Anyone that has renovated a building before knows that there are bound to be unexpected surprises as the project progresses. And so it was for engineers conducting a top-to-bottom renovation of one of dozen schools in the Tucson, AZ area’s Sunnyside school district.

When contractors began removing the building’s ceiling tile, they found duct board ductwork that was so dilapidated it was literally falling apart at the seams. Upon closer inspection it was determined that virtually all of the ductwork connection each of the 34 individual HVAC systems throughout the school needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, the $200,000 estimate for the work was simply not in the budget. With the school scheduled to reopen in just a matter of weeks, the engineers needed to find a solution…fast.

Faced with this project-halting dilemma, a consulting engineer brought in to asses the options suggested the school consider a new technology he had heard about that sealed duct leaks from the inside. He had heard good reports about aeroseal from colleagues and was told that the technology worked on virtually all types of ducts.

In just a matter of days, the aeroseal experts at GreenSeal had reviewed the project, submitted a proposal and began their work. The ductwork was in such bad disrepair that much of it had to be first taped back into place. Mastic was used to shore up the visible leaks. But even after the manual sealing was completed, testing showed total leakage rates still hovered around an unacceptable 49,000 CFM. Then the aerosealing began.

It took GreenSeal less than two weeks to aeroseal all 34 duct systems – both supply and return. The final results showed total leakage down to 8,000 CFM -well below the 5% leakage rate required by code. The total cost for aerosealing was a fraction of the estimate for duct replacement and best of all, the school opened on time.

“I think a lot of schools in the district could benefit from this technology,” said Tom Hubbard, the school district’s bond project manager. “”I look forward to assessing energy savings over the next year or two. In the meantime, we have heard nothing but positive feedback regarding the comfort of those using the new school building.”