Trouble in Paradise

Sealing Cancún Hilton’s Open Trench Problem

Just one open trench can be a nightmare for hotels, and their guests. Open trenches can ruin a hotel’s aesthetic beauty, as well as the guests’ expectations. Beyond superficial looks, open trenches usually indicate a serious underlying problem in need of immediate repair. When the Cancún Hilton found itself confronting an open-trench nightmare several miles long, they contacted the real experts to help them identify and resolve the problem: Ardent Sales.

A local distributor had recently provided the Cancún Hilton with IPS Weld-on solvent cement. Now the hotel was calling on the experience of Ardent Sales’ founder Lucy Hernandez. With extensive experience in PVC piping installations and its inherent challenges, Lucy Hernandez quickly identified the source of the hotel’s open trench issues.

A physical inspection of the PVC piping revealed that no primer was used, and the solvent cement was drying before the pipe and fittings were joined. What’s more, the installers had not fully inserted the pipe into the fitting socket stop, and had erroneously used sand paper on the piping. As a result, weaknesses in the critical bonding area had lead to leaking and total joint separation upon pressure testing.

After locating the exact problem, Lucy Hernandez provided solvent cement training to the installation crew, instructing them on the proper ASTM D-2855 procedure for solvent-cemented joints. Implementing her recommendations, the Cancún Hilton has since closed up the trenches. The hotel has been running smoothly ever since.