Rooftop Piping Across Existing Structures

Facility name: Orange Park Medical Center

Lesson Learned/Best Practice

Pipe routing seems to often be left to the installing contractor.  When rooftop piping is used, the support frames are done by the installer as a deferred submittal, but the underlying structure has to be reviewed by the design team. Field investigation should be performed to identify/incorporate existing structure components/limitations into the design documents. 

Suggested Actions for Future Projects

Large diameter piping being routed over existing roof sections needs to have those existing roof sections surveyed prior to the completion of design. The survey should identify the structural make-up of each roof section, so appropriate routing and pipe stands can be coordinated/designed into the construction documents with the structural engineer’s approval.