we can keep water heaters and ‘combi’ boiler heat exchangers from scaling up this way, and with the added benefit of not having to use salt to do it,” VanDyke says. Classy piece of history Gold Seal is often called upon for historic renovations, such as the nearby Davenport 22 Hotel. The Davenport, built in 1914, is a regional landmark and architectural masterpiece, favored by tourists and historic structure aficionados alike. In 2000, the hotel was gutted and completely remodeled. Gold Seal was chosen to do all the plumbing work, drain lines, water lines and fixtures. True to their recipe, the list of components included Bradford White water heaters and Taco recirculation pumps. The Davenport, opened as a destination in its own right, offering palatial splendor and five-star service. In 2002, after the hotel narrowly escaped demolition, Walt and Karen Worthy completed a multimillion-dollar restoration, sparing no expense in restoring its glamour. Those who walk through the Davenport Hotel walk in the footsteps of film stars, explorers, famous writers and politicians including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Clark Gable, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, John F. Kennedy, Babe Ruth, John Travolta and Ringo Starr. Gold Seal’s commercial clientele also include Lowe’s, Best Buy and Walmart. “We’ve been called on to do their plumbing, drain lines and fixtures, as well as routine maintenance work,” Robert says. NOVEMBER 2017 | REEVES JOURNAL 020-023 gold seal mechanical.indd 22 10/27/17 2:04 PM GOLD SEAL MECHANICAL A facility manager sets the function of an eF water heater installed by Gold Seal Mechanical. Dan Frisch Photography. Year after year, decade after decade, the clients continue to call on Gold Seal because they’ve earned the symbol of excellence, and substantiate the chosen name. “Here at Gold Seal, we now have fourth-generation plumbers and technicians working for the company,” Richard says. “Maintaining excellence in service isn’t only a job performed for clients, it means providing excellent working conditions for our own employees. The track record speaks for itself. We’re very pleased with the results.” RJ WWW.REEVESJOURNAL.COM 020-023 gold seal mechanical.indd 23 23 10/27/17 2:04 PM
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