I've been an FPE my entire 15-year career in a jurisdiction that did not require compliance with Section 903.3.5.2 (IBC 2012)/Section 403.3.3 (IBC 2015) that requires and automatic secondary fire sprinkler system water supply located on-site. They've finally adopted the code without amendments which means we now need to design secondary water supplies for all new high rise projects. Since I have no prior experience on this, I thought I'd ask here to see if I'm on the right track. Here is my current plan:
Secondary Water Supply: Provide an underground storage tank capable of supplying the sprinkler system + Hose Stream demand for 30-minutues per IBC requirement (min. 10,087.5 gallons based on Ordinary Hazard Group 2 with QR area reduction + 100 gpm inside hose demand). A vertical turbine fire pump will sit on top of the tank and pull water from below. Pump will be sized to supply full sprinkler system and standpipe system pressure/flow demand (750 gpm @ 250 psi).
Primary Water Supply: The city water main will flow directly into the water storage tank at a rate equal to the standpipe system demand. The tank will serve as a "break tank" as long as the city water supply is viable. Although the city water supply will fill the tank at an equal rate to the system demand, the minimum break tank size will be 750 gpm x 1.5 x 15 min = 16,875 gallons (final tank size).
Am I on the right track here? I'm seeing similar projects with 32,000 gallon tanks so I'm questioning whether or not my design approach is valid. Let me know if you see any problems or issues with this approach, any input is appreciated.
I'm writing a book in which an intrepid domestic terrorist vampire hunter fills a fire protection water tank with gasoline and then pulls a fire alarm that would set off all of the sprinklers. The million-dollar question is "would that would even be possible and if it was possible what issues would there be with doing that?"
(p.s. I know it's a fictional story and I can do whatever I want with it, but I want it to be somewhat realistic as opposed to just saying whatever)
Yes, 50-150psi is a lot. But the main line is nearly 6-8”. Only now are fire sprinkler lines turning to plastic in low level risk residential areas… but why so damn heavy. Why can’t fire sprinkler lines be majority plastic like plumbing???
I understand that I can use the slip coupling to fix this but I don't know the size. I researched online to to see how to find measure. But seems like none available in home depot matches my measurements.
Circumference of the pipe is: 4.375 inches. When I divide that by 3.14519 to get the OD I get 1.391012943574156.
Not sure which coupling to use.
Here is the picture of the pipe:
https://imgur.com/a/Mq3nrHA
Hi dear community,
I need your thoughts and advice in my current situation.
Last August 2020 I bought a small 1 bedroom apartment. HOA fees increase every year. The building is not maintained well. All HOA do is cutting couple trees a year. So this month they emailed everyone that they will be having a meeting this month and vote for the loan in the amount of $1,641,290 to be paid by residents during 60 months.
This loan will cover:
1.Fire system pipe and sprinkler head replacements - $412,700,
2.Mitten will be handling the drywall and paint inside the units, carport areas and stairwells and the estimated cost is $4,000/unit x 154= $616,000
3.The roof work estimate (which will need to be updated due to rising cost of shingles) is $258,612.00.
its a lot of money, My monthly HOA fees are $260 for a small 1 bedroom apartment. there are 2-3 bedroom apartments which pay more. I dont understand why some of these expenses are not covered with the money we pay.
I just moved there and this is a complete shock for me and unnecessary extra expense during these unstable times.
Is there any advice I can get from here how to push back and make HOA to cover at least partial costs?
Thank you very much
Hi everyone, new here and still soaked with decades old sprinkler water.
So I was just steaming shirts in my bathroom, no flames or anything like that, when the sprinkler system literally exploded on me. My bathroom has three sections: the main area with double sinks and a shower, a walk in closet and a toilet room. I was steaming shirts in the main bathroom about 8ft from the sprinkler. I didn’t even know there was a sprinkler. It just looked like a black hole in the ceiling because the sprinkler did not have a plate on it (not my doing it must have been like that from before I moved it. I can actually prove this because a month ago I took a picture of the sprinkler hole (still not knowing there was a sprinkler inside) because I could see what I thought to be mold growing inside. I then came on Reddit, posted a picture of the sprinkler hole/possible mold and said “not sure what this hole is for in my bathroom but does this look like mold?”
Anyway, Black water came raining down and it was already up to my ankles before I had time to get out. I could have easily been electrocuted as I had an IQ air purifier (almost the size of a pool heater), a dehumidifier and a fan all plugged in, on, and sitting on the ground. The outlet wasn’t a GFCI. No windows and only a small air intake so poor circulation.
The fire alarm went off in the building it was mayhem. I called the fire department and ran outside the building. Once the firefighters were inside, it took them another 30 minutes to shut it off because the building’s security didn’t know where any of the shut off valves were. They also said that the sprinkler head was damaged. Does anyone know what that means/what effect that may have had?
So my apartment is under water. It’s about 1500 sq/ft. Two bedrooms with wall to wall carpeting. Not sure what’s underneath. Two bathrooms with vinyl flooring and about 700sqft of laminate wood flooring. The apartment below me has the same layout and he’s in even more trouble since his walls and ceiling is also damaged. It even went down into the subterranean garage. The hallways are also soaked. I imagine this is hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. I have renters insurance which I’m sure will cover my loss of property. The building is a luxury rental property in Los Angeles. Built in 1976.
I’m now at a hotel. Is there anything I should/shouldn’t do or say/shouldn’t say when I go speak to management tomorrow? I have a tendency to be too nice so I don’t
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