Author: Travis Taylor

For the Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower, Ontario Pipe Lining used Nu Flow’s patented Nu Drain technology to line the vent drain system within more than 50 floors without disrupting or inconveniencing busy workers inside this commercial skyscraper.

Project: Nu Flow’s Nu Drain liners were used to rehabilitate the failing vent drain system inside the walls of a commercial skyscraper without disrupting normal business operations.

Site: The Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower is part of the prestigious Toronto-Dominion Centre, a group of prestigious commercial buildings located in downtown Toronto. The Toronto-Dominion Centre is the largest commercial complex in Canada, with 21,000 workers. The Toronto- Dominion Bank Tower was built in 1967 and is 56 stories tall, one of the tallest buildings in Canada.

System: Cast iron vent lines that are more than 40 years old. These pipes are 6 inches in diameter and run vertically from the 4th floor to the 56th floor. The pipes are located inside chases and behind concrete walls.

Problem: These aged, cast iron vent lines experienced scale build-up and blocked some gasses from escaping the pipes.

Circumvention: If the customer chose a traditional repair, the failing pipes would have been taken out of the walls in the buildings and replaced. All of the vent drain lines would be cut out and replaced, which would take months of work and office disruptions. Alternatively, Band-Aid-type fixes could’ve been applied, where only the pipes with scale build-up are replaced, leaving the rest of the pipe lines vulnerable for inevitable scale build-up in the future. OPL technicians recognized that the offices would either be displaced or bothered by construction work in order to remove and replace the pipes.

Solution: It was evident that Nu Flow’s unique, in-situ technology, Nu Drain technology, would be the perfect remedy for the failing vent system. The offices within the 56-story commercial building were never interrupted or disturbed by the repair process because there was no construction work. The patented Nu Drain process was carried out by utilizing existing access points. First, OPL technicians cleaned the inside of the pipe system to remove all scale build-up and restore the pipes to their original diameter. Next, they ran the epoxy-saturated liner through the vent lines using Nu Flow’s patented Pull-in-Place process, which prevents the need for holes to be cut in the walls. Then, the liner cured inside the cleaned pipe system and created a new, protective and seamless pipe within the host pipe.

Nu Drain has been used to rehabilitate failing drain lines in all types of famous and historic skyscrapers across the world. Ontario Pipe Lining is probably the  most experienced Nu Flow licensee and uses Nu Flow’s Nu Drain product exclusively in Ontario to ensure the non-invasive, long-term solutions that you are looking for, with the results you can count on.

Using Nu Flow’s patented Nu Drain technology, Ontario Pipe Lining completed a drain rehabilitation project for Toronto’s largest mall, preventing any business disruptions for the retailers, restaurants, and office spaces. Instead of choosing an expensive, time-consuming and destructive pipe replacement, the customer opted for Nu Flow’s innovative technology to greatly extend the lifespan of the pipes.

Project: The Nu Drain system was utilized to rehabilitate a failing storm drain line in-place without causing disruption within a high-traffic shopping centre.

Site: Toronto Eaton Centre is Canada’s second largest mall, and is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In respect to the number of guests, this shopping mall and office complex is Toronto’s biggest tourist destination with about 1 million guests per week. It has more than 300 retailers and restaurants and is comprised of 1.7 million square feet of space, and three high-rise office buildings.

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System: The underground storm drain line that runs from the public sidewalk through the mall’s covered pedestrian walking area and above tenant space. This pipe is located several feet below ground and above an underground tenant. The pipes are cast iron and have 4″ diameters.

Problem: The system cracked and leaked into tenant stores, causing destruction and disturbances. If the customer had chosen a traditional repipe, the Eaton Centre and its tenants would have suffered from inconveniences. As a result, mall guests would have lost access to one of the mall’s covered entryways for weeks.

Solution: Using Nu Flow’s patented Nu Drain technology, OPL rehabilitated the failing drain pipes without causing destruction or business disruptions for the popular mall and its tenants. The leaking storm drain line was rehabilitated in only one day. Using one access point, our technicians cleaned the pipe and then used a unique push-rod technique to insert the structural liner. Since only one access point was needed, the project site was extremely small, which prevented disruption for visitors and tenants.

Customer and Site: Stratford General Hospital

System: 4″ cast iron vertical rain water leaders, located behind the hospital’s walls.

Situation: The constant flow of rainwater corroded the pipes, eventually causing them to split after years of damage and decay. Two critical units within the hospital were affected, and many patients had to be relocated to safer floors. Stratford General Hospital wanted the pipes lined so they could eliminate both the hassle and the costs associated with yearly maintenance to fix the soaked walls. Ontario Pipe Lining recognized that the hospital needed a non-invasive solution that wouldn’t damage the facility or compromise the safety of building inhabitants.

Problem: Ontario Pipe Lining discovered that the damaged pipe was enclosed to less than 2” in a 4” rain water leader. This was causing the line to build up with water and leak on the floors above.

Solution: Ontario Pipe Lining used existing access points to clean and line the rainwater leaders to avoid damaging the hospital or creating a disturbance. When working above the hospital’s surgery rooms, OPL created an infection control tent so the debris could easily be removed after cleaning. OPL first cleaned the pipeline from the 4th floor down to the hospital’s basement. It was then lined it using Nu Flow’s Nu Drain patented technology. Most importantly, the hospital was able to maintain daily operations with minimal interference as only two points of access were used to repair and reline the vertical stack.

Although our non-invasive solution left the hospital unscathed and patients undisturbed, the extensive procedure could be compared to when a stent is placed in the arteries of the heart during a coronary angioplasty.

Using Nu Flow’s unique, non-destructive pipe lining solution, Ontario Pipe Lining prevented future pipe system failures. Although many of the pipes were difficult to access, OPL ensured that the repairs were completed while the facility remained fully operational.

Project: Ontario Pipe Lining used the Nu Drain system to rehabilitate leaking storm drains without disrupting the customer’s normal business operations.

Customer: One of Canada’s largest telecommunications providers, which offers services such as mobile phones, cable, internet and residential landlines.

Site: A four-story building in Ontario that houses the communication switch boards and terminals for a large portion of Ontario.

System: Vertical and horizontal storm lines that range from 3″ to 6″ in diameter.

Problem: The storm drain system experienced leaks caused by cracks and mechanical joint failures. The horizontal storm drains, which are covered with electrical wires, ductwork and asbestos, run directly over switchboards, terminals, and batteries for the communication network. These leaks were jeopardizing the functionality of the communication network.

Circumvention: Since the pipes are mixed with electrical wires, ductwork, and asbestos, a traditional repipe of the failing storm drain system would create a large mess. Also, the location of the pipes being directly over significant communication network devices would make a repipe difficult without greatly interrupting normal operations of the network. The customer emphasized that the pipe system repair should not interfere with business operations.

Solution: The Nu Drain system was the perfect solution for the telecommunications company, because the business remained fully operational throughout Ontario Pipe Lining’s repair process. OPL installed Nu Flow’s Pull-in- Place structural liner in the hard-to-access storm drain pipes using limited pipe access, which reduced the cost of asbestos abatements. Once the epoxy-saturated liner cured, it formed a protective, seamless pipe within the host pipe. This new pipe will prevent future leaks from occurring.