Mechanical Contractors need to provide support systems for their piping, duct, and other services throughout their projects. The contractor is given the responsibility to design, engineer, fabricate, and install these support systems on each project. This process can be time consuming and very expensive, however Unistrut Midwest is here to assist you with all your pipe support requirements. See the interesting case study below on how Unistrut Midwest was able to save a mechanical contractor time and money on his pipe support installation.

Project Requirements

A mechanical contractor had a new construction project at a major University in northern Ohio. The contractor had to run (7) Pipes and a duct along a main service tunnel that would span about 100′. The contractor had existing structural steel beams at a set interval that provided a desirable connection point for the supports. The specification on the project called for hot dipped galvanized supports or better within the service tunnel. The contractor was utilizing BIM modeling on the project and knew exactly where his pipes should be on the project, but was not sure the best way to support them. The mechanical contractor brought in the experts at Unistrut Midwest to develop a solution for his pipe supports.

Unistrut’s Solution

Unistrut Midwest was able to design a support structure that give clearly defined support areas for each pipe and duct along the service corridor. Each layer of Unistrut allowed for 2-3 pipes to be supported based on the size of the piping. Unistrut utilized P1001 channel in hot dipped galvanized finish to provide sufficient strength to handle the weight of the pipes. Unistrut used P2474-1 HG pipe rollers to allow the pipes to expand and contract as needed. Unistrut used all Unistrut Defender fittings and channel nuts to provide added corrosion resistance to the supports.

Each rack would be identical on the run, so Unistrut Midwest was able to pre-fabricate all of the racks in their warehouse and deliver a final product directly to the job site. The pre-fabrication of the supports allowed the mechanical contractor to focus on welding pipe instead of building supports. The lower labor cost of warehouse employees in our fab shop versus pipe fitters on site presented a significant cost savings. Overall the mechanical contractor was able to offer the end user the best solution at a lower cost and reduced the construction time.