High-Profile: November 2026 | Page 42

42 November 2026

Commercial plumbing rarely makes headlines, yet it touches nearly every project in the built environment, and the trade is changing fast. After visiting The Wilkinson Companies’ headquarters in Rockland, Mass. this fall, High-Profile publisher Anastasia Barnes sat down with Doug Bleicken, plumbing and construction division manager, and Brian Oriola, plumber, both of George T. Wilkinson, Inc., the plumbing contractor within The Wilkinson Companies. Together they bring decades of hands-on experience to a conversation about rising material costs, the realities of working in occupied buildings, the tension between engineered drawings and field know-how, and the generational shift reshaping who does this work and how.

Anastasia Barnes: What are some of the biggest changes you’ re seeing in commercial plumbing today?

Doug Bleicken: Technology has probably been one of the biggest changes. General contractors are using software for

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just about everything now— blueprints, scheduling, RFIs, project documentation and communication. For us, it’ s really about combining the old-school plumbing knowledge with the technology skills of the younger generation. You need people who understand how a plumbing

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Southern Maine 41 Spring Hill Road Saco, ME 04072 207.571.9515 system actually works in the field, but you also need people who are comfortable working with all the digital tools being used on projects today. Estimating has changed quite a bit too. Software can give us industry-standard labor projections and keep us up to date on material costs. And material costs have obviously had a major impact. Copper, steel and cast iron have all gone up substantially over the last several years. Copper alone has increased roughly 20 % over the last 18 months, so that has a real effect on how we estimate and manage projects.

AB: What are some of the most common plumbing challenges you encounter in existing or older buildings?

DB: Working in an occupied building is always a challenge. The biggest issue is usually making connections to existing systems or scheduling a shutdown without disrupting the people who are actually using the building. It takes a lot of coordination between our plumbing foreman, the general contractor’ s supervisor and the building engineer. Everybody has to know what’ s happening and when. A lot of times, the answer is working off-hours. You might have to do the work at night or on a weekend so the building can continue operating normally during the day. The goal is really pretty simple: get the work done correctly while creating as little disruption as possible for the tenants.

AB: Are there issues owners or facility managers could be catching earlier?

DB: Absolutely. Small problems tend to be the warning signs. Things like recurring clogs, slow drains, small leaks, changes in water pressure or unusual noises in the piping shouldn’ t necessarily be ignored. The earlier you identify a problem, the more options you have. If you wait until something fails completely, now you’ re dealing with an emergency, and in a commercial building that can mean an unexpected shutdown or disruption to the tenants. Preventative maintenance and regular inspections can go a long way toward avoiding those situations.

Brian Oriola

AB: How are sustainability and changing codes affecting commercial plumbing?

Brian Oriola: Sustainability has become a much bigger consideration in plumbing, but there are some challenges that come with the newer materials and products being used. We can encounter a disconnect between the design and what actually works in the field. Engineers have an important role, especially with complicated systems, but the people installing these systems have practical experience that you can’ t always get from a drawing. The code gives us the guidelines we have to follow, and engineered designs are important. But I don’ t think an engineered drawing should always be treated as scripture. Sometimes the guy in the field sees something that can be done more efficiently or maintained more easily. If you can make a practical modification while still staying within the code and properly documenting it, it can make for a better installation in the long run.

AB: With skilled labor being such a challenge, how has the work of a plumber changed?

DB: The skilled-labor shortage is a huge continued on page 44 www. high-profile. com