When the VA Long Beach Hospital realized that its aged pipes were failing, closing down a portion of the hospital to replace them was not an option. Even though some of the 2” failing pipes are impossible to access, NuFlow successfully cleaned and lined them – something that another company could not have done.
Project: Rehabilitate several thousand feet of failing sanitary sewer lines without having to cause destruction to the building or inconvenience the hospital’s normal operations.
Customer: Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System serves veterans throughout Southern California.
Site: VA Hospital Long Beach, located in Long Beach, California, is 11 stories high and offers a wide array of medical services for Southern Californian veterans. Parts of the hospital date back to the WWII era.
System: Aged cast iron sanitary sewer pipes with diameters of 1.5” through 6” located below the hospital’s kitchen, in the basement, in between floors, in walls, and suspended from the ceilings in mechanical rooms, making them a challenge to access. Some of the pipes are over 70 years old.
Situation: Several thousand feet of sanitary drain pipes experienced backups and cracks, as a result of age and corrosion. Some of the sewer lines are located above drop-ceilings, where several mechanical service lines (electrical, potable plumbing, cable, HVAC lines, etc.) run below them, which makes the sewer pipes impossible to access without disconnecting the other lines. A traditional re-pipe, if possible, would have been a nightmare for the customer.
Solution: NuFlow’s trenchless pipe lining technology was the only solution for the customer. Skilled technicians successfully installed our Pull-in-Place structural liner by solely using existing access points, which preserved the building and prevented inconvenience for both hospital employees and patients. Furthermore, we did not have to interrupt the other mechanical service lines. NuFlow successfully removed the corrosion in the sanitary lines, installed our patented structural drain liner, and left it to cure in place, creating a new protective pipe within the original pipe. The old cracks are now covered, so future failures are avoided.
Since the job site was within a veterans’ hospital, NuFlow’s technicians had to be extremely conscientious of patient care. Cleaning and lining small diameter sanitary pipes inside the building also made the job challenging. However, NuFlow has unique technologies and capabilities well suited to this type of project. The job was completed with precise planning to ensure the rehabilitation would be successful and disruption would be minimized.
NuFlow has the innovative technology and skilled professionals to create the ideal, no-dig solution for your pipe system dilemmas. Whether your property is old or new, residential, commercial, industrial, or municipal, we can design a cost-effective, no-mess solution that meets your specific needs.
Today!