| February 2010: The Problem: By 1999, after more than 70 years of continual service, the historic Pacific Plaza Hotel was rapidly deteriorating with more than 40 of their 160 rooms placed permanently out of service due to severe pipe corrosion and low water flow. The galvanized steel piping was so badly encrusted that in some cases water flow could be counted not by gallons per minute, but by drips. To tear open the lath and plaster walls for a repipe would not only require abatement of asbestos insulation and lead based paint, but it would also eliminate the grandfather clauses over many older systems. To remove the pipes for replacement would unavoidably trigger cross-compliance code upgrades on electrical, ventilation and fire regulations making the total cost of a repipe prohibitively expensive and requiring a complete property shut down. To do nothing would mean the hotel was destined for a slow but certain demise. The Solution:  Faced with
this seemingly insurmountable combination of problems, hotel management
contracted with ACE DuraFlo to restore the piping in-place using the
air driven
ePIPE® system. Utilizing a
riser by riser approach, the ACE DuraFlo team was able to resolve
the corrosion problem within the
existing pipes one stack
of rooms at a time, allowing the remainder of the hotel to continue
normal
operations while the project was completed.
Because the ePIPE process connects to the piping at existing access
points, all of the grandfather clauses were preserved, and the ACE
DuraFlo team
was even able to clear and restore the fully blocked piping of the 40
rooms
that had been out of service for years. By choosing ACE DuraFlo ePIPE over a traditional repipe, the owners had enough money remaining to upgrade the hotel into a recently renovated upscale property now dubbed the Executive Hotel Pacific. According to General Manager Dan Spurgeon, “The ACE DuraFlo ePIPE system has been an absolute lifesaver and has allowed us to save our historic property from the brink of collapse. After a 6.8 earthquake and 10 years of service, the hotel’s piping system continues to have full and clear water flow to all 160 rooms and remains protected from the recurrence of pipe corrosion.” Over the course of 10 years since this inaugural hotel project, the occurrence of pipe corrosion problems continues to grow, and the renovation market is turning to the environmentally conscious alternative of ePIPE for a solution. “ACE DuraFlo ePIPE is a very green technology”, explains ACE DuraFlo founder Larry Gillanders, “and this case study is a great example of how ePIPE can deliver tremendous value under the emerging LEED-EB program for renovations in existing buildings. With the current direction of the economy and green building trends,” continues Gillanders, “we believe that ePIPE is a valuable resource 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 8 countries, it seems that the market would agree.  About Pipe Restoration
Technologies,
LLC and ePIPE® Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC (PRT) directly and through its subsidiary ACE DuraFlo Systems, LLC, provides "in-place" epoxy pipe lining products and authorized ePIPE plumbing services in the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico and Latin American under the brand names ACE DuraFlo, ePIPE, eLINER and miniE. Since 1998, PRT has been a leading innovator in the field of pipe restoration and has been awarded multiple US patents involving epoxy pipe lining methods that restore and protect piping systems "in-place." The result is an epoxy lined pipe called ePIPE. ePIPE, a "green product," is a proven and commercialized alternative to a conventional plumbing repipe. Information on ACE DuraFlo and ePIPE may be obtained by calling 888-775-0220 or by visiting www.aceduraflo.com. |