Successfully meeting vocational school challenges
In some cases, 40 is a ripe old age – e.g. for sanitary facilities in schools. That is why comprehensive renovation was due in the Fredenberg Vocational Schools in Salzgitter, Germany, and that meant some serious challenges.
Challenge No. 1: Drinking water hygiene
As planning expert Marc Schulz points out: “Where sanitary facilities in schools are concerned, great care must be taken with the drinking water. Firstly, the capacity must be able to cope with peak demands at breaktimes. On the other hand, there are long usage interruptions during the holidays, and the risk of microbiological contamination through stagnation increases. So we had to develop a hygiene concept that took this into account to guarantee drinking water hygiene.”
Part of this involved replacing the old pipelines with the Sanpress Inox stainless steel piping system and looping through all the extraction points. At the end of each stub line, a flushing station with Hygiene+ function detects critical usage interruptions and temperatures and triggers flushing operations as required.
Challenge No. 2: Repairs
To avoid the need to remove tiling if repairs should be necessary, the Steptec pre-wall system was used together with Obtego cladding panels.
Planner Marc Schulz explains: “This pre-wall system with its rail elements that can be cut to length on site is altogether very convenient for reconstruction projects. Then the corresponding Obtego cladding panels give the perfect finishing touch. Instead of having to install dry-construction panels with tiles, they simply have to be clicked into the pre-wall construction.”
And plumbing expert Andre Steinmann points out another benefit: “There is no longer any need to coordinate things between the drywall builder and the tiler. The reconstruction work remains completely under our control.”
Challenge No. 3: Vandalism
Obtego cladding panels can withstand a great deal of vandalism. The system is extremely resistant to impact. The surface can easily be cleaned, and even graffiti can be removed without difficulty. But Obtego represents more than just defensive protection: Experience shows that the higher the quality of sanitary facilities, the better they are treated. Even ‘Vandals’ tend to respect Obtego.