Just like a house or business, when it comes to backflow enclosures, it’s all about location. If you’ve decided to install your backflow preventer above ground, that’s a good thing. We’ve learned over the years that above-ground installations are much safer and cost-effective. But installing above ground is just the first step to the perfect installation. The location of your equipment is also critical, especially if it’s in front of the building.
Placing it in the wrong spot on your property could cause you and your customers a lot of grief, especially if it’s upfront. This is not just for aesthetic reasons, but a backflow enclosure that’s too close to the street can also create a safety issue.
In Part 1 of our series, we talked about the best place to put a backflow enclosure. But sometimes, you can’t help but install your equipment near the front of your building, So, we’re going to show you a couple of good examples of where to place backflow prevention assemblies IF you have to install it near the front of your building.
A Good Backflow Enclosure Placement
Putting a backflow enclosure in front of your building isn’t the worst thing in the world. You still maintain all of the safety benefits compared to a vault. But you may have to make sure you keep one thing in mind. Take a look at this picture:
This is a near-perfect, front-of-the-building installation. You can see the electrical transformer (green) and the silver backflow enclosure in front of the building. The backflow enclosure is away from the street, against the property line, and tucked behind a row of hedges. This backflow enclosure is not an eyesore, nor is it an issue for anyone who is trying to turn out of the driveway. It does not block the driver’s line of sight.
The only thing that would have made this installation better is a specified green enclosure. The green enclosure would blend in with the surroundings and be much less noticeable. Safe-T-Cover has many colors you can pick from to match your building’s surroundings. You can also cover your enclosure with a decorative wrap, or camouflage it with landscaping.
A Great Backflow Enclosure Placement
If the engineer gives it some thought and installs the backflow preventer on the side, or the rear of the building when possible, the backflow enclosure will be out of sight. It may require a little more pipe and excavation, but that small increase in cost offsets the appearance and usability of the site.
Here’s a great example. The backflow enclosure and the utilities are actually on the front side of the building, but they were placed well off to the side. Anyone driving up to the front entrance will hardly notice them.
We give this building owner credit for installing the backflow preventer above ground and out of sight.
Above-Ground Backflow Enclosures Are Best
In the end, installing a backflow preventer outside and above ground is by far the safest and most cost-effective way to do it. And with winter coming, you’ll take comfort in knowing a heated backflow enclosure provides all of the freeze protection you’ll need. Just remember to look around your building to determine the best location.
If you’d like to get a look at some of the ways you can use your backflow enclosure to actually improve your aesthetics, check out our guide. Inside you’ll find all of the colors and other ways to blend your enclosure into your property. You can even use it to advertise or use it to make your business easier to find.
