CUSTOM
Centralized individual plumbing
control reduces overtime hours
“
The range of options and the scalability of
the Viega ManaBloc system allows us to
include the product in all sizes of homes
”
Homes by Avi, a premier home builder headquartered in
Canada, has been designing and constructing new homes
since 1978. With operations in three markets throughout
North America, Homes by Avi is an innovative leader in
integrating family-focused product lines and award-winning
home designs.
Homes by Avi’s Estimating Manager Rick Willianen and
Construction Manager Glenn Hewko were attending CIPHEX
West in Calgary in search of a product solution that would
enable them to improve the current design and installation
methods for their projects. What they found was the Viega
ManaBloc system.
“We were looking for an alternative to the field fabrication of
the manifolds used in our potable water systems,” Hewko
said. “The Viega ManaBloc system not only met our desire
to drive consistency in installation but offered our customers
the security of a product warranty which only a manufactured
product can bring.”
“The range of options and the scalability of the Viega
ManaBloc system allows us to include the product in all
sizes of homes,” Willianen said, “giving us design flexibility
while maintaining consistency in our installations.”
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each fixture. Willianen pointed out that if a homeowner wants
to change the location of a fixture or expand the system to
include a new fixture, in a conventional plumbing system, the
homeowner will have to shut off the water supply for the entire
house in order to complete the project.
“With the Viega ManaBloc system, they can isolate any given
supply line in its entirety,” Willianen said, “which means the
rest of the home is not without water and the work can
proceed without impacting the use of the other fittings
or fixtures in the home.”
“Viega ManaBloc gives you control of the water system,”
Hewko said. “It’s nicely labeled. You know what’s
going on. You can control the water flowing out without
wrecking day-to-day living in the house if you want to
change something.”
Willianen believes that the Viega ManaBloc system brings the
perception of an upgrade to a home. As a homerun system
that controls the plumbing within the entire home from a
central location, homeowners have the added benefit and
convenience of individualized control of a single plumbing line.
And they can access each line from a single location.
“If there is a service issue in a home’s electrical system,
typically the homeowner knows the location of the breaker
panel and will go to re-set the circuit breaker,” Willianen said.
“The Viega ManaBloc is analogous to this concept,
representing the breaker panel for the potable water system.
In the last few years, Homes by Avi began installing Viega
ManaBloc water distribution systems in their homes built in
Edmonton, Alberta. According to Hewko, he estimates that
they have installed the system in nearly 1,000 houses at this
point and so far they haven’t experienced a single
problem, either of the Viega ManaBloc system or any of
the connections.
“We’ve never had to deal with Viega on a warranty issue,”
Hewko said. “I’m pleasantly impressed that the plastic hasn’t
broken. That was the biggest thing. We went ahead with it and
have had no issues.”
One of the many benefits the Viega ManaBloc system offers
is the centralized, individual shutoffs for the supply lines to
Model Home, Homes by Avi
solved that problem. ViegaPEX tubing is available in red,
white or blue, which makes it easy to tell the different
between the lines.
“We’ve had some issues where the hot and cold lines got
mixed up, so by using the colored tubing that doesn’t
happen,” Hewko said. “And it looks better at the end.”
Homes by Avi’s mission is to build and sell innovative and
quality homes through a partnership with professional local
sub-trades and land developers, in order to create long-lasting
communities that our customers can be proud to call home.
“We did the training sessions,” Hewko said. “It was good to
learn the engineering and the money that goes into designing
some of Viega products and how everything is developed. It’s
pretty neat.”
The customer always has easy access to a quick and
convenient shut-off for any given fixture when required.”
But homeowners aren’t the only ones who benefit from the
Viega ManaBloc’s unique centralized control. It’s a good deal
for plumbers too.
A plumbing emergency in the middle of the night would call an
expert to the home immediately, no matter what time it was, to
fix the system. Now, because the Viega ManaBloc is so easy
that homeowners can operate it, plumbers can instruct the
homeowners to shut off the line that is causing the problem
until the issue can be addressed the next day.
“It saves the plumber a lot of overtime because they can shut
it off individually,” Hewko said. “Before, they had to go out
right away.”
Founded on the motto, “Better Value by Design,” Homes by
Avi has been recognized first nationally and subsequently on
a regional basis as Home Builder of the Year by the Canadian
Home Builders’ Association. The company’s commitment to
quality and innovation have been prime drivers in their
success. Having built a wide variety of sizes and styles of
homes, the construction team at Homes by Avi has
developed expertise and a knowledge base that benefits their
customers and delivers on those commitments to quality and
innovation. Keeping abreast of installation trends and products
that bring new value to their customers is an important part of
the company’s continuous improvement process.
Hewko explained that at one point their projects experienced
some issues due to the PEX lines for hot and cold water
crossing paths. Using same-colored PEX tubing made it
difficult to differentiate the lines but installing ViegaPEX tubing
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Viega is committed to protecting our most precious resource,
water, through innovation, reduced water waste and
conservation. Easy to install, the Viega ManaBloc system can
shorten piping runs and can help gain points towards a LEED
certification process by making it faster and simpler to stay
within the installation parameters as outlined in the Energy and
Atmosphere guide for credits (Section 7.1 subsection- b)
of the Canadian Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes
2009 Standard.
“The Viega ManaBloc is the way to go,” Hewko said. “I have
a house with the old copper and it looks very unprofessional.
Copper is the hardest system because you have to make it on
site. Plumbers have to bring out their solder guns and put the
pipe together. This way they just come in and put the lines in.
The efficiency’s there.”