The heating, ventilation and air conditioning insulation in McDowell Hall will be replaced during winter break due to a manufacturer defect that led to dripping pipe sweat and ceiling stains.
Pipes naturally “sweat” when the surrounding air temperature is cold, but the ineffective insulation of these pipes couldn’t contain the excess water, according to Sophia Benedicktus, the assistant director of operations for facilities and vendor services in Housing and Dining. The excess water dripped onto ceiling tiles throughout the building, leading to stains on the tiles.
The defective insulation was installed during a renovation project in McDowell this summer, according to an email from Facilities Management sent to McDowell residents.
However, Benedicktus said there would be no more new stains until the HVAC units get switched to providing air conditioning during the spring and summer.
“Now that we’re into heating season, there isn’t really an issue anymore because the pipes are no longer sweating,” Benedicktus said.
She said one of the primary reasons the repairs will be done during winter break is due to the large size of the project.
“We have to go into every student room, all the public spaces and literally take the ceiling tiles out of the ceiling and replace all of the insulation that surrounds the pipes,” Benedicktus said.
Facilities Management had planned to replace the insulation in public spaces Nov. 11-16, according to an email sent to McDowell residents. But due to health concerns, the entire project was delayed until winter break.
“With doing insulation replacements, you have to be aware that there are air particles and things like that, so we didn’t want occupants of the building to come into contact with any potential issues, any particular allergens things like that,” Benedicktus said.
While Benedicktus expects the issue to be resolved once the insulation is replaced, she said Facilities Management won’t know if the project was successful until later in the spring semester.
“Because we’re not going to be in cooling season for another couple of months, we really have to wait it out to be 100 percent sure,” Benedicktus said.
