40 10th Avenue

After a thunderstorm that brought heavy rain to the New York City area, a floor drain in the ground floor grease interceptor room backed-up and caused a large section of the showroom to flood. HLZAE investigated the piping associated with this floor drain to determine how a back-up could occur at this location. HLZAE performed a drawing review of both the base building and tenant build-out plumbing plans as well as also identified multiple locations where a camera inspection should be performed to verify if the piping associated with the grease interceptor floor drain matched the various sets of drawings. A plumbing contractor assisted HLZAE in inspecting the plumbing by providing both a video recording from within the pipe and a GPS tracker on the head of the camera which allowed us to track and document the camera’s location throughout the inspection. Based on the analysis of the camera footage, the floor drain was incorrectly connected to the base building’s sanitary plumbing system. 

HLZAE recommended repairs to resolve this issue, including rerouting of the grease interceptor floor drain to the cellar ejector pit as shown on drawings. The final resolution, including ultimate responsibility for and recommended scope of repairs, of this issue is ongoing and once a resolution is finalized, the forensic team will involve HLZAE’s MEP department for a detailed plumbing design and oversight of the repairs.