 March 2010The Problem: Having endured a copper repipe of the original domestic water system in the mid 1980’s, ownership and management of the historic Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle were surprised to be plagued by recurrent pinhole leaks less than 20 years later. Like the last time, the hotel was suffering from frequent pinhole leaks which were causing property damage, and were keeping maintenance staff from more constructive activities. Also like the last time, a conventional repipe would have involved a long downtime, renovation of bathroom fixtures, demolition of obsolete shower tiles, a tremendous amount of guest inconvenience and an unacceptable amount of lost revenue. Maybe most alarming, was the realization that the entire process might be expected every 15 to 20 years! Clearly a no-win dilemma. The Solution: In spring of 2000 the ACE DuraFlo® ePIPE system was enlisted to stop the pinhole problem with the application of a proprietary epoxy barrier coating inside the pipe. The restoration of the piping system in this 171 room historic hotel was completed in two stages over a 90-day period with virtually no wall demolition or reconstruction necessary. During the project the hotel remained in full operation and was even able to rent rooms right next to the units being restored by the ACE DuraFlo team. Looking back ten years later, Chief Engineer Susil Seneviratne recalls the frustrating situation in the hotel which he had just become responsible for at the time. “When I first arrived at the Mayflower Park Hotel, the problem of pinhole leaks was so bad and so frequent that I had to walk the halls with an umbrella” joked Seneviratne, “ but ever since the ePIPE process was completed, we have not had another pinhole.”  The Benefits:
While the occurrence of pinhole leaks in copper has become much more widespread over the last decade, the hospitality industry in particular has been turning to ePIPE for a non-intrusive and long term solution. “There are many factors that make ACE DuraFlo ePIPE extremely beneficial in a revenue generating property like a hotel”, explains ACE DuraFlo founder Larry Gillanders. “By stopping the corrosion problem inside the pipe, ePIPE preserves existing surfaces, shortens project duration and conceals the work inside the walls where hotel guests hardly even know a project is going on.” “The recent advent of green building practices such as the LEED-EB program (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Existing Buildings) also makes the Mayflower project a great example of how ePIPE can deliver tremendous value under LEED-EB. With the current direction of the economy and green preservation trends,” continues Gillanders, “we are very pleased with the value that ePIPE can deliver in the maintenance and preservation of the aging building population.” Based on the 10 year growth of the ACE DuraFlo network into more than 60 locations in 9 countries, it seems that the market would agree. With the final word, Mayflower GM Paul Ishii commented, “rehabilitating our existing system with ePIPE meant quick turnaround, no mess, no walls cut, no lost revenue, no guest inconvenience and no return of the pinhole leaks… all for less money than a repipe! What else could I have asked for?” Truly a win-win situation and no umbrellas required.
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