In 2010, a regional medical center in Western Iowa opened a new 46,000 square foot wellness center complex across the street from their local hospital. The new building was housed in a pre-fabricated metal building configured on the inside to house a natatorium on one half and a fitness center on the other. In the first winter of operation, considerable moisture problems were seen both inside and outside the building. The Owner returned to the design/construction team to help resolve this problem. At first, the problem was considered to reside in a poorly installed plastic vapor retarder, and the proposed repair entailed ripping down the interior walls to repair this deficiency. When WJE came on board, we questioned the air barrier – which we quickly found was the root cause. Our repair approach removed the exterior panels, installed a SPF air barrier and thermal insulation and replaced those panels. The Center remained open during the whole repair. Whole building air testing confirmed that we now had a tight air barrier and the Owner reported saving 25% in energy bills the first winter after repair.

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