Cost savings using CSST realized in Hotel Lafayette rehabilitation

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The Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo, N.Y., includes 67 one bedroom, 48 two bedroom apartments, and a 34 room boutique hotel.

The Hotel Lafayette, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was recently renovated in 2012. The building was designed by the country’s first female architect, Louise Blanchard Bethune. It originally opened in 1904.

The newly restored complex located in Buffalo, N.Y., includes 67 one bedroom and 48 two bedroom apartments, plus a 34 room boutique hotel.

H&M Plumbing & Mechanical Contracting was contracted to handle the gas piping for this design/build project, and specified corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) for its labor saving potential over black iron pipe. According to David Morrison, President of H&M, “we saved $270,000 by using CSST instead of black iron pipe.”

Established in 1975, OmegaFlex is an international producer of flexible metallic piping products. With over 90 patents registered worldwide, the company supplies proprietary products for a broad number of applications and markets, which include primary steel production, semi-conductor, medical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, residential and commercial construction, and power generation.

All of the condos/apartments in the restored hotel featured a natural gas furnace, stove, and hot water heater which required the gas piping to be run up the first seven floors from the basement. The job was originally quoted using yellow CSST. However CounterStrike was requested to quote on this job by its local N.Y. wholesaler due to its superior features.

CounterStrike CSST, which was first introduced to the market in 2004, is used for natural gas and propane installations. It is a patented CSST innovation that is engineered to significantly decrease the potential for lightning induced damage to fuel gas piping systems. CounterStrike’s superior corrugated tubing coupled with AutoFlare fittings combine to make the best CSST product available.

OmegaFlex provided H&M a detailed sizing drawing, saving them valuable engineer resources. According Morrison, the excellent response times he received from the Omega Flex sales and engineering departments made the choice of using CounterStrike an easy one.

CounterStrike CSST’s higher flow rating compared to other brands, helped H&M achieve additional cost saving versus lower priced yellow CSST. This is because it is often possible to use smaller pipe diameters with CounterStrike compared to competitive brands.

H&M also saved time due to the proprietary OmegaFlex manufacturing process for Counterstrike. It is the only approved product in the industry that does not require heat-treating to meet the rigid ANSI Standards providing a robust, damage-resistant product. The heavy gauge black jacket is more abrasion resistant than thinner yellow CSST jackets. Plus there is no additional bonding for Counterstrike required by OmegaFlex.

Counterstrike uses AutoFlare fittings which provide more sealing surface than other brands of CSST fittings. The AutoFlare fitting is self-centering, and can make a perfect metal-to-metal seal even when the pipe is cut out of round. Counterstrike is UL listed for 1, 2, 3, and 4 hour through penetration fire stop systems, meets ASTM E84 with respect to flame spread and smoke density, and is listed by Factory Mutual for seismic resistance.