HVAC Expert Buries BIB Plumbing Work - " everybody with a Sawzall and a pencil is a plumber"

Ralph Mancini - February 8th,2018

New York City’s Build-It-Back (BIB) program hasn’t exactly garnered four-star reviews for its home rehabilitation efforts after one local plumber weighed in on the Housing Recovery Office’s (HRO) home rebuilding and rehabilitation work.

In response to an outpouring of complaints on the part of Broad Channel homeowners who’ve experienced frozen pipes this winter, businessman

John Norton claimed most BIB homes need to have all of their pipes removed.  The Breezy Point resident singled out open-foundation homes as ones that are particularly vulnerable to pipe freeze-ups.

“If they have an open foundation, the pipes have got to be ripped out between the second and third floor or the second floor and the attic because there’s no way to stop them from freezing,” said the plumbing contractor who owns and operates Norton Mechanical.

The 23-year professional has been critical of recently elevated homes whose piping infrastructure remains exposed to the elements. Norton added that pipes under crawl spaces of BIB structures are going to freeze “no matter what” and recommended that they be relocated to the top floor or attic.

"Heat tape doesn’t work. Everyone pins their hopes on heat tape…it’s a fantasy land situation—it just doesn’t work,” he stated along with pointing out the ineffectiveness of insulation, which “doesn’t create heat.”  

Norton went on to condemn pre-fabricated units installed by BIB, also known as modular homes, given the fact that they come equipped with plastic tubing that similarly can’t withstand frigid weather.

And while the veteran plumber has been actively trying to get Rockaway locals back into their renovated—and sometimes rebuilt—homes, he’s requiring customers to sign waivers that wouldn’t leave him vulnerable to being sued due to the city’s negligence.

The root cause of the issue, he believes is that BIB is hiring unqualified people to call the shots on all types of foundation work.

“A real plumber who’s been trained by the plumbing union or an older plumber…when [he] makes a mistake and puts a pipe in an unheated area, [he] gets his ass kicked and you don’t make that mistake again.”

“But the problem now is that everybody with a Sawzall and a pencil is a plumber. There are no real plumbers out there.”

Norton also touched on residences with enclosed foundations by explaining that there is hope of salvaging those structures if one can stop wind from seeping through.

He advised all BIB participants that don’t have enclosed foundations to have a trained professional disconnect all their pipes, run a water main straight into the second floor and place the valve into the assembly on the second floor.

“The people in Broad Channel and in my neighborhood (Breezy Point) will be dealing with this forever until they do it the right way.”

When asked about the city’s progress in getting Broad Channel residents back in their homes and specifically about the frozen pipe dilemma, BIB Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lou Mendes noted how some people misunderstand his team’s role and responsibilities.

“We always find people in the neighborhoods that know everything better than anybody else—the experts. I don’t need to attend a meeting for them to tell me what we’re doing,” said Mendes, who appeared on the latest episode of The Wave’s podcast. “But, you know, sometimes people like to go to meetings and put themselves on soap boxes. It’s very easy from the other side.”

What’s more, the BIB point man clarified that his group’s list of duties do not include addressing pre-existing structural issues unrelated to any damage wrought by Superstorm Sandy.

Many of the freeze-ups affecting local homes, he said, were the result of walls that weren’t properly insulated.

“It’s like a game of pick-up sticks, where we need to go through it every time we find a house, so we understand the problem. But we’re putting together a plan to remediate it and a lot of people think it’s easy. But when we put these contracts out, we have to go through the proper channels.”