This post contains part of the entire tenant improvement project Easy Fit Plumbing participated in in Peoria, Arizona. Part Peoria Storefront Mop Sink Water Heater TI will talk a bit about the challenges we overcame when plumbing in a 20 Gallon water heater on a 5′ stand above a mop sink. What a genius way to tuck away cleaning supplies.

First The Stench

When we first walked into the triple storefront location in Peoria it was in a state of plumbing neglect. The smell in the decades unoccupied space was so pungent that I wore my respirator mask. However my eyes still watered a bit even with the storefront doors open. As I made my way through the space I discovered that the chrome p-traps on all of the lavatories were completely rusted. Wow, the bathrooms in this commercial space in Peoria had not been used in so long that the p-traps rotted away completely.

In this case the rotten p-trap was ok because the commercial restroom I was standing in was to be turned into a cleaning supply corner with mop sink and water heater. First the lavatory without a p-trap had to go. I removed the lavatory supply lines at the angle stops(the main water supply was already off). Then took the whole lavatory, faucet, supply line, angle stop assembly out to the recycler.

Exposed were the hot and cold supply piping that was attached to the angle stops. I cut the piping back behind the plane of the wall and soldered on a cap. Even though the piping was abandoned upstream, we choose to cap any in wall abandoned piping as a precaution. Lastly for the Peoria lavatory conversion was the trap arm adapter. After plumbing demo I discovered the trap arm for the suite we were renovating was attached to the adjacent suites restroom with a double fixture hub. After discussing the trap arm issue with the Project Manager the customer was on board with converting the double fixture hub into a clean out. Once the decision to have a plumbing clean out exposed the plumbing demo of the lavatory was completed and ready for drywall.

Now turning to that old commercial tank toilet. According to the architects plans the toilet had to be removed and converted into a mop sink. The challenge here is to integrate a p-trap of 3″ diameter to seal the sewer sewer from the space. However the opening on a commercial toilet flange is 4″. That means we are required to do some digging to get at the toilet main piping. Starting this part of the restroom conversion was removing the old toilet. Flange bolts came out nicely and we moved the toilet to the recycler.

From A Toilet To A Trap

With the closet flange exposed we determined where to cut and remove the concrete. Since this was a small amount of concrete to be cut and removed to expose the under slab plumbing we were able to use a diamond blade and jackhammer to break up the concrete. With concrete removed we dug up the under slab 4″ PVC pipe that will be our new mop sink drain. Luckily we were able to have enough space with the existing plumbing configuration to fit a mop sink p-trap and align vertically with the with the mop sink drain opening. Taking an increase in pipe size from the outlet of the p-trap we used proper adhesives and attached the new p-trap configuration.

At this point we removed the lavatory, the toilet and converted the underground plumbing into a mop sink configuration. From there we invited The City Of Peoria to inspect and approve our work then backfilled the new under slab commercial plumbing and replaced the concrete. Once the concrete cured we were able to set the mop sink for good. The Peoria storefront is really moving along. The lav is out, the toilet is converted and we have communicated to the framers that the water heater stand over the mop sink is ready to be built.

Water Supply Here, Water Supply There

While Easy Fit Plumbing is waiting on the framers we plumbed what will be the hot and cold supply lines. The mop sink supply lines will be hidden in the wall behind the water heater stand so setting up the 1/2″ copper lines with threaded connections is paramount. To mount the copper supply lines we used the classic copper stub out brackets secured with the threaded adapters provided with the mop sink faucet. Now Easy Fit Plumbing will let the framers make our water heater stand while we move over to the cold supply to the water heater.

Moving on to the cold supply to the water heater Easy Fit Plumbing tapped from the existing commercial grade 3/4″ copper pipe. The cold supply does have a specific order it must go in so our piping to the water heater has to be detailed. One detail that the Peoria inspector commented on was how Easy Fit Plumbing techs ran the expansion tank threaded attachment. It really is an honor to have a Peoria, Arizona inspector pay you a compliment. We are always flattered when people visually enjoy our plumbing work. In this retail storefront case, the piping for the water heater will remain exposed for all to enjoy.

Proof is in the picture … drywall is on and the water heater is in the process of being installed. That means we passed our rough-in inspection too. Finish connection of the water heater assembly was fun to complete. One of the most interesting is that the T&P valve piping and drain pan piping both drain to the mop sink below, however hidden in the wall behind. Another thoughtfully planned detail. When the tank was in position and the cold supply and hot feed lines connected we screwed on an expansion tank and fired the water heater up. From that point forward the guys on the job had hot water to wash their hands with.

F.I. and C of O

A little later in the project the work was inspected again by The City Of Peoria and the client received a Certificate of Occupancy with a passing final plumbing inspection. Today that Peoria storefront houses offices for independent agents complete with an amazing employee kitchen area. Easy Fit Plumbing looks forward to providing Owners and General Contractors with the experience and skills to turn grey box space into something special.