One of the oldest buildings on the University of New Hampshire (UNH) campus, Huddleston Hall is a multipurpose facility, which includes dormitories, classrooms and an event center.
When Huddleston Hall needed some renovation work done, UNH brought on the Armand E. Lemire Company in Hooksett, N.H. Armand E. Lemire Company would be working on multiple different installations in Huddleston Hall, including domestic water, drainage, HVAC and ventilation system and exhaust for bathrooms. For the domestic water lines, the contractor chose to install Viega ProPress systems for both copper and 316 stainless in sizes ½" to 1½".
“We’ve been using Viega products for years,” said Jim Dooley, Project Manager for Armand E. Lemire Company. “We use copper Viega ProPress a lot, so we have all the tools from ½" to 4" but the stainless steel was relatively new to us.”
Viega is the only manufacturer to offer press fitting solutions in multiple materials like copper, stainless steel, carbon steel and high-performance polymer. Viega offers press fittings in two grades of stainless steel, 304 and 316.
Viega ProPress for 316 stainless. Photo: Viega
“Viega ProPress was in the spec,” Dooley said, “and we had to use stainless. So we put it in the exposed piping and everything else in the domestic water system was copper.”
The old chrome-plated brass piping in Huddleston Hall had begun to deteriorate and peel. The Armand E. Lemire Company removed them and replaced the lines with Viega ProPress for 316 stainless, which retains the look of the original piping and also carries an NSF approval for potable water systems.
Founded in 1990 by three siblings, The Armand E. Lemire Company, Inc. specializes in multiple types of plumbing and heating, working in commercial and industrial projects, as well as private schools and other facilities.
Huddleston Hall isn’t the only facility on the UNH campus that has Viega ProPress systems installed in it.
“We’ve used some Viega ProPress for copper on a 4" vacuum system there,” Dooley said. “We just finished a testing facility and we’re in the process of doing a chemistry lab too. And that will be compressed air and gas lines.”
Dooley was impressed, too, with the local Viega sales representative who was involved with the project.
“He’s a master plumber by trade,” Dooley said of his Viega rep, “so it’s very easy to talk to him. He’s very knowledgeable about his product and his tools, and he’s easy to contact.”
Installing Viega ProPress systems at Huddleston Hall allowed The Armand E. Lemire Company to complete the project on time and provide the University of New Hampshire with an installation that was both safe and efficient.
“The most effective part of using Viega ProPress is the time that it saves,” Dooley said. “Installing it just saves so much time.”
Dooley, who’s been in the trades for 42 years, was more than satisfied with the results of the Viega ProPress for stainless installation.
“It came out nice and neat and the school was very pleased with it,” he said. “Exposed piping is something you’re going to see forever and the stainless looks good.”
For more information, visit www.viega.us.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Aug 11, 2010
Dec 09 BDC AIA/CES exam - Water Efficiency
Public water supplies and treatment facilities in the U.S. consume an average 56 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year-enough electricity to power more than five million homes for an entire year. Moreover, the EPA reports that approximately 4% of the nation's electricity consumption is used for moving or cleaning water and wastewater. The growing awareness of the planet's limited resources and the rapid expansion of the green building movement are compelling Building Teams to employ more water-conserving strategies and plumbing technologies. From rainwater harvesting and graywater recycling systems to integrated water-metering "dashboards," the possibilities are not only intriguing but suggest a manageable and sustainable future.
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner edges out Perkins+Will for the top spot on BD+C's Top 200 Building Team LEED APs ranking
With 1,006 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff, Turner Construction took the top spot on Building Design+Construction’s 2009 ranking of AEC firms with the most LEED APs, published as part of the Giants 300 report. Turner added more than 580 LEED APs during the past year to surpass Perkins+Will, which held the top spot four years running.
