Great Lakes Plumbing and Heating Company Overcomes Challenges for New Sloan Showroom

Plumbing a new Sloan showroom comes with high expectations, so Great Lakes Plumbing and Heating Company placed a priority on early coordination and constant communication with Sloan and its construction company, Skender, throughout the project. That partnership paid off when the project faced some roadblocks, which Great Lakes Plumbing resolved using Sloan products.

For Sloan’s largest North American showroom, Great Lakes Plumbing was faced with creating a space that would not only spotlight Sloan products on day one, but also adapt to show off those products as the company expands with new innovations. Sloan opened its new flagship showroom and office space in downtown Chicago in May 2022. Showcasing Sloan’s touch-free, sustainable, and aesthetic product offerings across the entire restroom, the space offers visitors an immersive experience in restroom design.

Mark Harmon, vice president, Special Project Division at Great Lakes Plumbing, called the challenge of creating custom displays for Sloan products “a rewarding experience.” Serving the greater Chicago area since 1946, Harmon said it was also an opportunity for Great Lakes Plumbing to collaborate with architectural and construction firms to bring the showroom to life.

As a leader in sustainability and wellness, Sloan wanted its new showroom to mirror that commitment, ensuring the project was LEED Silver and WELL Gold certified. But challenges pertaining to the newly finished yet unoccupied space below Sloan’s 10th floor showroom provided a few roadblocks to meeting the plumbing requirements.

For example, in one instance the drawings called for a fitting to allow for future waste tie-in (or waste future) on the ninth floor that was in a finished space on the floor below. To avoid having to open up these finished ceilings in the space below, Great Lakes Plumbing was able to find another waste stack in the unfinished portion of the space below and cut into the waste stack to run Sloan’s piping.

In another example, the layout for an individual restroom was changed because of a new door location. The new layout had a vertical steel beam in the plumbing wall, so the original plan to use a wall-hung toilet on a carrier would no longer work. Great Lakes Plumbing instead used a Sloan floor-mounted toilet and piped the restroom to the new desired layout.

The new showroom also serves as an office space for Sloan employees. Great Lakes Plumbing and Skender looked at the space as essentially two separate projects, each with its own unique characteristics and properties. The result is an innovative area for Sloan guests and employees alike to enjoy.

“The opening of the new Chicago office is an important component of Sloan’s continuous efforts to retain and attract new talent with state-of-the-art amenities, multiple locations, and flex working policies,” said Kim Darke-Miller, Sloan senior manager of strategic accounts. “With a cutting-edge collaboration center, product showroom, and offices, the Fulton Market District location enables Sloan to offer employees an amazing building and workspace.”

For more information, visit www.sloan.com.