# Anybody do much Grocery Store/Commercial work?



## DaveClinch (Aug 3, 2009)

I'm curious, the Compnay I work for does 100% Commercial, 75% of which is service and %25 re-model/Break-out work for Grocery Stores. I dont see many people talking about that kind of stuff here which has got me wondering how many Plumbers here do what I do?

What are some of the things you end up doing the most? What are the most challenging types of calls you get?

For me, different Grocery Chains need different things. Publix request anything related to plumbing. Foodlion/Harveys/Bloom have got to where they don't try and do their own plumbing service anymore which has helped us. Winn Dixie is trying to do anything and everything except drains now, which is extremely aggravating.


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## tnoisaw (Jun 16, 2009)

I use to handle a few resturants and grocery stores. The majority of my work involved pinholes in copper, usually 2".


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## Bollinger plumber (Apr 3, 2009)

I have done new construction in a few grocery stores and resturant, office buildings. warehouses. hospitals etc ect. now I do mostly sewer and drain work and general minor plunbing repairs for residential and commercial.


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## Plumbworker (Oct 23, 2008)

i've done a safeway years ago thats about just it. And that was just the fire protection side of it..


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## A Good Plumber (Jun 18, 2008)

Lots of Dorm Room remodels at Stanford Univ and Santa Clara Univ.

In each of the dorm buildings we remodel the kitchens and some are quite elaborate. Much bigger than most resturant kitchens.


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## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

No grocery stores as of yet. We do mostly power plants, industrial, one school district with 14 schools and a national seafood chain.


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## slowforthecones (Apr 20, 2009)

Plumbworker said:


> i've done a safeway years ago thats about just it. And that was just the fire protection side of it..


 I did the plumbing and fire protection at the safeway up in Novato near Hamilton - Bel Marin Keys. Contract docs with safeway and getting on their contractor list was no fun.


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## muck (Oct 10, 2008)

we do super walmarts, targets and a lot of restaurants. everything we do is new commercial.


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## M5Plumb (Oct 2, 2008)

Talkin bout them pinholes in copper, does anyone select the choice of pro-press??


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## retired rooter (Dec 31, 2008)

I was unstopping a drain at a large aircraft shop that refurbished cargo and refuelers for the military .I noticed alot of radiator hose bands with little gaskets on them on alot of small copper pipes 1/2 to 3/4 inch, the plumber working there at the time (this was over 20 yrs ago) said they had so many pinholes and no time to shut the water off , i have often wondered how log these patches lasted??


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## user2091 (Sep 27, 2009)

pro press is nice! had to use it for some tie in's at thunder valley casino. it was a remodel before they started the hotel. i just got laid of from UC davis med center in Sacramento was plumbing and doing med gas.


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## coolwater (Oct 17, 2009)

we used to do a lot of winn dixie and save-rite.. most of the calls were in the deli or bakery.. a lot of faucet repl and stopped up floor sinks.. occasional jetter
the thing that really sucked was the coolers that sit on the produce isle.. they get stopped up and they only have a 3/4" pipe.. U gotta break the line just to get a 1/4" cable thru.. accessibility is a beast on those things too.. 
miss that money tho


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

you use a cable on condensate lines????


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## coolwater (Oct 17, 2009)

lol yep.. this was when i was still learning service tho.. they gave me a truck with about $350 worth of "plumbing equipment" and said 'your our new guy'.. most of it was innovation.. hell I didnt know
I would use a hand held cable (tub snake?).. i broke more than I fixed but hey, thats how you get to be good.. 
all i can say is ALWAYZ WASH PRODUCE OFF..lol .. the crap that collects in the drains of those isle cooler?! Man its like worse than a grease trap (well not worse but bad)

hey AirGAp; I thought you were done talking to me.. are you hanging around to discredit me at every turn :no:


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Use what works best for you....I'd use air/water but who cares aslong as it works.


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

hey AirGAp; I thought you were done talking to me.. are you hanging around to discredit me at every turn :no:[/quote]


No, I like talking to you, I've missed it actually. I'm not trying to discredit you either. It's not necessary.


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## coolwater (Oct 17, 2009)

right on bro..
i actually have more entertaining tales of my inexperience 
like the time I soldered a repair coupling inside a closed wall.. I didnt know heat rises (esp in a closed space).. Im just soldering away but the pipe is holding water.. i cant for the life of me figure out what the hell im doing wrong.. more flux? more solder? naw man i just kept heatin it up!! yeah thats it "more heat".. so long story short Im burning this pipe to a crisp but it wont damn take..
I looked up about 20min into my affair, and the whole top half of the house is a thick cloud of smoke.. I panicked and ran out of the house got in my van and almost hauled azz.. Then i came to my senses and told myself if i leave I will be finished.. I ran back in, ripped the dry wall out and saw it was the wood smoldering but smoking real heavy.. Im sure if i had've left it would have turned into a real fire.. home owner came back like 2hrs later and was like "smells like smoke"
I put my best professional voice on like "yeah unfortunatly thats how copper smells when you sweat joints-- but the good thing is the problems fixed. I had to rip out more drywall than expected but thats just how these things go.."
kindly explained that "we dont fix drywall sir" and collected my lil money

guess u had to be there.. i am the man i am today partly because of that day :no:


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