SMARTPRESS SIMPLICITY FOR NORTH EAST CARE HOMES
When FHS Commercial was tasked with upgrading the heating systems at nine care homes across the North East, Viega’s innovative Smartpress system was selected to provide ease and speed of installation to minimise disruption.
The existing heating system had consisted of inefficient electric storage heaters that were no longer fit for purpose. Working with the management team, FHS Commercial was contracted to install new gas boilers and heating systems throughout the nine properties.
Due to the nature of the buildings and the needs of the residents, the installation had to be carried out while the homes were in full use. For this reason it was crucial that the selected piping system was quick, clean and safe to install ensuring that the residents and staff experienced as little disruption as possible.
The simplicity of the cold applied Smartpress multi-layer piping system cuts installation time by as much as 30%. It also provides installation flexibility by making longer pipe runs possible and allowing easy shaping of the pipe for corners and around wall details on site, this in turn reduced the number of fittings required, compared to a metal system. As with all products in the Viega range, Smartpress connectors feature SC-Contur technology to reveal inadvertently unpressed connections during system testing – preventing costly callbacks and remedial work.
Kenneth Tiffin, Commercial Development Director at FHS Commercial explained: “We had used Viega systems several times before and are very familiar with press connection technology for metal pipe, so when we were looking for a solution for the care homes Smartpress was the obvious choice.
“We were very pleased with the system and plan to use Smartpress on future projects. The quality of the products combined with the support we received from Viega has helped make this potentially challenging project a real success.”
