Project Profiles: Educational Facilities

Converse College, Spartanburg, S.C.

Retrofit Team

MECHANICAL PROVIDER: Waldrop Mechanical Services, Greenville, S.C.
MECHANICAL SUBCONTRACTOR: Dean Hall Insulation, Spartanburg

Materials

A chilled-water renovation took place for several historic buildings just in time for the 2014-15 school year. A closed-cell elastomeric foam insulation was installed on all of the chilled-water piping and the energy plant. The contractors believed the near-zero moisture permeance and low thermal k of the chosen insulation product was essential to protecting the buildings from pipe condensation and any subsequent moisture damage. Additionally, the product’s compact structure helped navigate insulated hot-water piping through tight spaces to get to the fan-coil units above individual dorms.

“Armaflex on chilled-water piping is a no-brainer. You don’t grow mold on it and you don’t have to worry about rusted pipe,” says Scott Hall, president of Dean Hall Insulation. “Ten years from now, if they decide to go into those walls again, that pipe will look just like it did the day we installed it.”

CLOSED-CELL ELASTOMERIC FOAM INSULATION FOR CHILLED-WATER PIPING: AP Armaflex from Armacell

The Retrofit

Wilson Hall, Pell Hall and Dexter Hall were built in the late 19th century and are considered iconic to the history of Converse College. The delicate renovation to these buildings revealed numerous century-old details, including bead board, handmade chair rails and hand-painted decorative flourishes around windows, all of which were painstakingly restored.

The renovation included replacement and redesign of several thousand feet of HVAC piping—much of it hidden behind plaster walls and ceilings and above and below precious architectural treasures. Exposing such details to the risk of condensation from chilled-water piping was not an option. Closed-cell elastomeric foam insulation provided the contractors the peace of mind they wanted upon completing the project.

PHOTO: Armacell