Plumbing & Mechanical Top Stories

RSS

You can teach anyone to sweat a copper joint or wire a circulator pump. What’s much harder to teach is attitude, curiosity, pride in craftsmanship, and the ability to make a customer feel at ease.

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), approved in 2024, presents a major challenge for U.S. companies, especially in the mechanical and manufacturing sectors. It aims to promote sustainable corporate behavior by requiring companies to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their global value chains.

When sprinkler piping freezes, the resulting consequences can be grave: water damage, operational disruption and loss of fire protection when it is needed most. These failures are frequently attributed to extreme weather, but most stem from oversights in controlled conditions, such as unclear heated boundaries, improperly installed insulation that isolates piping from heat and incorrect application of dry sprinkler technology.

In this episode of And So It Flows, host Natalie Forster sits down with Spencer Pope, manager of technical support and training at Bradford White, to explore how education and workforce development are evolving across the plumbing, HVAC and mechanical trades.

Last month, we reviewed the basics injection mixing. It’s a method for controlling water temperatures by regulating the flow of heated water “injected” into a circulating distribution system, while simultaneously removing an equal flow of cooler water from that distribution system. Any method that controls the rate of injection flow also controls the rate of heat transfer into the distribution system.

Check out the ways in which these companies are getting involved, making changes and learn how you can too.

Contractors and engineers see a marketplace that is stabilizing, even if margins remain tight. “We remain cautiously optimistic about plumbing industry market conditions in 2026,” says Jason Pritchard, president of the Plumbing-Heating-Contractors—National Association (PHCC). He notes that while uncertainty remains, moderate growth is expected for plumbing and HVAC contractors, though high prices driven by tariffs and inflation will continue to shape consumer behavior.

On complex healthcare projects, where schedules are tight and teams are balancing multiple design and compliance requirements, drainage will often receive less early attention. However, in patient environments, it’s a critical component that directly affects safety, accessibility, and maintenance.

Franchising offers tradespeople a structured path to entrepreneurship, combining operational know-how, leadership skills and established brands for faster growth and long-term success.

Well, isn’t this just great: the faucet they purchased from the big box story stinks and now that’s my fault?! On arrival, I could not detect any odor at all, but they insisted there was an odor - except when I was there.