Mobile Air & Power Rentals

Scope Of Work

Flood of 180 ? Water Imperils America’s 5th Largest Fine Arts Museum

One of the nation’s oldest, largest ,and most prized art collections is housed in a spectacular museum located in Michigan. Valued at over one billion dollars, the museum itself is a work of art, a landmark of Beaux-Arts style constructed in 1927/28. A $158 million renovation and expansion project was completed in 2007 and increased the museum’s total space to 600,000 sq. ft.

The Mobile Air Force was contracted over a two year period during the museum expansion to provide equipment design and implementation for methods of protecting moisture sensitive building materials. Mobile Air provided heating controls for this critical museum space and its priceless art vaults. For two years, Mobile Air ‘controlled dried’ the most saturated of materials, including large volumes of plaster, used in the renovation process of the north and south wings of the museum to avoid any accumulation of water and lessen the risk of mold. With the help of Mobile Air, the build schedule of the museum’s expansion was completed in a compressed time frame.

Unfortunately, a significant portion of the building and its artworks were put in jeopardy of major water damage in April 2009. T.H. Marsh, the museum’s general contractor, made quick work of the job, extracting water from floors, walls and ceilings. When work commenced on refinishing the floor, however, it became clear that there was still a lot of moisture trapped within. That’s when the call went out to Mobile Air’s right hand partner – Mobile Dry Force, the specialty structural drying experts.

The Art of Specialty Drying

The unique construction of the museum’s 80-year-old oak floors proved resistant to standard drying methods. The floors are constructed of quarter-sawn red and white oak in 2-1/4-in. wide boards assembled in a tongue and groove fashion. Beneath the wood is a sub-floor construction of 8-in. deep concrete and/or cinder packed in/between 2-in. x 8-in. thick wood sleepers. A system of 1-in x 6-in. tongue-and-groove pine planks is fastened atop the sleepers. Other contractors had advised ripping up the entire structure and starting anew, but the museum and its staff were passionate about preserving the original hardwood flooring.

Mobile Dry worked with T.H. Marsh to devise a solution for drying the sub floor, actually forcing air underneath the hardwood layer. A combination of standard and custom-built drying equipment was utilized – large enough to power through the sizable project yet portable enough to be placed inside the building. Moisture content readings were monitored by Mobile Dry on a daily basis before achieving the state of Michigan’s “ideal condition” for refinishing hardwood.

Mobile Dry was honored to help the museum’s preserve its historic flooring and continue its legacy of dazzling more than 400,000+ visitors each year. Another successful case for the Mobile Dry Force!