If you’re looking for security and assurance in your backflow preventer and aluminum enclosure, you’re not just installing above ground, you’re putting it under a Safe-T-Cover enclosure and on a concrete pad. In many jurisdictions, a concrete pad is required and is also recommended for nearly all installations of our products. Let’s take a quick look at the importance of combining aluminum with concrete when it comes to backflow equipment.
Security
Our aluminum enclosures are braced with California redwood and built to be rugged in all conditions. But even our industry-leading enclosures are only as good as what they’re installed on. Take a look at this story from KERO in Bakersfield, California and notice what’s missing, well, aside from the backflow preventer and enclosure.
Even in this instance, an enclosure would have no concrete pad to anchor to, leaving the backflow equipment just as susceptible to vandalism or theft. (And their recommendation of installing a cage? We know better.) Installing a standard or custom enclosure on a concrete pad with appropriate depth (see below) provides a rock solid base for protection from thieves and nature alike. Speaking of nature…
Animals
Life finds a way. Without installing an aluminum enclosure on a solid concrete pad, wildlife can find their way into just about any space.
An unsecured enclosure might as well be a vault. We’ve heard stories of rodents, snakes and other creatures worming their way into unanchored enclosures, creating an unpleasant surprise for anyone accessing the equipment inside, not to mention the risk of damage to equipment.
You wouldn’t use an upside down laundry basket as a dog kennel; an unanchored enclosure isn’t much better.
Sinkholes
Gushing water damages the ground around it, and anywhere there is a need for backflow prevention, there is real risk for sinkhole development. For this reason alone, in-ground vaults for waterworks or backflow preventers represent increased danger to the surrounding environment. Simply bringing the equipment above ground isn’t enough.
A concrete pad provides a firm footing for your waterworks and your enclosure alike, providing maximum stability and security against sinkhole compromise or other damage, regardless of what’s below the surface.
Standards of Installation
In many municipalities and a growing number of states, a concrete pad of four-inch thickness is the standard, and will work for installing a Safe-T-Cover enclosure. We recommend going beyond what’s required, though. Will you need to account for deep snow or potential areal flooding?
Four inches may be what’s necessary, but your property may dictate going further. Always check with your local codes and ordinances when looking to install concrete for a RPZ or other waterworks enclosure.
Safe-T-Cover encourages installing our enclosures on concrete: included with every order is the concrete drill bit you need to install mounting anchors on your pad, and the entire mounting and installation process is quicker and easier than you think. Concrete is a minimal cost for maximum protection. Combined with a Safe-T-Cover enclosure, you will enjoy superior confidence in your waterworks equipment.
Don't be content at 90%
You’ve already made the smart choice by moving your backflow preventer outside, and a smarter choice by opting to install above ground with a Safe-T-Cover enclosure. You might even have that enclosure set to match your building’s color palette or designed with custom graphics that turn an enclosure into something worth looking at. But if all of that isn’t set on and secured to a proper and compliant concrete pad, all that investment will be a sunk cost.
Don’t make all the right decisions only to make one wrong one: anchor your Safe-T-Cover enclosure to concrete and know that you’ve done everything you can to protect your water and your property alike.
