search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • EBOOKS
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Columns

Maintenance Is Good Business

By Jim Olsztynski
May 1, 2008
Service agreements lack sex appeal, but they provide warm companionship in a cold economy.

The night before writing this, I watched a big chunk of “Life After People,” a quirky production on the History Channel detailing what would happen to man-made structures and the surrounding environment were people suddenly to vanish into thin air.

The future in this fanciful scenario belongs to roaches, rats, cats and bigger wildlife. As for all those skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels and other miracles of modern engineering, the program suggests they would deteriorate faster than I would expect.

Experts narrating the downfall pointed to some things most of us never would have considered. For example, without building temperature regulation and the absence of routine maintenance, sealant that holds windows in place would go through expansion cycles that put lots of stress on glass panes. Even without high winds and fierce storms, after a few unattended decades, most windows in modern high-rises would be exploding of their own volition. The rest of the building shells would last a century or two but then start collapsing one after another due to the effects of weathering.

The message here is that without human intervention, things fall apart quickly. You don’t need to watch that TV show to realize this. Much of the science behind “Life After People” is based on experience in the real world with edifices that have been neglected for a long time.

Quaint colonial attractions like Williamsburg would be unrecognizable ruins without restoration efforts.

The famed Coliseum has stood for a couple of millennia as a tribute to Roman building skills, but tourists have to be content viewing it from the outside at a distance because the facility is on the verge of collapse.

The Egyptian pyramids have managed to last thousands of years longer only because they are situated in one of the planet’s most arid climates.

Mayan ruins in humid Central America have been abandoned for only about half a millennium but already are overtaken by jungle and rot.

All this got me thinking that everyone who works in building maintenance deserves a raise!

It also got me thinking about all that stuff I’ve been reading for years about our nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure falling apart. Authorities estimate that about 20 percent of our drinking water gets wasted due to leakage - this at a time when water is on the verge of rivaling oil as the world’s most contentious resource.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated it would cost between $20-40 billion a year to bring our drinking water and wastewater systems up to snuff. Estimates by the Associated General Contractors of America range even higher.

That’s a lot less money than it would take to conquer France, and the urgency to spend it begins to resonate whenever you hear about water main breaks that tie up city traffic for days, which is happening with increasing frequency.

No matter. Satan will be throwing snowballs before that much money gets appropriated for this purpose. For one simple reason: infrastructure has as much sex appeal as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Nobody can accuse our legislators of being stingy with our tax dollars. It’s just that they like to spend it on sexy stuff like new buildings and roads that voters can see. Sewer systems don’t get named after politicians, and I suspect most would decline the honor no matter how apropos.

Routine maintenance is a tough sell to politicians. They’re like the rest of us kids in preferring to play with new toys rather than clean their rooms.

All of which brings this message to its ultimate point - it’s a good time to start selling the importance of regular maintenance to home and building owners. Business for most of you has taken a large tumble or soon will. Residential construction work is a dim memory in many markets, and with the economy headed as sharply downward as it looks at this writing, home and building owners will be deferring repairs and renovations until they see light at the end of the tunnel.

But just as health club dues can stave off major medical bills, service agreements can prevent budget-busting disasters down the road.

Contractors who have sold a lot of service agreements appreciate the warmth they bring in a cold economy. Their customers ought to be thanking their lucky stars as well.

Links

  • Contact Plumbing & Mechanical

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Jim Olsztynski is the former editorial director of Plumbing & Mechanical.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Manage My Account
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Plumbing equpment parts and wrench on the white background close up.

Plumbing & Mechanical 2025 Plumbing Tools Survey

Latin American plumber fixing a toilet in the bathroom.

Troubleshooting common airflow plumbing issues

Empty modern room with large windows looking out onto a green lawn and trees.

Transitions: What do I do about cooling? (Part 1)

PM BEMIS June 25 Free Webinar: Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • 5 Keys To Success In The Plumbing Business

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing