Living by the canal – with hygienic drinking water
It's a promise of exclusive living: 132 generously proportioned (60 to 157 square metre) apartments, many with extensive views over a canal. The "Lister Gracht" in Hanover, Germany, a housing development owned by the "Apothekerversorgung Niedersachsen" investment fund, has a great deal to offer. One of the key benefits for residents is that they are well supplied with hygienic drinking water – thanks to the precise planning of the drinking water pipes.
Theory is not always best practice
The planners were primarily concerned to provide an optimal needs-based drinking water pipe network. Instead of relying on the simultaneity principle of the standards and regulations, however, they investigated whether the nominal pipe widths obtained using CAD did in fact meet the expected demand. Or whether they posed a potential risk of contamination, due to being oversized.
This discrepancy between theory and practice can occur when the flat values for pressure loss in drinking water distribution networks stipulated by the standards, and often incorporated into CAD programs, are applied. Much more favourable results are often obtained if planners work with the exact manufacturer's specifications. In Hanover this was especially relevant in relation to the basement manifolds and the riser pipes with the large pipe dimensions. The practical answer: Instead of the calculated dimension 76.1 mm, the 64 size of the Viega Sanpress Inox piping system could be installed in the basement manifold system.
It's all about the right storage
Drinking water hygiene starts right from delivery of the materials on-site. So the stored stainless steel pipes in 1.4521 material were covered by tarps and their ends sealed by the accompanying plugs. The pipe ends remain capped during the installation phase, when work is not actually being carried out on the piping system. This represents an optimal combination of hygiene-aware planning and hygiene-oriented installation.