Best Sprinkler Design for Open Breezeways?

3/30/2020

In your opinion, what's the best way to address sprinkler design when there are open breezeways separating units in the same building?

Do you somehow provide a heated chase under a deck? Convert from CPVC to steel and heat-trace a run? Go back underground and potentially "under" the building? Use separate risers for each grouping, bumping up the price significantly?

Residential multi-unit apartment complexes are frequently built with open breezeways in-between blocks of units. These usually have paved concrete at the bottom, only wood joists and decking for stairways and walking areas, and a covered roof at the top.

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4 Comments

Jonathan Sullivan

3/30/2020 10:10:58 am

Depending on the site layout, individual risers/building are the best from an operations perspective. If that is too complicated, heat trace is a good approach; I prefer not dealing with underground unless unavoidable. I do not know what your secondary power availability or climate are, but I think it's a good idea to have this system on standby or emergency power.

Thomas Reinhardt

3/30/2020 10:16:51 am

Is breezeway even a definable term in the building code. Maybe you mean walkway?

Darren Englert

3/30/2020 11:00:17 am

I have used several methods to feed the other side of the open walkway. The method you use is very dependant on the climate where the building is being built. I live in an area of the country where we do not get sustained freezing temperatures, so some of these suggestions may not be advisable in your area.

The easiest way is to use a channel of the overhead walkway structure as a chase, insulate it, and leave it open on both ends for heat transfer from the adjacent units. This works in our climate and we have not had a problem with this installation.

Another way is to feed one side of the building to the attic, cross in the attic where the pipe can be tented and insulated from cold, and feed the other side from the top down, with a drain in the 1st floor unit. Some building structure makes this approach easier crossing the walkway, although you may still need a chase in the attic.

Less desirable is going underground to cross the open walkway. This often comes with complications from blocking, footings and other building structure as well as adding a trip to the site, coordination, and timing for the u.g. install, but it can be done and i have used this method a few times.

The last resort for me is heat tracing. It is an added expense for fire sprinkler, alarm monitoring and electrical, and still requires insulation. I tend to avoid heat tracing if at all possible, although there is approved heat tracing for CPVC.

Added risers add cost and take up leasable space that owners do not want to give up and add to underground, monitoring and ITM requirements and cost both in the short and long term.

I hope this helps you with some options.

Stay healthy and stay safe.

Anon

3/30/2020 12:08:30 pm

Depends on what part of the country. In the south we cross the breezeways with sleeves, protect the breezeways with dry sidewalls, and run wet pipe in the attic with plastic tenting between the insulation and piping. You can also "bird cage" it using sidewalls to keep the wet piping out of the attic.

Most apartments are 13R. For a 13 there are usually dry systems involved.

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