Plumbing & Mechanical Contractor - Articles

Hydronics Workshop | John Siegenthaler

Why thermal mass and domestic hot water demand don’t always play nicely together

Hands off!

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

March 18, 2026

When radiant slabs and high-demand fixtures share a heat source, thermal equilibrium doesn’t always favor the shower.

And so it flows - The Cost of Missed Calls

And So It Flows Podcast

Podcast: The cost of missed calls

How missing calls can affect your business, your revenue, and your reputation.

Kristen R. Bayles

March 17, 2026

In this episode of And So It Flows, Kristen Bayles spoke with Jane Blanchard, head of brand and marketing at Service Forge, about a challenge many contractors underestimate: the true cost of missed calls.

Heating Perceptions | Scott Secor

As temperatures plunge across the eastern U.S., emergency calls surge

Cold Calls

Scott Secor

March 13, 2026

The recent cold weather means one thing for contractors: an increase in calls.

The end of reactive service

Sensorization, analytics, and service model transformation is changing the way that contractors react to, and are able to prevent, disruptions of service.

Kristen R. Bayles

March 12, 2026

In a data-informed environment, plumbing and mechanical systems become managed infrastructure — visible, measurable and continuously optimized. Contractors who embrace that reality position themselves not simply as technicians, but as long-term asset stewards in an increasingly performance-driven built environment.

Code literacy: the contractor's best advantage

Traditionally, code knowledge was defensive. Today, it's an offensive strategy.

Kristen R. Bayles

March 11, 2026

Codes are expanding into areas like resilience, electrification, water quality management and long-term accountability. No longer are they static rulebooks; they’re living frameworks shaping how systems perform over decades.