Case Study
American Dental Association
Project Overview
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Building
American Dental Association Building
Aeroseal Contractors
Airways Systems Inc.
Goal
Meet code for proper lab fume hood operations
Before Aeroseal
2,733 CFM of leakage
After Aeroseal
606 CFM of leakage
Results
Aeroseal eliminated 2,127 CFM of leakage. With proper exhaust now possible, all fume hoods are back up and operational. Renovation on schedule.
American Dental Association Improves Ventilation, Meets Code with Aeroseal
For the past decade, Mike Kosinski and his team of experts at CEPro Inc. have been caring for the historic ADA building on Chicago’s Near North Side. Built in 1965, the 23-story skyscraper has undergone numerous upgrades and renovations, but none as transformative as those planned for the building’s fourth-floor medical laboratory. Leaks in risers connecting the labs’ fume hoods to two rooftop fans were making adequate ventilation impossible. Unable to meet stringent exhaust code specification, some of the fume hoods were rendered inoperable. Without a solution to the problem, laboratory renovation was impractical. Talks of having to relocate the entire facility had even begun to take place.
Each of the building risers were encased in individual concrete structures that drape over the building’s exterior. This meant accessing the enclosed ductwork to seal the leaks would require nothing less than major building demolition. As a result, the leaks continued to plague the facility.
There was simply no other practical solution. If not for Aeroseal, we would be moving the lab right now, incurring millions of dollars to change strategy and writing off millions in investment that had already been made in the building. Aeroseal extended the life of their investment – I can’t even estimate the total cost savings this represents.
Michael Wessel
Project Engineer - CEPro Inc.
That’s when CEPro’s Mike Wessel, learned about Aeroseal’s ability to seal ductwork from the inside. After initial research and meetings with building management, Wessel got the go-ahead for a preliminary duct sealing project. Airways Systems’ Joe St. Pierre got the call to handle the leaky shafts.
Results
When finished, the print out report generated by the Aeroseal system showed the results – Aeroseal reduced leakage by as much as 94.5%. A week later, Joe got the go ahead to seal the rest of the leaky shafts. In the end, Joe and his team reduced leakage by more than 2,000 CFM, more than enough to meet code and get all fume hoods up and operational. Renovation of the ADA lab is back on the schedule and moving forward.
