Zero spacing simplifies fire protection
Walking and hiking tours over the ridges and crests of the beautiful hills, paragliding, skiing in winter or simply gazing at the night sky – the Rhön, Germany, has much to offer for both active and relaxation-oriented holidaymakers. And that explains why 80% of Rhön Park Hotel's guests come again. To make sure it stays that way, a thorough refurbishment was scheduled 40 years after the foundation stone was laid.
The challenge
However, the planners and plumbing experts quickly came up against a serious challenge: The shafts for the required riser pipes have cross-sections of only 70 x 40 cm. “The current fire protection regulations specify minimum spacing between the separate pipe systems. However, these shafts don’t allow for this, and making them larger did not come into question – too much space would be lost elsewhere and it would have been prohibitively expensive,” as a plumbing expert puts it.
The solution: Zero spacing with Viega piping system
The responsible planner explains: “Viega’s fire protection system was the solution. We specified stainless steel pipes from the Sanpress Inox press system for the drinking water distribution and circulation system. Zero spacing with a certified isolation system is permitted for this system – both to the spiral-seam pipe for ventilating the interior wet rooms as well as to the wastewater pipe. In fact, we were able to use a standard plastic system that has also been approved for use in combination with the Viega system. That meant that we managed to get everything into the existing shafts after all.” Which had the planners and principal equally satisfied, of course.
The installation was further simplified by use of the approved fire protection insulation for the Viega piping system. “We were able to use insulating shells of ‘RW 800’ mineral wool for the preventive fire protection measures in the floor breakthrough as well. This excluded the possibility of different insulating materials getting mixed up. And quite apart from that, mineral wool is considerably cheaper than special fire protection products that are often specified instead,” reports the installer.
The hotel operator is very satisfied: “This plan worked extremely well. The guests are very taken by the new interior design and the modern bathrooms. The next buildings will follow in the coming winter season,” he adds.
