DeftApproximation t1_j152b4f wrote on December 21, 2022 at 6:50 PM

The pipe broke in half? Or the sprinkler head broke? Those are two very different cases of workmanship. The sprinkler heads are pretty easy to snap off. And they’re designed to be replaceable after the fusible link melts from an “event”.

Sprinkler water is often black because of the oxygen and steel piping reacting. Systems are *supposed to be flushed every year or so (but as a contractor that builds a lot of these schools and universities I can tell you that most of them neglect this essential maintenance task).

If its black and smells terrible that’s a sign of microbes getting in, but that takes awhile to get going and not something I’d expect from a brand new installation.

pablomexixo OP t1_j153m77 wrote on December 21, 2022 at 6:58 PM

It was black and smelt terrible

If i had to make a very wild gueds: They couldve saved cost for piping by using the old schools piping

jimmygreen717 t1_j154ayf wrote on December 21, 2022 at 7:03 PM

Sprinkler water is usually black, not clear like the movies. The pipes they use are not for drinking water so they're not clean

lugo2 t1_j15f5e7 wrote on December 21, 2022 at 8:14 PM

It would have cost so much more money to remove old pipes carefully enough to be able to install then in a new building and try to account for the cuts and bends in the pipe than to just buy and build new. The most likely explanation is simply a faulty sprinkler head or one installed incorrectly.

Stagnant water always start to grow things and smell bad.

DeftApproximation t1_j159zbj wrote on December 21, 2022 at 7:40 PM

If it smells bad, then maybe some microbes got in which isn’t a great sign. However, just note that’s sprinkler system isn’t designed to “be nice”, it’s designed to save lives. Clear water or nice smelling water is the least of their concerns.

It was a ground up new building right? They definitely wouldn’t save materials from an older building. That’s asking for a world of pain and liabilities, plus it would just be burning money on labor costs to remove and save the piping rather than just a pure demo scope.

People often assume that renovations and reusing old materials means lower costs, but that’s often not the case. Older buildings means inheriting the wear and tear of decades of usage. Sure buying an older used car can save you some money, but if all the parts are nearing the end of their lifespan, you’re going to be shelling out insane amounts of cash just replacing parts as they fail one by one.

moreobviousthings t1_j15txo6 wrote on December 21, 2022 at 9:52 PM

There is much more engineering put into sprinkler systems than for common plumbing systems. That's to make sure enough water gets to every head that is open, no matter how close or how far from the source. Renovations often require additional heads, which might need some pipes to be replaced with larger. It's not as simple as it may seem to a lay person.