Everything Has It’s Place

Sure. Everything has its place. There are many things in life we encounter daily. And they all have their place and purpose.

The same is true when it comes to the pipe world. I will be the first to admit that building a roof drain system out of Reinforced Concrete Pipe is not only difficult, it would also be labor intensive and a cost overrun for the developer. However, a roof drain system is a perfect fit for what we term in the industry as “Flexible Pipe.” Meaning, it has little structural integrity of its own and must rely on the soil compaction by the installer to create an envelope to give the pipe its strength. Since roof drain systems are low impact by mowers and such and usually remain in a green area, it makes perfect sense to use flexible products here.

Some would say that I am biased because I sell Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP is a rigid pipe). However, if they knew my history, they would also know that I have sold millions of dollars worth of Flexible Pipe over a lifetime career in the Water Works Industry. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of both products. Additionally, I have been educated by the American Concrete Pipe Association and am a recipient of their P3 Certification Program.

I have always supported the notion that both types of Storm Drain pipe have their place in the industry. Is one better than the other? That depends on the application and the installation. Let’s take the aforementioned, Castillo de San Marcos, mentioned on the landing page of this blog. Does anyone really believe that if this structural facility were built out of plastic, it would still be standing nearly 500 years later? Of course not! Similarly we install manholes and storm boxes, that are made of concrete and steel. Engineers refer to them as structures. Once RCP is properly installed it creates a complete underground structure system to convey water away from one place to another. That is because the rigid RCP has its own structural integrity built right in. It is not dependent upon the envelope for compressed strength. That test has already been performed at the plant prior to pipe shipping to the job site.

From our earliest beginnings, mankind learned the risk of building with unsuitable materials. Over time we learned that for buildings to last they must have a certain amount of structural integrity. Building a Storm Structure System is no different. It can be built to last for 50 to 100 years. Or it can be a temporary fix for a long term problem. I will leave that to the Engineers and Developers to determine which system makes the best economic impact per acre. One thing I can say for certain is this: I would never build a sky scraper out of plastic. Think about it and let me know your thoughts.