About eight years ago, CDW Corp., a reseller of computer hardware, software, and supplies, moved into a new two-story building in Vernon Hills, Ill. For three years, the building experienced frequent sanitary sewer backups.
When the building came out of warranty five years ago, CDW picked Flader Plumbing & Heating Co. of Evanston, Ill., to deal with the blockages. When a monthly maintenance program failed to work, the company investigated and found that the sewer lateral had been improperly installed.
Because of the nature of the defects, the only way to repair the line was to dig it up and replace it. In a major construction project, Flader Plumbing dug up and replaced 250 feet of line, all with the least possible disruption to the corporate employees working in the building.
Maintenance not enough
“We knew from the beginning that CDW planned to remodel the building and simultaneously fix the sewer backup problems,” says Patrick Flader, project manager. “Backups occurred as often as twice a day. In the beginning, we had no idea what was causing the problem, so we established a regular monthly maintenance program.”
To keep the line open, the company rented a 1,500-gallon tanker truck each month. “We connected the tanker truck to our portable RIDGID KJ-2100 jetters,” Flader says. “The jetters were set up in the parking lot, and we ran a hose from the jetter into the building to our cleanout space. The only alternate source of water available to us was a bathroom 600 feet away.”
The stoppages increased, however, and a once-a-month maintenance no longer sufficed. “CDW asked us to investigate what was causing the stoppage, and to fix it,” Flader says. “We used our RIDGID SeeSnake cameras to inspect the line and discovered that the original sanitary sewer line had not been installed properly.
“It had bellies in it. It went up and down, rather than having a gradual downhill flow. Waste in the line settled in the low points, causing the sewer to back up. The problem could only be corrected by digging up the line.”
Major undertaking
“We’re a small company to undertake such a major project. When I first proposed the project to my father and uncle, they were sure that there was no way a company our size could do it and still maintain our other business.
“In the end, we did it in the allotted time, with no hang-ups, and without harming the buried electric lines in the floor we were cutting into. Fiber optics in this building are located in the ceilings, so we had to be sure our excavator did not damage the ceiling.”
Originally, Flader says, the plan was to dig up 200 feet of the line, but 50 additional feet were added. “Two hundred feet gave us a 3-inch pitch, and that was not enough,” he explains. “The extra 50 feet gained us a 21-inch pitch and proper drainage. We had to dig down 11 feet below the floor of the building.
“We rented a Kubota excavator and removed the top of it to gain clearance in our work space with a nine-foot ceiling. A 20-foot-wide section of the floor was set aside for us to work in, and more space was available if we needed it. All CDW operations on this floor were relocated while we worked to prepare for the renovations. Elsewhere in the building, CDW’s staff continued to work.”
Flader Plumbing hired a subcontractor to cut the concrete above the pipe. Following OSHA regulations, scrubbers were attached to the excavator to clean its exhaust. Windows were removed from the building to improve ventilation, and hourly air-quality control tests with two MSA four-gas meters manufactured by MSA North America in Pittsburgh, Pa., were performed throughout the building to protect everyone working inside from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Moving mountains
“We only turned off water one day, the Saturday before Father’s Day in June of 2006,” Flader says. “We turned it off at 2 p.m. and it had to be back on by 7 a.m. the next morning. CDW suffered no downtime or loss of business.
“When we first dug the trench, we were not aware of the pitch issue, so we had to relay the pipes when we found they weren’t deep enough. Sixty feet of trench had to be dug out two extra feet by hand between 2 p.m. and 7 a.m. My cousin Doug Flader, co-project manager, dug with me the extra two feet. We used shovels and arm muscles and tossed the debris up and onto the floor. Then we removed it on the Monday after Father’s Day.
During the early dig, they removed about 300 cubic yards of dirt with the excavator and transported it with four rented power buggies — motorized wheelbarrows controlled by bicycle-style handlebars. The buggies could move about one cubic yard and were able to fit through doorways. A subcontractor hauled away the dirt.”
Before Flader Plumbing started to replace the sanitary sewer, a construction issue arose. “We planned to cut a hole in the outside wall to use as a construction doorway,” says Flader. “Due to the building’s precast concrete structure, we weren’t able to cut the wall as planned, and we had to use the regular employee entrance.”
Flader employees had to be careful that nothing spilled from their wheel-barrows or from power equipment. Everything was carefully monitored to protect the CDW employees, who follow a corporate dress code.
The cousins finished work in the wee hours and slept for a few hours, only to be awakened by their children with Father’s Day plans.
