Cast Iron: Safe And Comfortable

Construction & Contractors Blog

You cannot afford to compromise on matters that may affect the safety and comfort of clients in an accommodation facility. This is why it's important for hotel managers to maintain a well-functioning drainage system in the facility at all times.

A well-functioning drainage system is more than a series of connected pipes that serve as a channel for wastewater. Drainage pipes made of different materials have different attributes that make them "better" or "worse" for certain applications. Here are two reasons why you might want to replace the plastic pipes in your drain with cast-iron pipes.

Fire Safety

This should be a major concern for you. The plastic pipes in the drain may be sufficient to get you through the next fire safety inspection. However, your interest in fire safety should focus more on the possible outcomes of a fire outbreak in the hotel as opposed to focusing on compliance with the local fire safety codes.

The material that your drainage pipes are made of can either encourage or they can mitigate the spread of fire in the event of an outbreak. Plastic drainage pipes are likely to burn up pretty fast when they're exposed to a flame. As they burn, the pipes will give off toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. Heat from the raging flame and the toxic gases produced by the burning pipes are a recipe for disaster for anyone who might be trapped in your facility.

Cast iron has a high combustion temperature which is not likely to be reached in the event of a fire outbreak. Drainage pipes made of cast iron are therefore not likely to burn. Even if the combustion temperature is reached, the burning pipes won't release toxic gases into the atmosphere.

Vulnerability To Leakages

While no drainage system can be 100% leak-free, certain factors may make your drain more vulnerable to leakages. Thermal expansion is one of these factors. Plastic pipes often expand and contract more than pipes made of cast iron. This explains why expansion joints will often be incorporated into a drainage system that has plastic pipes while they're not needed in drains that have pipes made of cast iron. This expansion/contraction might be the reason why you always seem to be repairing leakages at different points along the drainage system.

Because pipes made of cast iron will expand and contract less, you're probably not going to have leakages as often if you opt for these pipes to replace their plastic counterparts.

23 June 2016