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Montreal, May 1, 2007 - Dectron Internationale (TSX: DTL):, a leader in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, indoor air security and water generation markets, is pleased to announce its financial results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2007 (in thousands of Canadian dollars) ...
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| Dectron DRY-O-TRON |
August 13, 2003 |
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Health Club Converts former Retail Store Into Aquatic and Fitness Paradise.
Engineers and architect use solid construction methods to eliminate humidity and odor infiltration in the retrofit of a former SteinMart store.
Knoxville, Tenn.- Building a large 25 X 75-foot in-ground concrete swimming pool is a difficult enough task without having to put one in a former retail store of a shopping center.
But that's exactly what The Rush Fitness Complex, Knoxville's newest health club chain, ordered from its engineering and consulting team when it chose a former 37,000-square-foot SteinMart in the Walker Springs Plaza shopping center as its second location. While The Rush offers a variety of health club features, the $200,000 pool room is a vital part of the $2 million club. "Baby boomers want more than just weight lifting from today's health clubs, so it was important for The Rush to have a pool in one of its two Knoxville locations," said co-founder, Larry Gurney, a former southwest division president of Pleasanton, Calif.--based 24 Hour Fitness, the world's largest health club chain with over 200 locations in Europe and the U.S.
While pools and health clubs are seemingly a good combination, pools tend to be problematic as far as odor and humidity infiltration into the rest of the complex. This problem is accentuated with existing building retrofits because the original structure's design doesn't have pool architectural necessities such as heavy insulation on outside walls, proper building pressurization, or a vapor barrier surrounding the pool area. "I've been in a lot of health clubs where odors from the pool are everywhere, but that's not the case here with the design we chose," Gurney added.
Therefore, dehumidification and air flow were the foundational elements of the 4,000-square-foot pool room's HVAC designed by consulting engineer, Rusty Whillock, vice president, Engineering Services Group, Knoxville. With product selection assistance by Rome Eddleman, Nashville, Tenn., Whillock anchored his design around a Dry-O-Tronâ DS-080 heat recovery dehumidifier by indoor air quality (IAQ) equipment manufacturer, Dectron Internationale, Roswell, Ga., and fabric duct air dispersion by DuctSoxâ, Dubuque, Iowa.
The dehumidifier not only dehumidifies the space at a capacity of 80 lbs. of moisture/hr., but also cools or heats it to an 80°F set point and recovers compressor heat to provide 78°F pool water temperature. IAQ is monitored by the Dry-O-Tron's on-board microprocessor and controlled by maintaining a 21-percent of outdoor air with re-circulated air.
Critical in the HVAC design was Whillock's moisture load calculations, which are affected by the evaporation rate of the pool and the 55-square-foot, 105°F whirlpool. Usage, which was determined to be mostly exercise, was considered moderate compared to heavy usage at more conventional recreational pools.
Proper dehumidification is not only essential to protecting the building's structural metal parts from corrosion, however. Architect, Daryl Johnson, president, Johnson Architecture, Knoxville, ensured the existing metal roof and supports would never be subjected to humidity by specifying an airtight vapor barrier around the entire pool enclosure. Additionally, the pool room walls were built of moisture-resistant cement board and an anti-corrosion coating was applied to all nearby metal surfaces.
Johnson also created a two-foot-high buffering air zone between the pool room ceiling and the building's exposed bar joists and steel roof as an extra precaution against condensation. "What we didn't want to do was have any kind of metal that's exposed to cool temperatures. The roof, for example, shouldn't be in contact with other interior metal because there's always a potential danger of moisture infiltration from pool environments," said Johnson who has specified many indoor pools on previous projects.
Whillock added to the IAQ effort with the specification of fabric duct air dispersion by DuctSox, Dubuque, Iowa, which runs along the perimeter of the 14-foot-high pool room and broadcasts dry, conditioned air along the walls. In aquatic environments, fabric duct is a good choice because it is corrosion resistant and light. The linear diffusers required to supply air to exterior windows and the rest of the space can be sewn into the entire length of the duct. DuctSox's blue premium Sedona fabric also adds to the clean aesthetics of the room. "The Rush was our first contact with fabric duct," added Michael Hamil, vice president at mechanical contractor, Cherokee Millwright, Knoxville. "It didn't require as much labor as metal ductwork so when the situation calls for it (pools, exposed ceilings, warehouses, etc.,) we plan to specify it on our future design/build projects."
Whillock also designed the room with negative pressurization to prevent any excess humidity or pool chemical smells from escaping to the other fitness areas made possible by an exhaust fan that's strategically placed over the highly evaporative whirlpool.
Creating the pool structure was a difficult task for the project's general contractor, Rouse Construction, Knoxville, and pool builder, Pools By Bill, Knoxville, because of the challenges associated with retrofits. After cutting the 4-inch-thick concrete slab, crews were careful to preserve the existing five-foot-square footers sustaining the building's support columns. The 35-foot distance between support columns dictated the pool's width at 25 feet. Pools By Bill excavated most of the 5-foot-deep pool's ground structure by hand because of existing inaccessibility and then built the shot-crete shell.
Besides the pool and conventional health club activities, The Rush incorporates a batting cage, bungee trampoline, and many other activities supported by Trane Co., Tyler, Texas, rooftop units for the general air conditioning and heating.
Gurney, whose expansion plans are slated for Charlotte, N.C., and Nashville, Tenn., hopes to have pools in many more future locations. "I think we've found the right combination of dehumidification and fabric duct air distribution that's been so successful for the indoor air quality in Knoxville," he said.
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