SW Florida Regional Med. Center - Gulf Coast Hosp.

CHALLENGE

Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and Gulf Coast Hospital are coming together to build the area’s most state-of-the-art new hospital with 42,000 square feet of new construction and 20,000 square feet of renovation to the current facility. Lee Memorial Health System and the architect, Perkins + Will, determined that installing an air barrier system to the building was imperative after analysis of the wall system showed the potential for condensation occurring within the wall system for different temperature and humidity parameters.

The air barrier would be installed at the inside face of the 6 inch-thick precast panels which comprises the majority of the building envelope, and at areas of CMU “backup” block behind polished face CMU.

Perkins + Will required a comprehensive system of sealants and a vapour barrier that was compatible with all of the exterior building materials, firestopping, building joint sealants, and at building expansion joints. A single-source supplier capable of providing compatible solutions for this array of applications would provide assurance and accountability to eliminate concerns about long-term performance.

SOLUTION

Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing fit that bill. Tremco sales and technical service representatives were able to provide Perkins + Will with the necessary product data and test results to demonstrate the compatibility and performance of Tremco’s total building envelope product solutions: ExoAir® Air Barrier Systems (ExoAir 110 and ExoAir 120 and Spectrem® 1 Silicone Joint Sealant), TREMstop® Fyre-Sil Silicone Sealant, and Dymeric® 240 Polyurethane Joint Sealant.

Particularly when protection from air and vapour infiltration is as critical as this one, having local sales and technical representatives available to help guide in the selection of the right products for the application and to meet design requirements, instills the architect and general contractor with the confidence that the solution will meet their requirements.

By providing a complete system of compatible components, there is no guesswork when it comes to performance and accountability. When the hospital opens in 2009, the owner can rest assured that the building is protected from moisture infiltration and condensation for the long term.

THE TREMCO SOLUTION

ExoAir 110 Self-Adhered Air & Vapor Barrier Membrane, to prevent air infiltration/exfiltration, vapour transmission and water penetration.

• Used as a transition membrane where UL fire-rated design was required at flat edges

ExoAir 120 Fluid-Applied Air & Vapor Barrier Membrane (in spray or roller-grade), a seamless, elastomeric membrane for a fully adhered layer of protection over exterior above-grade walls.

• Capable of resisting stack effects, fan pressurization and wind pressure
• Water-based and can be applied to damp or dry surfaces without the use of a primer

Spectrem 1 Silicone Joint Sealant, an ultralow modulus, high-performance, one-part, moisture-curing sealant ideal for use on the most demanding, dynamically moving joints.

TREMstop Fyre-Sil Silicone Sealant, a single-component, neutral cure, silicone firestopping sealant capable of +/- 25 percent movement in a fire-rated joint.

Dymeric 240 Polyurethane Joint Sealant, a multi-component, chemically curing, epoxidized polyurethane sealant specially formulated for dynamically moving building joints.

• Used to seal inside precast joints and provide a compatible substrate for ExoAir 120