Renovating bulkheads/plumbing?

[Walter]

Friends,

I'm looking closely at a mat that will require some renovation. The renovation is to include a) replacing a line of washers which would probably include building a raised platform 6-8" high, and b) replacing a line of old dryers w. stack dryers. Because the mat is very old, I'd want someone to analyze the bulkhead's existing plumbing & wiring, and the dryer venting.

I want someone very knowledgeable with mat-specific plumbing issues to analyze and bid on the renovation - including things like hard-mount vs. soft-mount issues, ball valves, etc. I've talked with local equipment distributors/new mat builders, and they seem to want to recommend only themselves.

Here are my questions:

Do I need to hire an architect to draw up these plans?
Should I be looking at general contractors who specialize in commercial tenant renovations?
Should I be looking directly at plumbing contractors with prior experience with this kind of work?
Basically, what is the most cost-effective way to go?
Lastly, any recommendations in the SF Bay Area or Sacramento? (I've tried to research this on my own, but haven't come up with any really viable leads that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg).

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Walter

[Kitty]

When we did a large remodel the distributor had the plans drawn for us based on what we were looking to do at "no charge", but I am sure there was a charge somewhere in the sale price of the equip?

We also changed out a line of tops and added some fronts as it seems you are considering? We never had any plans for this and told the plumber/electrician what to do and it worked out just fine.
Have you found a distrib in your area? They will be able to point you in a good direction with professionals to assist you. Great luck

[pete f]

Plan on the arm and a leg cost, that way you will already be prepared.
I have taken a coupe stores thru major, or somewhat major, renovation. forget hiring a architect, unless he special with mats. Your distrib you buy the equipment from should have what you need, demand it. There are a couple things to watch for.
Most standard equipment deal contracts specify the electric and water have to be within 5 feet.
If you are pulling tops and replacing, lets say take 2 tops out, put in 1 40# washer. That should not be a big issue, they can pull 220 from the 2 - 110 leads, you may have to change out a breaker or two. Also, plumbing should not be to much trouble. If you want to replace the taps with ball valve style, now is the time, it is not to hard. You should not need to run new lines unless you are moving a washer bank, I have done that also. Really, washers have always been easy with me, it is upgrading single dryer to stacks I get (got) bit.
You need more make up air, so you may need to install venting. You need more electric, you may need to run some wires, or may not have enough juice to begin with... You may need more exhaust venting, depending on model of dryer.

Have your dealer walk thru your mat and go over what will need to be done to accept the new stuff you want to install. Really, the dealers, or their installers ( I use an independent installer, he puts in for many dealer) these guys mess with this every day. Get quotes. It is not to hard. Take in an outsider and you may have to pay for him to learn the way. You can hire a Carpenter to do the finish work after the install if you need to.
Have fun!

[PeterL]

Walter:

Send me an email to the address on my member listing. I can give you some leads on Electrical and plumbing resources in the SF Bay area. If you find a good General Contractor they can help you with this too. As far as design issues, If you don't have a GC in place yet, it might be usefull to talk to the local building department that has jurisdiction. They should be able to tell you if you can get the Construction Doccuments(CDs) done by a designer or if you need a licencsed Architect. The building and permitting folks are usually happy to help if you call to have an informal chat. My gut feeling is that for a small job such as you are talking about, that a full-blown architecht would not be needed.

One good question to ask prospective contractors and/or architechts is how many jobs the've done in the jurisdiction in question.

There are lots of little shops out there who do good work, you just need to ask a bunch of questions and make sure you visit some work the've done including an active job site if possible

Also be prepared for some additional expense for upgrades, such as backflow preventers athat may come back from permit review

Hope this helps

[BWJR]

The Distributor in most cases is a Sales person only and is limited in their working knowledge of electric and plumbing. The have the spec's on paper, but it all stops there. Get an Electrician to look at the job, and do the plumbing yourself. It's not a big deal, Pete is right, its a minor switch-over from fronts to tops and vice versa.

Good Luck,

BWJR

[Pete_tx]

A few other suggestions:

Check on three phase vs single phase, this cost me a bunch when I put in some fronts. I had to run new wiring for 3 phase.

Put cut-off valves for both hot and cold on each bank while you're shut down. (If you don't have it already.)

pete

[Walter]

Friends,

Thanks for your solid, common-sense input...You guys are great!

PeterL, I'll be sending you an e-mail.

Thanks again,

Walter