PVC Pipes vs. Copper Pipes

Choosing between PVC pipes and copper pipes is not a decision you make very often.  Usually, you would make this decision when you move into or out of a house.  The decision you make will affect the value of the house, so let’s weigh the pros and cons of each type of pipe.

Copper pipes

Pros

• Copper pipes increase home value.
• They can last a lifetime.
• They can withstand higher pressure.
• Copper acts as a biostatic.
• They can contract and expand with temperature.
• They can be installed in small places.

Cons

• Copper pipes are more expensive than PVC pipes.
• In the winter, the pipes might freeze or burst.
• There have been reports of metallic tastes in the water.

PVC pipes

Pros

• PVC pipes weigh less than copper pipes.
• They can withstand high water pressure.
• Less expensive than copper pipes.
• Less noisy than copper pipes.

Cons

• PVC pipes do not tolerate flames well.
• They do not flex well under pressure.
• The amount of toxins in PVC leaks may cause health problems such as cancer or neurological damage.

In my opinion, I feel that investing a little more money into copper pipes would be the best choice because the pros definitely outweigh the cons, especially in the long run.  Because of the increase in property value that comes with the installation of copper pipes, you will realize a return on investment on your property should you sell your house or building in the future.  The longest-lasting repairs you can make to your house or building should begin from the inside, with copper pipes.

Joie Montoya

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Staying sharp: Welders battle for supremacy

Welding companies such as Valencia Welding in Santa Clarita, CA, compete with other companies in Southern California that provide similar services.  Not only can company president, Rick Montoya, and his team provide welding services in aluminum and copper but, as his “resume” shows, in more exotic materials like titanium, as well.  What can up-and-coming welders of today do to build a skill set and impressive clientele list as detailed as Mr. Montoya’s?

A good head start would be to take part in FABTECH 2010, North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, finishing and welding event, which takes place in Atlanta, GA, from November 2-4, 2010.  While around 22,000 attendees are expected to descend on Georgia World Congress Center and visit the 1,000 exhibiting companies during the three-day conference and trade show, the event that attendees should not miss is the American Welding Society-sponsored 2010 Weld-Off Competition.  Out of 24 student welders that competed in SkillsUSA Championships 2009 and 2010, six will face off in a series of contests and only three will advance to the WorldSkills Competition in 2011, in London.

Armed with contest drawings that conform with the latest editions of American Welding Society standards, student welders are tested on the following aspects of welding:

• measuring weld replicas using weld measuring gauges
• laying out a plate and using oxyacetylene equipment to cut several holes checked for accuracy and quality
• gas metal arc welding on steel making welds in various positions using short circuiting transfers
• flux cored arc welding using a shielding gas, making welds in various positions
• using a combination machine capable of providing the correct welding current for shielded metal arc and gas tungsten arc welding.

Welding competitions and trade shows will make sure that North America remains competitive in the welding industry on a global scale, particularly by producing high-quality welders that can complement Valencia Welding.

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding Repairs McDonalds’ Brass Statue

While Rick Montoya, president of Valencia Welding in Santa Clarita, California, receives jobs from phone calls or emails asking for his assistance, he sometimes gets a weld repair job by being at the right place at the right time.

One afternoon, when Rick brought his daughter to McDonald’s at the Pavilion Shopping Center for lunch, he glanced at a bronze statue of a child skiing downhill inside the restaurant.  The statue suffered some damage with part of one of the skis broken off.  Rick immediately contacted Mr. Schutz, owner of a number of McDonald’s franchises throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, including the aforementioned franchise.  Rick offered to repair the ski, and Mr. Schutz was more than happy to oblige.  Rick and Bobby Alatorre, one of Rick’s welding apprentices, brought the statue to Valencia Welding’s workshop and spent the next two days repairing the broken ski.  After they completed the weld repair, they brought back the statue to McDonald’s and returned it to its location inside the restaurant.

Francis M. Unson

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Welding Explained

Rick Montoya, Welding Aluminum Forging

Rick Montoya, president of Valencia Welding, Inc., has worked at Santa Clarita Valley’s Industrial Park for almost 30 years and has done welding with a variety of metals during that time span, from steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and even titanium alloys in aerospace applications.  Unbeknown to me, a non-welding techie, it turns out that there are many, many ways to stick two pieces of metal together.  I won’t give you the earful that Rick gave me, but a small primer about what holds your copper pipes together as well as the titanium tubes in the B-2 Bomber, is forthcoming.

Welding has come a long way in a very short time span.  Even as recently as the end of the 1800s, welding consisted of one process alone: forge welding, the process in which blacksmiths joined metals together by heating and hammering them.  However, by the start of World War I, a demand for reliable and inexpensive joining methods brought forth new arc welding and related processes.  The Space Age in the 1950s demanded precision, giving birth to laser beam and electron beam welding. By the turn of the 21st century, the industry had a wide array of welding processes at their disposal.

I alluded to a specific type of welding, but generally speaking, what is welding?  It is a fabrication process that joins materials, such as metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence and is usually done by melting the parts with a filler material, forming a pool of molten material that, when cool, becomes a strong joint, depending on the metals used.  On the other hand, the titanium welds that Rick has performed were done in a Spacetron Vacuum Chamber at Spacetron Metal Bellows, a provider of complex, titanium bellows and precision-welded titanium structures for the aerospace industry, where Rick is Chief Operating Officer (COO).

If I didn’t drink so much coffee, I’d have the steady welder’s hand that he has.

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding: Interview with Rick Montoya, President (part 3)

1. Are you looking to hire in the coming year?
   Yes, I would like to start hiring once students graduate from the welding program at COC.  They will join the Valencia Welding team to do welding and fabricating services and make repairs on site at local restaurants.  Also, we were invited to participate in the second annual business expo/job fair, which will be held at the OLPH campus in Santa Clarita.
2. Going the extra mile for our customers.
   On one occasion, I was clear across the Santa Clarita Valley when one of our customers called and needed a weld repair on a critical stainless steel mold.  Without this weld repair, they would not be able to proceed with the production of their products.  Plus, the customer was at their facilities waiting to see the production of their product get back online.  So I got a call at 7:00AM in the morning and had to go across town and be at my customer’s facility within the hour to perform the weld repair.  I arrived within the hour, completed the weld repair, and my customer and their customer were very happy with the results and the production went back on track.

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding: Interview with Rick Montoya, President (part 2)

1. What niche are you serving with your business?
   The niche of Valencia Welding is a quick turnaround to work closely with our customers to get their product completed.
2. What products and/or services do you offer?
   We offer welding and fabricating services.
3. What kind of promotions do you have?
   N/A
4. What do you like about working in the Santa Clarita Valley?
   I love working in the Santa Clarita Valley.  The people and businesses are great.  We are like a big family.
5. In terms of your business, what are you looking forward to in the coming year?
   I am looking forward to expanding the business into the Antelope and San Fernando Valleys as well as working together with the Welding Department at the College of the Canyons (COC) to train welders for this type of welding.

   (to be continued…)

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding: Interview with Rick Montoya, President (part 1)

1. What is your name?
   Rick Montoya.
2. What is the name of your business?
   Valencia Welding, Inc. (VWI)
3. What year did you establish your business?
   1994
4. How did you go about getting your business started?
   I saw a need for commercial welding services in the Santa Clarita Valley, so I launched Valencia Welding to serve machine shops and manufacturing companies in Valencia’s industrial parks.  We started off doing repairs on aluminum injection molds, welding hardware for our customer’s products and fabricating steel tables and storage racks.Now, VWI has launched a new service, specializing in restaurant weld repairs, fabrication and installation of stainless steel and aluminum kitchen equipment.

   (to be continued…)

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding, Inc.: An Inside Look

The Valencia, CA-based company, which looks forward to helping local restaurants make kitchen repairs and keep costs down in lieu of replacing kitchen appliances with on-site repairs, wants to give people an opportunity see the kind of work they can expect.

Preparing the stainless steel backing for installation

The kitchen at the meeting hall of Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Catholic Church required the expedited installation of stainless steel steam tables in time for the first day of school after Winter Break on Monday, January 4, 2010. Here are a few snapshots of what went into installing the tables:

Installation of the copper draining system

The stainless steel steam table, fully installed

Francis M. Unson

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Valencia Welding Inc.

Small businesses were hit severely by the economic downturn towards the end of 2008 and throughout the rest of 2012.  I am looking forward to a reprieve in 2013.

Valencia Welding Inc. of Valencia, CA, and Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone business, is looking forward to helping local restaurants make kitchen repairs and keep costs down in lieu of replacing kitchen appliances with on-site repairs.  The company specializes in aluminum and stainless steel welding.  If your restaurant needs that kitchen sink repaired, contact Valencia Welding today!

Valencia Welding of Santa Clarita, California

Rick Montoya, President of Valencia Welding

25136 Anza Drive

Valencia, CA 91355

Phone: 661.312.6596

Email: ValenciaWelding@aol.com

Francis M. Unson

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