It’s been hot… really hot. The average temperature in the studio has been hovering around 100° F, and it’s just getting hotter outside… We have been working diligently to get the HVAC installed over the last several weeks and finally got our 3-phase power enabled yesterday! It is an entirely different world in the studio now. No more stifling heat, no more noisy industrial fans, we can actually hear Amos Lee now, and we don’t feel like we are going to pass out from heat exhaustion.
What an adventure this has been. It all started when we designed the exposed duct work to run WITHIN the trusses instead of underneath. This meant we had to make some structural modifications to the steel work in the building, but the aesthetics and functionality make it worth the effort.
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| 18 inch duct doesn't fit through the steel... |
As you can see, the 18 inch ducting doesn’t quite fit within the trusses, so we knew we would have to reconfigure the structural supports. Just to be safe, we reinforced the joists with some simple framing while the work was being done.
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| A few temporary supports (just in case) |
With the supports in place, we began moving steel around to accommodate the duct work. This involved a lot of cutting. Once the ductwork is in place and the inspection complete, we plan on coming back and re-bracing the trusses and removing the temporary framing.
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| Lot's of cutting! |
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| New runs for the duct work |
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| A straight shot down the hallway of the loft |
With the duct work being configured inside, we waited patiently for a window in the weather that would allow us to open up 4 foot holes in the roof and get a rather large crane in the dirt alley way behind the warehouse. On Wednesday morning, we were able to pull the trigger. The units showed up 30 minutes before the crane was in position and we were ready to go!
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| New ACs! |
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| Not ideal weather for this kind of operation... |
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| Last unit being lowered into place |
A week later the internal duct work was complete, everything was wired up, and a few days afterwards we finally had power to the units. Now we have 16 tons of HVAC and life is wonderful once again!
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| The final duct work |
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