Commercial or Residential Plumbing: What’s the Difference?
Most homeowners don’t give much thought to the specific type of plumber in their home fixing their plumbing issues. After all, a plumber is a plumber, or so one might think. The truth is that residential plumbers face a different set of problems than commercial plumbers do. Each is equally important to their clients, and both require education and specialization to do their jobs. But, in general terms, commercial plumbing systems are larger and more complex than residential systems. Here are some major differences between commercial and residential plumbing.
Scale and Size
Anyone can see that commercial buildings are much larger than an average residence. But, like a house, the commercial building must have plumbing running through the entire building for bathrooms, break rooms, water fountains, and even fire suppression systems. Whereas a house is two or three floors, a commercial building can be 10, 20, or even 30 times as big. This makes the overall size of the interconnected plumbing system much larger, which means that the scale is larger too.
Some commercial plumbing systems are even more complex, like places where large amounts of water flow through large copper pipes, like industrial operations. The greater the size and scale of the system, the more can go wrong if there’s an emergency.
Complexity and Building Structure
Along with the size and scale of the system comes complexity, which depends on the building structure and the type of enterprise. For example, a large apartment complex or condo is likely to have more fixtures and a more complex system than a purely commercial building with only businesses.
Not only that, but the actual plumbing itself needs to be different for each type of building. The pipes and fixtures of commercial systems need to be tougher than those of residential homes. This is because the pipes of commercial buildings get more use than the pipes in residential homes. More wear and tear can cause the breakdown of plumbing, so the systems are designed to take more damage.
More Risk for a Bigger and More Complicated System
Since the systems are more complicated and complex, there’s a bigger risk inherent when something goes wrong. When a plumbing emergency happens in a commercial building, it can affect more than one business or floor. If the building is big enough, a single emergency in one area of the building can affect nearly every other business’s ability to use their water.
Since some commercial buildings operate at all times of day, it becomes imperative for commercial plumbers to perform repairs under a strict time frame. If there is a burst pipe or other emergency, the plumber has to fix it within a certain time frame so it doesn’t start to cost businesses money if they can’t operate. After all, certain laws and regulations must be followed regarding commercial plumbing systems for the safety of the people working in that building. Commercial plumbers also deal more with sewer lines.
The overall concepts of each plumbing system are the same, but there are some major differences to note between commercial and residential plumbing.
About Allore’s Plumbing Services LLC
Allore’s Plumbing Services has been serving Stuart, FL with pride since 1986. Their highly-trained technicians are well-versed in both commercial and residential plumbing systems. Plus, they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all repairs. Contact them for reliable commercial plumbing service today!
