The building, constructed in 1959-60, was undergoing a major $A90 million refurbishment and the fact that all of the four 150 mm galvanised down pipes were corroding badly was proving to be a major problem.

The leaks that were current and could occur in the future were of serious concern and needed immediate repair. The access to replace the down pipes was extremely difficult, proving to be a major challenge.

The plumbing contractor for the refurbishment contacted Nu Flow Pipelines who visited the site and carried out an inspection of the proposed work. Nu Flow put together a plan to install new liners for the down pipes and eventually secured the contract. After cleaning by high pressure jet the Nu Flow team commenced the installation from the 26th floor at the top of the building.

The work was undertaken in late 2004 and early 2005, by dividing the job into two operations. Access panels were cut into the pipes on the 13th floor and the second phase started here. Nu Flow had to cut in the access panels due to the large number of 45 and 90 degree changes in direction in the down pipes. There were 14 changes of direction in each line and each pipe was made of 6 inch screwed galvanised pipe that had very tight bends which in some cases were very close together. This made it very difficult for Nu Flow to pull through their liners. All works were carried out after hours so as not to interfere with the day to day operations of the building.

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Nu Flow learned a lot throughout the project, which to the company’s knowledge was the largest project of this kind of installation anywhere in the world. The cost to replace this pipe work during renovation would have been substantial, and Nu Flow estimated that their price on the project was around 25 per cent lower than costs by previous methods.

The builders involved in the building refurbishment carry out a lot of work in high rise buildings and the company’s engineers were extremely happy with the Nu Flow repair, the product and installation.

This project highlighted the fact that these installations need to be conducted very carefully. Nu Flow found the site access to the areas to be lined quite limited, due in part to the grates in the roof sumps being welded in. Additionally tenants were using most floors and could not be disturbed. Careful and investigative planning by Nu Flow resulted in a different approach to this job and re-enforced their belief in thorough research and planning before undertaking or quoting on any work.

The final result of completion of the relines was a major success for the consultants, building owners AMP, plumbing contractor and builders. The savings to reline the piping over replacement were substantial and proved extremely worthwhile in cost, logistics and quality.

Nu Flow Technologies was founded in 1998 and specialises in Trenchless Technology solutions, manufacturing and installing their own no-dig pipe lining products, which have been developed with ten years of hands on experience and on the job problem solving. The company’s systems are simple and practical, making their products affordable for smaller contractors. missing image file