Meet Dan, your Plumber and Engineer
Dan Killilea is the owner and operator of Dan Killilea Engineering and Trades, a business set up to address the needs of industrial, commercial and most importantly residential owners. Yes, I am a plumber, and I have no issues working with my hands doing the trade from the tradesman level to the project manager level, and have done so for many years. I have decided to run this business as a one person operation, but that doesn’t mean the bigger jobs and tasks are beyond my capabilities. I know and access the best people, products and equipment at no extra charge to you.
Over the years I have found that many problems that people have with their facility or home often exist because of poor planning and design then low cost installation and lastly maintenance practices. If one looks at the long term ownership costs, these factors, especially the poor design becomes extremely costly. I have found such designs are sometimes brought on by not having or understanding the options that are available, or just following in a rut past practice that has been flawed or intended for another purpose.. Sadly, some old time practices, very economical to own, have been lost by many in today’s construction industry and property owners. Lastly I have noticed and still not well recognized is the pollution that is affecting all of us, me included that can be easily controlled if addressed upfront in any project.
My background started out as millwright dad’s helper, doing home repairs and moving factories in my preteens. The key lessons learned was to get a trained person to teach you, and just read, talk to older and experienced people and listen and learn from what they share with you. I later learned that some of what I was taught by dad was just plain wrong and often unsafe, such as, you do NOT use a match to check for a gas leak at a pipe joint. I have seen industrial harm, and abhor the outcome that could have been easily prevented. I do have the tools, instruments and techniques to test for leaks, and any equipment performance and safety is foremost in my work and designs..
My first car, a 60 Chevy convertible, often frustrated me with the way things were just jammed into a space without any consideration of the next guy (who was me) to take something apart to fix it. Sure it was easy to work on when it was on built on a production line, but a horror when assembled. So I decided to become the boss of the design. I got a few engineering degrees, a couple of professional engineers licenses, some US Patents for my designs, was even elected into a few honorary engineering societies. One thing that I knew from the beginning was I enjoyed what I do for a living.
Now I have to tell you it has taken a lot for me to not go postal when someone in the design office or field says, “oh, they can do it in the field”. Yeah! Sure! You bet! Remember that was me, the guy with the skinned knuckles, banged up head and contorted body because there was no consideration on how to do it that just got that reply! Since I got myself into the position to hand them the parts to show me how it was to be done, the stumped “they can do it speakers” were soon walking out the door with a hard learned lesson that you need space for the worker, the tools, the equipment, the parts to be moved with safety clearances! Often there was enough space provided, it just was not properly organized and other times a different solution simply was needed. Sadly I do not believe the American automotive industry has improved much in that respect and many laws have been enacted in the building codes for the same reason because the space provisions were not made by the owners, builders and designers. The space that is now required by building code laws is at best very marginal, and if followed as a minimum you may end up paying premiums for service work labor.
I have an unrelenting thirst for knowledge. Technical, financial, business, historic, social and medical knowledge are my focus. Yes, I have studied and applied what I learned in foundation design, water and waste water treatment, storm water management, electrical power, instrumentation, controls and automation, project administration and management, fire assessment and protection, HVAC, energy systems, building envelopes, fluid dynamics, water hammer, impact and shocks, acoustics, transient heat transfer, structural design, roofing and weather proofing systems, underground piping, site development, advanced pipe stress design and failure analysis, ADA requirements and designs, EPA BUSTR, hazardous waste, construction management, advanced water chemistry, cancer studies, to name a few. Believe it or not, all these fields do inter-relate or can be used to understand another field.
I started doing product design of the industrial variety, versus the consumer kind such as automotive or appliance while in college. The work led me into the industrial area, then commercial, institutional and residential markets. Transferable knowledge and skill sets that have been developed over 40 years can be used in nearly any building situation. What I engineered I often had responsibility from the estimating and cost justification funding, construction and contractor management, to the final commissioning to satisfy some very demanding people on bonuses when the goals were met. On time, within budget, and working the first time without call backs are the hall marks of my work. Really, this is merely the result of good planning, paying attention to the details and just doing it right the first time.
Well isn’t that wonderful, now just how does that stuff I just read help me with MY plumbing problem? Why would Dan want to fool around with my leaking faucet or replace my water heater or clear my clogged drain?
Let me answer those great questions. Common questions Dan would be asking would be “when was the last time this problem occurred?”; “How long have you been putting up with the problem before you called Dan?”, and your answers may just tell Dan it may just be simply old aged parts and equipment, or it may indicate to him there is something else going on, and all you are seeing is the symptom, and not the thing that is causing the problem. There is no extra charge for using his experience.
Now let’s say the clogged drain occurs every 8 months. A properly operated, designed and installed drain and sewer really should be trouble free for the life of the building. Now, what is the root cause, what is compounding the problem becomes the focus. It could be the drains have reached the end of their useful life. Yes, drains and plumbing systems do NOT last forever, just like the heating and electrical systems! Or there could have been some shifting or settlement, or there is incorrect sizing, materials and installation, or perhaps the wrong equipment has been used in the past and never really corrected the problem. Again there is no extra charge for Dan to select the right gear, materials and design to get the job done, but before he does that, he will give you the options, the reasons, benefits and risks, and the costs.
Each situation is different, and sometimes it is just the wrong part used in the past to repair the item, or there is some chemical or physical thing happening that needs to be addressed to stop it or reduce it. When you have Dan on the job, you get all that experience and training, no extra charge because zero call backs for the same problem are his goal.
You can reach Dan at 330-268-9208 or send a note to him through this Can You Help Me Dan button. Dan will promptly return your call and inquiry.