Case Study
Daycare renovations require more than standard tenant-improvement engineering. TS9Designs reworked existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to meet childcare-specific requirements while reducing unnecessary replacement cost.
The scope focused on licensing-friendly layouts, ventilation adequacy, safe hot-water delivery, and practical construction sequencing so the owner could open quickly with compliant, maintainable systems.
Illinois daycare environments combine building-code compliance with operational expectations around health, hygiene, and occupant density. Existing systems rarely align perfectly with this use class, especially in renovations where prior tenant conditions differ from childcare needs.
At 17058 S Robey Street, the key objective was to reuse viable systems where possible while eliminating compliance gaps tied to ventilation, fixture planning, branch-circuit distribution, and temperature safety for child-occupied spaces.
TS9Designs verified existing HVAC capacity against revised room-by-room loads and occupancy assumptions, then recalculated outdoor air using ASHRAE 62.1 logic for daycare conditions. Diffuser and return placement was adjusted to improve distribution and support balanced air delivery in classrooms and support areas.
We restructured branch circuits and panel schedules to match the new room program, applied NEC demand calculations for panel validation, and coordinated dedicated feeds for equipment that could not tolerate shared-circuit instability. Lighting and control zones were revised for activity areas, support rooms, and life-safety routes.
Fixture counts and water distribution were aligned with daycare use patterns, including strategically located handwashing fixtures, tempering strategy, and sanitary vent coordination. Hot-water recovery assumptions were revised to reflect cleaning and peak-use realities.
Because this was a renovation, TS9Designs documented existing-to-remain and modified-system boundaries clearly to reduce bid confusion. Internal QA cross-checked ventilation rates, panel loads, and fixture-unit summaries against the final architectural program before issue.
The set was prepared for local code review and childcare-related compliance expectations, with calculation-backed notes and schedule clarity designed to reduce repetitive reviewer comments and maintain timeline momentum.
The project achieved a practical balance between compliance and budget by preserving useful infrastructure while upgrading systems that directly impact daycare performance. The resulting package improved contractor clarity and reduced field interpretation risk.
From an operations standpoint, the upgraded MEP framework supports healthier indoor conditions, reliable power distribution, and daily functionality aligned with childcare workflows.