One of projects includes custom casework to be located in a room containing an indoor therapy pool. Among other items, the casework will hold the TV which the patients and staff use to view the underwater movement of the patient (via an underwater camera). I suggested stainless steel, but apparently the project architect already suggested that to the Owner who said it was too costly. My second recommendation was painted steel, but doubt there will be a huge cost savings. I doubt that wood (MDF, etc) is the best choice due to deterioration from the humid atmosphere (with the added bonus of fumes from the pool chemicals).
Am I missing an inexpensive solution or am I unduly worried about possible degradation of traditional casework?
Laboratory casework, subject to chemicals anyway (but maybe not humidity), is often coated steel, plastic laminate, or solid plastic. These materials are also used for toilet partitions, so I’d think they’d hold up to the humidity and the chemical attack. I’d look into one of the manufacturers of lab casework.
what about exterior grade solid veneer plywood? you could put a marine grade finish on it – after all, if boats can survive in a wet environment, a piece of casework that is not actually IN the water ought to be okay. you need to use solid veneer plywood – not the stuff with mdf or other fillers in it.
We used to specify “marine grade plywood” for casework in high humidity enviroments. I think this is what Anne refers to as “exterior grade solid veneer plywood”. I haven’t checked in years, so I went to the APA website, because grade names change over the years:
“APA Marine Plywood: Specially designed plywood made only with Douglas-fir or western larch, and highly restrictive limitations on core gaps and face repairs. Ideal for boat hulls and other marine applications where bending is involved. Also available with HDO or MDO faces.”
Lynn and Jo, by “solid plastic”, do you mean “solid phenolic” or Trespa? Solid plastic as in toilet partitions is not the same as solid phenolic, also used for toilet partitions, but more appropriate for lab casework or for the use described. I haven’t seen the solid plastic toilet partition material used for casework, but would be interested if anyone has used it. We have used solid phenolic, with success, in several lab situations.
It is also possible to get stainless steel laboratory casework, as mentioned, but beware if in a high chlorine enviroment. It may be more than just the cost that would rule stainless steel out.
If it’s a small amount of casework, use plastic laminate over exterior grade materials. If this smallish unit starts to fall apart after 6 or 10 years (whatever), it can be repaired or replaced for a reasonable cost. In the long run, the owner may be able to repair or replace on a regular basis for less than stainless steel. (Based on discounted cash flow-type of analysis.)
I was thinking Trespa-like phenolics. I know they make lockers in addition to partitions, because I spec’s Trespa for a public pool-house. The lockers and partitions were different colors in the men’s and women’s rooms (so you could tell where you were, I guess), but matched in each. It was lovely…
The idea that someone needs the partition and locker color to tell which room they are in gives rise to some interesting thoughts: None of which are appropriate to this topic!
I’ve used solid plastic lockers - Bradley (Mills) make some nice ones.
You could contact them to see if they know who might be able to do casework.
Solid phenolic is also an excellent choice for both lockers and partitions and casework.
It is especially good in humid environments - I specified it for toilet partitions for a project in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - now there’s a humid environment - duh!
Before I came to Mr. Matteo’s comment above, I was going to suggest that you look into HDPE. I know some of the toilet partition manufacturers who offer HDPE partitions are also offering HDPE lockers. Phenolic will probably offer more choice of surface color while HDPE would offer color all the way through.
HDPE (Solid Plastic) is a good material for the application, but as I mentioned, and seem to remember from my conversations with Bradley, I don’t know if there is anyone who actually manufacturers casework from solid plastic, whereas a number of manufacturers do make it from solid phenolic and you can get their names from Trespa.
