WalMart closes five store for "plumbing" problem
 

Seems a bit odd. They closed a local store with only a few hours notice and said it was a plumbing problem. And there are others around the country with the same problem. The store has been there for 15-20 years. Did China make PVC pipe with pin holes in it? Anyone here know anything about this?

Little notice given about Brandon Wal-Mart’s closure | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune

Could be sabotage.

My brother works for the Livingston location. There is a meeting tomorrow to discuss the stores future. He is in mgmt. and they weren't aware of anything till hearing from the uppers.


So my brother tells me that the water pipes in that are running under the cooler/frozen sections are being chilled to the point that the grease and soap etc are congealing and thus restricting the water flow. Going to tear it out for a redo.

Is there a question that can be asked on PPOT that can't be answered in a matter of minutes??? Thanks for the response. Now I know the problem and can't wait to tell people at work tomorrow that I know what the problem is before it comes out in the news. :D

Maybe you can "bet" somebody a lunch. Insider trading.

Good idea.

Why does this result in an entire store closing?

Every store has this specific problem? Seems strange. Too bad all those people are getting laid off as a result.

Some major chains require systems to be identical for ease of maintenance.

Do you want your guys to stock one type of HVAC filter that works everywhere, or try to keep track of what location takes what filter?

I read the plans for the stores are the same and they built these all with the same problems. Where the city sewer connection is in reference to the freezer sections.

The reason for closing was given is you can't operate without working plumbing.

I thought maybe somebody was trying to form a union.......

WalMart closes five store for "plumbing" problem
 

Having done a lot of retail design I can see how this might happen - possible the same design team did the plans / specs for different stores and made the same errors (retail stores are VERY cookie-cutter and all based on "prototype" sets right down to the finishes in a lot of cases). It does seem odd that the store would close for that long for it, but it could be getting forced by the local health dept too - I'm sure there's a lot more to this story.

I wonder who will be sued for the losses. I guarantee wallymart will be going after someones ass for it (either designer of record or installer). I certainly wouldn't want to be getting sued for six months of lost revenue for a walmart store. Gonna be one hell of an E&O claim if it ends up being the design team's problem (I guarantee they'll get sued even if they did nothing wrong - one reason I don't miss stamping stuff...)

More than likely the layout of the stores was changed at some point in time and this problem wasn't anticipated.
It is hard to imagine that soap would congeal due to temperature drop. After all it is kind of water soluble but how much grease would be in the drains at a retail store?
Maybe if there is a restaurant in the stores that isn't equipped with a proper grease trap or grease trap is poorly maintained I could see it.
No doubt someone will be pointing fingers and looking for compensation soon...

They're supposed to have grease traps in any facility doing food prep or otherwise expected to generate it so it doesn't cause havoc with the municipal system. Maybe they screwed up and didn't put them in (design? Unscrupulous contractor?) There's got to be more to this story...

The ass they may be chewing is probably their own. Wal-Mart Cuts Taxes By Paying Rent to Itself - WSJ
I think they do most of it in house.

On the news it said employees will get paid for an extra 2 months befiore the paychecks dry up, and they have the option of bidding into other locations.

Or they can sit out the 6 months until the store re-opens. sounds decent enough to me.

with modern directional drilling re-piping a store should not take 6 days let alone 6 months

I guess that's what you get when you buy all your plumbing hardware at Walmart... :eek:

Irony.

-Z

The city manager of Pico Rivera stated that he has been in contact with the store manager and has offered assistance in getting the store back up and running.

So far no assistance has been requested, no plumbing permits have been requested, the store repairs are in a "holding pattern".


Go ahead and put my name down on that list of people who are calling BS.
I don't believe this is about plumbing at all.
More likely it's retaliation against the damn BHL commies who keep trying to raise minimum wage to $100 an hour.

Odd to say the least. I did plan review and inspection of a Walmart last year and noticed that most of the sub slab drainage plumbing is being eliminated for coolers etc with them switching to evaporative systems which don't require drip drains. Other drainage inside the building is rather typical with a grease drain/sanitary drain separate.
As well supply piping is done primarily above slab. I can't see anything in their designs that would be lacking as long as it's inspected properly. Typically contractors work for Walmart in various areas of the US
Odd thing was after completing the store in my jurisdiction the contractor called me from WV saying there weren't any inspections required from the county he was in other than a final... I advised him to contact a certified 3rd party and have inspections done anyway to CYA... So "uniform code" isn't so uniform with Walmarts being located in especially rural areas