Case Study
The Ohio State University
Project Overview
Location
The Ohio State University Campus
Building
William Hall dormitory (6-story dormitory. 80+ living suites)
Aeroseal Contractors
Aeroseal LLC
Contract Engineer
Smoot Construction
Goal
Eliminate leaks in 19 ventilation shafts; pass fire code specifications; receive LEED Silver certification
Results
All shafts sealed in less than two weeks
Aeroseal Helps OSU Dormitory Make the Grade
The Ohio State University (OSU) had finished construction on its brand new, high-tech, energy-efficient William Hall dormitory. Preparations were underway for it’s grand opening in just a few weeks. Then, much to everyone’s surprise, school administrators learned the new building’s ventilation system FAILED to pass crucial pressure tests needed to meet fire code regulations and targeted LEED requirements.
Finding out about this new approach to duct sealing was a huge relief. The innovation turned a nightmare situation into a relatively minor problem. It allowed us to stay on schedule and ensured the new dormitory is the model of energy efficiency it was designed to be.
Ruth Miller
Senior Project Manager
- OSU
The building’s ventilation system consisted of 19 individual exhaust shafts, each made up of three layers of fire-rated drywall. Pressure testing revealed that EVERY one of those shafts was leaking.
Traditional sealing methods would have required accessing the entire length of each shaft. This would involve tearing down most, if not all, of the building’s newly constructed walls to manually locate and seal each leak. Once sealing was accomplished – the walls would then need to be rebuilt. This would put the project several weeks behind schedule and add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the budget.
Traditional sealing methods would have required accessing the entire length of each shaft. This would involve tearing down most, if not all, of the building’s newly constructed walls to manually locate and seal each leak. Once sealing was accomplished – the walls would then need to be rebuilt. This would put the project several weeks behind schedule and add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the budget.
Results
When an engineer on the project realized the situation, the project team called on Aeroseal to help. Aeroseal’s technology is proven safe and effective and didn’t require any demolition to access the ductwork.
Articles in the January issues of Green HVACR Magazine and CodeWatcher detail the rest of the story about how Aeroseal duct sealing from the inside was able to get this building opened on time and on budget!
