Plumbing
Whether you are building a new home, renovating or doing an addition, we provide full plumbing services to complement our heating, air conditioning, and air quality products. Our work teams consist of licensed masters and journeymen certified in plumbing installation and service.

Tankless water heaters (Rinnai)
Solar domestic and heating hot water systems (Caleffi)
Snowmelt systems for walkways, patios, and driveways (Viega, Uponor (formally Wirsbo)
& Watts Radiant)
Chilled water cooling systems and fan coil units
Water treatment systems, softeners, filters, scrubbers (MacClean & Cuno)
Variable speed domestic water and well pump systems (Grundfos)
Potable water pex distribution systems (Viega)>)


How's Your Water?
In the U.S. about 85% of homes have hard water. Elements that cause hardness include iron, copper and manganese, which to some degree exist in almost all natural waters. If your water has too much dissolved calcium and/or magnesium, you have hard water. But how can you tell if your water is hard? And, more importantly, why does it matter?

Look for signs that your water has an overabundance of minerals: Dishes will have water spots on them, your soap won’t lather well, white clothes will look dingy. You may also notice white, crusty sediment on your fixtures, a recurring bathtub ring, or rust-colored stains on your clothes, silverware, or porcelain fixtures.

The longterm results of hard water are serious wear and tear on your water-dependent appliances. When water is warmed, the minerals precipitate and form a hard scale, which accelerates corrosion, reduces flow, and diminishes heat transfer in water heaters and boilers. Plus the insulating effect of scale increases energy consumption by 33%.

The simplest solution to resolve hard water problems is a ion exchange unit known as a water softener. And besides hard water, a water softener may also take care of excess iron and manganese.

Besides saving your pipes, softened water has proven benefits including:

• Soft water prolongs the life of your plumbing systems.
• Saves on energy.


• Softening eliminates soap curd and dissolved metals that make clothes gray and dingy.
• Tests show that clothes washed in conditioned water lasts up to 33% longer.
• Softened water helps retain the natural food flavor
  because minerals are not cooked in.

Another pH and corrosion control method is sequestration. Sequestration agents react with hardness and many metals to prevent them from precipitating onto the pipe wall. In addition, some of these formulations will also deposit a thin glass-like coating on the pipe wall, which will further protect pipes from corrosion.


Common Water Problems

Problem	MCL*	Description	Symptom	Cause	Solution
Hardness	75 - 150 mg/L Moderate	0-75 mg/L = Soft; 150-300 mg/L = Hard; > 300 mg/L = Very Hard	Scaling in pipes and heat exchangers. White crusty sediment on fixtures. Poor soap suds.	Dissolved calcium and magnesium	Water softener
pH	6.5 - 8.5	< 6.5 is corrosive water. > 8.5 can cause scaling in pipes	Green stains on fixtures. Corrosion of plumbing systems.	Low pH usually caused by excessive carbonic acid	Neutralizer or sequestration
Iron	0.3 mg/L	There are no known health effects from elevated iron.	Rust stains in sinks, tubs, dishwashers, etc.	Dissolved (ferrous) or precipitated (ferric) iron	Water softener or oxidation/filtration
Manganese	.05 mg/L	There are no known health effects from elevated manganese.	Gray/black staining of fixtures and clothing.	Dissolved manganese in water	Water softener or oxidation/filtration