Veterinary & Animal Care
In animal-care facilities, air is infection control. Single-pass ventilation, a working pressure cascade, and washdown-rated systems are what separate a clean, low-odor hospital from one that recirculates pathogens. We deliver air-handling, power, and plumbing design, prepared for your engineer of record’s review and built for spaces that run hard around the clock.
Single-Pass Air, Controlled Pressure, Surfaces That Take a Hose.
Unlike most occupancies, animal-care spaces are best designed not to recirculate air between areas — doing so can spread airborne pathogens like Bordetella, along with ammonia, across the building. We design ventilation to the 10–20 fresh-air room exchanges per hour the ASV Guidelines recommend for animal facilities, typically with 100% outside air, a pressure cascade that holds isolation and kennels negative while clean spaces stay positive, and corrosion-resistant systems that survive daily washdown — coordinated with your team and detailed for the licensed engineer of record on your project to seal.
Ventilation, Odor & Disease Control
Single-pass air engineered to dilute pathogens and ammonia instead of redistributing them.
- 100% outside-air DOAS delivering the 10–20 fresh-air exchanges per hour the ASV Guidelines recommend for animal facilities, with no recirculation between animal areas as our design basis
- Energy recovery to reduce all-outside-air loads — runaround coils where exhaust must stay fully separate from supply, sealed plate exchangers where minimal leakage is tolerable, and a wheel only where cross-leakage is acceptable
- Dedicated 100%-exhaust paths for kennels, wards, and dirty/treatment rooms with discharge clear of intakes
- Ammonia and odor capture at the source so contaminants don't build up at floor level where animals breathe
- Humidity control to limit aerosol survival and protect washdown finishes
Pressure Cascade & Isolation
Directional airflow that keeps contagious air where it belongs.
- Negative-pressure isolation wards at 12+ ACH on 100% exhaust for contagious cases
- A building-wide cascade: clean/reception positive, clinical neutral, kennels and wet/isolation negative
- Surgery-suite airflow set by the adopted code and the clinical brief (ASHRAE 62.1 and UMC-based codes require at least 3 cfm/sf of exhaust in animal operating rooms), with MERV 14 final filters and a balanced supply and exhaust
- Door undercuts, transfer air, and offsets coordinated to help the cascade hold in daily operation
- Pressure monitoring at critical isolation and surgical boundaries
Power, Imaging & Critical Care
Reliable power for life-support, surgery, and diagnostic imaging.
- Backup power for ICU, ventilators, oxygen, and critical exhaust fans, classified as emergency, legally required standby, or optional standby per NEC 700/701/702 as applicable
- Dedicated circuits and panel coordination for CT, digital radiography, ultrasound, and dental/surgical suites
- Radiation-shielding provisions coordinated with the physicist per NCRP Report 148 (veterinary radiation protection)
- Washdown- and corrosion-rated luminaires and devices for kennel and wet areas
- Equipment power, isolation, and grounding coordinated with imaging and modality vendors
Plumbing & Sanitation
Water and drainage built for surgery and hard washdown duty.
- Trench, hub, and kennel-run drainage sloped and sized for hose-down sanitation and solids
- Hose bibbs, wash stations, and tempered water distributed for continuous cleaning
- Hair/solids interceptors to protect drainage from grooming and surgical-prep areas
- Backflow protection and chemical-resistant piping where disinfectants load the waste stream
Durability & Washdown
Surfaces, equipment, and systems specified to outlast daily washdown.
- Corrosion-resistant equipment, fasteners, and housings rated for caustic cleaning chemistry
- Sealed, washable assemblies and fixture mounting that take a pressure hose
- Sequences and finishes selected for 24/7 occupancy and practical maintenance
Ventilation Basis by Space
| Space | Air changes | Air path & filtration | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennel & boarding | 10–20 fresh-air exchanges/h (ASV Guidelines) | 100% outside air, dedicated exhaust, no recirculation between animal areas (design basis) | Negative |
| Isolation ward | 12+ ACH | 100% exhaust | Negative |
| Surgery suite | Per adopted code (3 cfm/sf exhaust minimum) and clinical brief | MERV 14+ supply filtration | Positive (monitored at the boundary) |
| Exam & treatment | Set at design | Dirty/treatment rooms on dedicated 100% exhaust | Neutral |
| Grooming & washdown | Set at design | Dedicated exhaust, with humidity control for washdown finishes | Negative |
Because in animal-care spaces, recirculated air can spread disease and ammonia. Airborne pathogens like Bordetella and canine influenza virus can build up when air is reused, and the ASV Guidelines recommend 10–20 room air exchanges per hour with fresh air for animal facilities. We design 100% outside-air systems, then add energy recovery so all that fresh air doesn't blow up your operating cost. The result is a building that dilutes contagion instead of redistributing it.
We design a building-wide pressure cascade, not just one isolation room. Isolation wards run negative at 12 or more air changes per hour on 100% exhaust; kennels and wet areas stay negative; clinical spaces sit neutral; and reception and clean areas stay positive. We then coordinate door undercuts, transfer air, and offsets to help the cascade hold in daily operation, with pressure monitoring at the critical isolation and surgical boundaries. That helps keep contagious air contained, and the pressure map is documented so the commissioning agent can verify it.
Surgery suites are designed to the adopted ventilation and exhaust requirements (ASHRAE 62.1 and UMC-based codes require at least 3 cfm/sf of exhaust in animal operating rooms) and the clinical brief, with MERV 14 or better supply filtration and a balanced supply and exhaust for a clean surgical field. Medical gas and waste anesthetic gas scavenging systems are designed by others; we coordinate the HVAC exhaust, power, and space provisions around their design to help limit staff exposure to waste anesthetic gases. Critical-care and surgical loads get backup power classified under NEC Article 700, 701, or 702 as applicable. It's a veterinary-specific MEP set, not an office HVAC layout dropped into a clinic.
Yes. We provide the dedicated power, panel capacity, isolation, and grounding each modality needs, coordinated with the imaging vendor's requirements. Radiation shielding is set by a qualified physicist using NCRP Report 148 for veterinary medicine, and we coordinate the wall, door, and penetration provisions around their barrier calculations. So the imaging suite is built to the modality’s actual requirements rather than reworked after it lands.
That's a design driver, not an afterthought. Kennel, treatment, and wet areas get corrosion-resistant equipment, washdown-rated luminaires and devices, and chemical-resistant piping selected for the caustic cleaning chemistry these facilities use. Drainage is sloped and sized for hose-down sanitation with hair and solids interceptors. The goal is a set designed for 24/7 operation and practical maintenance.