Just need a little information about the difference to answer a questioner .

Hi Ksdregraff:

The biggest difference is going to be that none of the pipes or shutoffs can be exposed to the prisoners.

At the one prison I worked on in Maine all fixtures were stainless steel... no sharp edges or ways to access the pipes. I believe most of the fixtures also bolted through the back of the wall, so that the prisoners couldn't unbolt them even if they found a way to get the tools made or snuck in... ;)

If I remember correctly some of the correctional facilities are even using their own specific pipe types... but I haven't worked with it so cannot add much beyond that.

Otherwise, most of the same rules applied across the board.

Some other plumbers will be popping in/out over the next 24 hours so pop back to see what they can add.

Hope that helps some...

MARK

Back in the 70's I worked on a crew piping a medium security prison. Like Mark says, All the plumbing was tucked away in chases. Our contract called for cast iron lead and oakum poured and caulked joints amd type "L" copper. The lavatories and toilets were stainless steel just as Mark described. Not much difference frrom putting in a commercial building or super market. The only difference being that you just knew you were not building a "happy building". I don't know, why but you would think that plumbing a prison cell would be about the same as plumbing a motel room but I always felt a little depressed doing a prison. Wonder if Marlk felt the same way. To answer the question. It makes no difference to a experienced plumber what the job is, residential, commercial or correctional, he's qualified to walk right in and complete the work. Regards, TRom

Even though I didn't work at the prison for more than 2 weeks, yeah Tom... very depressing!

Made me glad to go home at night... made me fear getting incarcerated and reminded me how much I like hangin' around women... ;)

MARK