3 Things to Think About When Planning Utilities in a Construction Project

Utilities can be one of the trickier parts of planning a construction project, especially on a larger scale. It’s not so much about the potential of something going wrong during the construction work itself, but rather ensuring that everything will be reliable and easy to maintain in the long run. That takes some additional research, especially if you want to ensure you’re utilizing all options available on your market correctly.

1. Gas Mains Usually Require Extra Attention

You’ll want to start with your gas mains, as those will require extra attention in most cases. There’s a lot that can go wrong with improper planning here, and you’ll want to ensure that every critical point of the whole setup is easily accessible once everything is finished. This sounds easier than it is, considering that you’ll usually need to plan for your gas mains before everything else. Keeping your options as flexible as possible is crucial here – more on that below.

2. Explore Alternative Material Options

You should do as much research into different materials as possible, especially when it comes to conduits and other elements that will be buried inside the walls. There are better alternative conduits than PVC nowadays, for example, and going with those can spare you a lot of headache down the road when it comes to the maintenance of the building. Of course, ensure that any alternatives you’re considering are compatible with the rest of the materials and structural choices. Sometimes, you’ll be restricted with regards to what you can and can’t use, and it’s important to plan around those issues as early as possible.

3. Keep Things as Flexible as Possible for Future Expansions

Utilities can often impact your ability to expand the building and upgrade parts of it later on, which makes it even more important to plan ahead in this area. Try to foresee future expansions and adjust everything to them as much as possible. Of course, you won’t be able to anticipate every single requirement the building will have later, especially if it’s being constructed for a more dynamic project. But taking some time to ensure that some of your utilities won’t block potential construction points in the future can still go a long way towards improving the extensibility of the building. This will often require some additional consultation, but it can be well worth the investment.

It’s unfortunate that utilities tend to see so little attention during the construction of some buildings, in some cases only seeing the bare minimum amount of planning and forethought. Taking the time to ensure that you address as many potential future issues as you can will save you a lot of trouble in the future, and the same goes for anyone who ends up occupying the building. Don’t be afraid to explore options outside of the established norms when they have the potential to improve things by a large margin. We’re seeing lots of interesting developments on that front nowadays, and the market is full of options to check out.