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The advantages and suitability of mechanical piping systems for refurbishment and maintenance of existing and historic buildings.

Number: pap. POS-13

Author(s) : SANTORO S.

Summary

Work on historical buildings can often present structural constraints with limited access and designs that do not incorporate adequate space for modern HVAC systems. Historic buildings, galleries and museums also require a fast installation that maintains the complex plaster and takes the existing decoration and paint into account without having the risk of discolouration and fragility as well as vulnerability to fire hazards, often caused by extensive use of welding. This proposed paper will focus on the advantages that mechanical pipe joining systems, also known as grooved systems, bring to the maintenance and refurbishment of historic buildings, and help to reduce and avoid the above mentioned risks. The paper will look at how mechanical pipe joining systems combined with the right project management and design services, such as BIM, software solutions and bag-and-tag, provided by CPS (construction piping services), can provide a complete solution to transform and modernise the process of refurbishing HVAC systems. The proposed solution helps to minimise the problems faced when integrating new systems into existing structures and confined spaces, attenuates system noise and vibration, accommodate thermal movement of HVAC pipework, realizes a precise cost evaluation and assures a compressed schedule based on the ease and speed of installation. This paper will examine how mechanical pipe joining is a highly effective and reliable alternative, compared to welding and flanging for refurbishing HVAC systems in existing and historic buildings. Mechanical pipe joining systems enable a smaller footprint, greater ease of prefabrication, and their flame-free assembly helps to minimise the risks, enhances safety on the jobsite and reduces downtime during unscheduled or day-to-day maintenance of the system. In the paper, real life case studies, such as the refurbishment of the Scala Theatre in Milan and the Chamber of Deputies in Rome, will be used to illustrate the way in which grooved mechanical piping systems are substantially faster to install, lower in overall project cost and reduced exposure to damage compared to alternative pipe joining methods such as flanging or welding.

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Format PDF

Pages: 20 p.

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Details

  • Original title: The advantages and suitability of mechanical piping systems for refurbishment and maintenance of existing and historic buildings.
  • Record ID : 30012259
  • Languages: English
  • Source: 49th AiCARR International Conference. Historical and existing buildings: designing the retrofit. An overview from energy performances to indoor air quality.
  • Publication date: 2014/02

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