Having outgrown their office space, North East Dental Arts purchased a site in North East, PA for a new 7,000 sq. ft. dental office featuring nine treatment rooms and a larger parking lot. Tec’s team of engineers and designers provided electrical, mechanical, plumbing and lighting design services and focused on sustainability and energy savings opportunities during the design process.

Electrical engineering included complete lighting and lighting controls as well as new general-purpose receptacles and specific power requirements for dental equipment. The electrical design provided the necessary power requirements for HVAC equipment and controls and includes the voice and data pathways, cabling and terminations as well as fire alarm system design. Our team of engineers coordinated the electric utility requirements for power, communication and data services with local utility providers.

A unique challenge for our mechanical engineers was a request by the client that no ductwork or utilities be located in the ceiling above. All ductwork and utilities were routed from the basement up to the first floor in order to meet this request. Mechanical engineering began with a preliminary assessment to determine the appropriate HVAC system design for the building. Indoor gas air handler units and electric VAV terminal boxes with local thermostat control have been selected for the design.

After the assessment and selection process, Tec continued with the design development and construction document preparation. Plumbing system design included roof drains, storm and sanitary sewers within the building, domestic hot and cold water distribution throughout the building as well as domestic hot water boilers and various plumbing fixture specifications were also part of the scope of services.