Dehumidifiers Provide Quick 'Cure' - Keep Major, Simultaneous Hospital Expansion Projects on Schedule Throughout Winter

June 25, 2007--Nothing can be as frustrating for a building contractor as watching building materials such as concrete and wallboard slowly dry when the clock is ticking against the project's deadline. Such was the situation faced by Birmingham, Ala.-based Robins & Morton, one of the largest healthcare contractors in the nation.

The Levine Childrens Hospital addition

Robins & Morton sought to control humidity and reduce building material drying times for two major, simultaneous expansion projects at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte - Levine Children's Hospital and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Surgical Tower - to keep construction on schedule during North Carolina's cold and damp winter months.

Construction of the 245,000-square foot, 12-story Levine Children's Hospital addition, which is expected to accommodate the projected growth of up to 100,000 children in the Charlotte community during the next decade, began in early 2005. The facility features a three-story open atrium lined with windows, and, when completed, will hold 234 beds.

The Levine hospital is designed to be kid-friendly and family-friendly, and will offer patient rooms with extra beds for parents, a children's diagnostic center, playrooms on every floor and a 13-bed rehabilitation pavilion. The facility also will house several of the region's "firsts," such as the first day hospital, cardiac intensive care unit and 24-hour pediatric emergency department.

The ICU Surgical Tower is a 190,000-square foot, four-story addition on top of the Carolina Medical Center's existing Surgery Tower. The new facility will contain ICU patient rooms, nursing support, family support and mechanical systems. The bulk of the addition - floors nine, 10 and 11- will house 87 ICU beds.

Completing the construction of both projects on time required a key component - precise humidity and temperature control during the interior finishing stage. All construction materials inside the structures absorb moisture, including wallboard, fireproofing, lumber, block and concrete. Unless that moisture is reduced to acceptable tolerances, the condition can delay the construction timetable or, even worse, cause performance failure of some material or lead to the formation of mold.

To avoid such delays, Levine Children's Hospital senior project manager Scott Merritt and ICU Surgical Tower project manager Jeff Fox sought a method to create an environment and climate at the work site to ensure construction would proceed at an optimum pace. They contacted Moisture Control Services (MCS), a division of Munters Corporation, and presented the challenge.

Dan Kaidel, district manager for MCS, North America's largest water damage recovery/temporary humidity control company, recommended temporary installation of two MCS 9000 high capacity desiccant dehumidifiers - one for each expansion project - in combination with several heaters and blowers.

"It was essential that we develop a plan to keep building materials such as concrete slabs free of moisture to facilitate faster drying," said Kaidel. "Aside from drying materials to speed work, there is another benefit to dehumidification - preventing mold growth. By the very nature of the construction process, especially during wet winter months, the risk of mold growth always is possible."

Munters personnel worked with Robins & Morton to configure the MCS systems to meet the design loads and temperature and humidity levels specified for the project.