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The Challenges of Coordinating Risers

 December 19, 2018  XS CAD Limited  MEP Coordination Drawings, Software  HVAC
mechanical engineering consultants, MEP Coordination Drawings
For modern buildings, risers carry the very life blood of a comfortable space. Much like an arterial
system, different kinds of risers perform various necessary functions for the health of a building. They
are conduits or carriers of fluids, fuel or air. Coordinating risers is critically important within the
workflow of MEP coordination and clash detection, and this can be challenging at times. Challenges
generally occur with hydraulic services design during renovation of older buildings. Let’s look at how
that may happen.

Well, first off, what is a riser?

Also known as a vertical riser, a riser is a void that contains a duct, pipe or conduit or a combination of
all services that rises through a building to carry or transport gases, fluids or electrical signals in the
form of piping. In general, a dry riser is an empty, or dry, pipe used to carry water for firefighting
systems, and a riser cable can deliver electricity or communications between several floors. Looking at
risers in more detail, they can be:

– Vertical Riser Ducts

As mechanical pipes and electric cables are aesthetically unappealing, typically they are hidden away in
vertical riser ducts. These ducts must be strategically placed to minimise pipe lengths and cable runs,
thus cutting costs. Pipes must run unhindered vertically in ducts, especially sanitary waste pipes, so that
this waste water need not navigate bends in pipes. Since vertical risers cut through floors and can be
vulnerable for the spread of fire, they must adhere to strict guidelines.

– Vertical Riser Cables and Pipes

Sometimes, it is practical to have risers exposed. Servicing becomes easier. Cables connect to sockets and
light fittings to riser conduits mounted on walls and columns. Cables and pipes that travel through
floors are covered with fire-protected collars, to prevent the spread of fire through them. Increasingly,
services pipes are becoming part of the décor.

– Wet and Dry Risers

Vertical pipes, that are both wet and dry risers, run the full height of a building and are built near stairs
to provide a direct water feed to each floor in case of fire. Dry risers have ground coupling pipes outside
the building that can be connected to an external water source in case of emergency. Wet risers are
connected to the building’s water supply.

– Dry Risers in Fire Fighting

A dry riser usually includes the following:
Inlet Box

1. Made of galvanised sheet steel, for recessed mounting, with architrave

2. Has a hinged, lockable door with a panel glazed with wired glass, so that the lock can be opened
after breaking the glass.
3. Hoses can be connected to inlets without opening the door.
4. Large enough to access for maintenance and operate the drain valve

Inlet Breeching

1. A two-inlet breeching, with instantaneous male coupling, back pressure valve, blank cap and chain
2. Has a gunmetal gate valve for drain purposes, with plug and chain

Landing Valves

1. Straight or oblique gunmetal gate pattern valves, with flanged inlet, instantaneous female outlet with
blank cap and chain, fixed with a leather strap and padlock
2. Lined and coated with woven synthetic fibre hose and diffuser branch pipe nozzle
3. Valve, hose and nozzle in a box, on purpose-made hangers

Air Release Valves

1. Brass automatic air release valve, with a rubber ball inside

For a tall building with the same floor layouts (e.g. apartments), the riser equipment/elements will
change size as they move down or up the building. As such, a section of each riser will show slightly
different sizes, especially for ductwork, which is why a drawing is created for every floor, even when the
rest of the floor is the same.

With a variety of risers to deal with in the MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) sector, it is crucial
that the MEP systems coordination workflow, especially with regard to hydraulic design of liquid or
water piping systems, is efficient. Technological advances and the innovations they enable have been a
prime factor in fuelling this efficiency. In the construction industry, BIM (Building Information
Modelling) has been driving immense change in the MEP coordination process and the delivery of MEP
coordination drawings (http://www.xscad.com/blog/the-two-methods-of-mep-coordination/).

The use of BIM technology has made equipment tracking and task monitoring easier. Covering almost
every aspect of a construction project, the BIM process involves project managers, subcontractors,
designers, architects and other construction professionals participating in controlling individual
processes and project phases, with a smooth exchange of information during the larger MEP
coordination process.

Increasingly, the trend in the AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) sector is to design 3D models
for 2D construction documentation and 3D trade coordination. Generally, the trade design or MEP
design follows the architectural design stage. Trade professionals, such as HVAC mechanical
engineering consultants (http://www.xscad.com/blog/experience-is-key-for-outsourcing-hydraulic-
building-services/) and others, collaborate with architects to design mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire
prevention and fire protection services. A consultant or MEP contractor ensures that the MEP design is
efficient, clash-free and installation-ready. At this point, fabricators who create ductwork or pipework
components, electrical ladders or module sprinklers share their input. Thus, a fully coordinated 3D
model is developed that can be used for clash detection.

Subcontractors (for the different trades) can virtually place systems as shown on detailed design
drawings with individual elements, which include risers, offsets, hangers, conduits with required radius
bends and cable trays. Other elements to consider include data communication lines, fire protection
system controls and process piping.

At this point, challenges may arise, especially during the renovation of an existing structure. Some of the
circumstances that may contribute to challenges in installation of risers include:

Riser replacement in an existing building – opening up walls creates a mess, dust and debris
throughout the premises and destroys expensive decorative finishes that were lovingly installed. In
older buildings, asbestos can be destroyed, as well as lead-based paint that has peeled off.
Existing plumbing risers may be difficult to handle after years of corrosion, because rust makes steel
pipes brittle.
As hot and cold risers behind kitchens and bathrooms are replaced, tiles, cabinets and walls must be
removed.
Risers must be replaced entirely or not at all, since new risers attached to old risers can break.
Accessing risers takes time and money.

Signs that risers need replacement are hard to miss. Upper floors will experience low water pressure.
Debris will appear in the water – bits of corroded pipe in sinks, showers and bathtubs. Time is an
indicator. Galvanised steel pipes last for about 50 years, accumulating scale and rust inside, while brass
lasts for nearly 70 years. Copper pipes last even longer. Coloured water is a definite indication of rust
and scale accumulation. Also, excessively hot showers are a result of clogged plumbing risers that
reduce the flow. The need to replace existing risers during renovation introduces different kinds of
challenges for coordination.

– For example, during the renovation of an existing building, one of the chase walls was opened, and a
large conduit was installed inside a duct chase against an exhaust duct riser, causing a clash in the
planned duct connection. A coordinated model showed ductwork and risers in the limited space and
how their placement could be manoeuvred to avoid the clash, guiding the fitting of components to meet
the design requirements.

– In another building, the floor-to-floor height was 20 feet, generally enough for ductwork and piping
from air handlers to central core chases. In this case, a chilled water piping that was routed only 10 feet
above the floor and close to the AHUs (air handling units) and supply and return ducts, next to the
shafts, made for difficult coordination. Ductwork from 2 AHUs had to pass above the chilled water
piping and between hanger rods. Coordinated design drawings showed a more efficient duct placement.

– Yet another example involved duct and pipe routing between an existing main electrical room and
adjacent AHUs. The electrical room had floor-mounted AHUs right outside, and the adjacent AHUs had
disconnect switches and variable frequency drives (VFDs). Coordinated MEP drawings and 3D
modelling showed that the chilled water piping to the electrical room AHUs had to be moved, as did the
larger AHUs and VFDs, allowing the ductwork and piping to be placed with the correct amount of
clearance.

Easing MEP Coordination

Forming a key part in setting up and laying out design, MEP coordination is a key means to connect
building elements and make the structure functional. Earlier during MEP coordination, drawings were
overlaid and compared and spatial and functionals interferences, or clashes, were dealt with by multi-
trade professionals. This method needed countless revisions before the finalisation of the coordinated
drawings, but BIM processes changed all that. The BIM workflow involves a 3D approach and data-
based reasoning to help MEP contractors plan, design and install equipment, including risers, efficiently.

Using BIM technology, a once-prolonged and tedious process fraught with delays, insufficient data and
miscommunication, is now smooth and efficient. A building’s MEP systems are seamlessly integrated
and coordinated with architectural and structural systems, creating clash-free models.

The placement of elements of MEP design, such as risers, can be intelligently designed and laid out.
Tools, such as Navisworks, enable clash-free designs, with multi-disciplinary integration in one work
environment. Flawless MEP coordination drawings are produced.

The Revit Solution

Creating a 3D model with Revit software enables easy coordination during design, and clash detection
can be performed with Navisworks. So, early on in the design process, the model can be coordinated
with architectural design and MEP design that includes risers. The models of new buildings and those of
existing buildings will have differing degrees of efficiency, since existing buildings contain unknown
elements, spaces and conditions which may not be represented in models.

The good news is that with BIM-enabled MEP coordination, most of the challenges concerning the
design, layout and clashes of risers in MEP systems is eliminated and smooth coordination results.
Those firms that find it difficult to provide hydraulics and plumbing design services and MEP
coordination services may consider online collaboration and outsourcing, which is efficient, accurate and
cost-effective, for the delivery of precise MEP coordinated drawings as part of the hydraulics and
plumbing design services and MEP coordination services. Managers can retain full control of the project,
resulting in faster delivery.

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