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Reviewing the Home's High-Velocity, Mini-Duct HVAC System

Bob looks at the HVAC units in the basement of the Medford home. There are 5 SpacePak units that, with their state-of-the-art foil-wrapped ductwork, deliver conditioned air at high speeds throughout the house. The brand new RBI gas fired boiler provides the BTUs�the hot water�to the five different zones to heat the house and the hot water heater is a new John Wood water heater.

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Reviewing the Home's High-Velocity, Mini-Duct HVAC System

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Clip Transcript For:

Reviewing the Home's High-Velocity, Mini-Duct HVAC System

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Here we are in the basement of the house where all of the duct work has been completed. All of this state of the art foil wrapped duct work and we have a total of five of these Spacepak units. Throughout the place now what they're doing essentially delivering the conditioned air. At high speed delivery. Through the rest of the house and the big pipe that comes in from the right there is the fresh air intake now in the boiler over here. We've installed a brand new RBI. Gas fired boiler. That is. Providing the BTUs if you will the hot water to the five different zones throughout the house. To heat the heat the rooms and then over here we have a new John wood water -- so mechanically speaking things are pretty much under control."

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Installing a Drop Ceiling to Hide Ductwork

Bob walks through the Manhattan Brownstone floor-through apartment with project manager Chris Vila, looking first at the ductwork that has been run in the ceiling for the forced air heat. He then joins John McEvoy of Thorough Construction for a look at the drop ceiling installation they will be using to hide the ductwork and mechanicals in the ceiling. This Chicago bar system allows the crew to hang a perfectly level drywall ceiling instead of following the uneven pattern of the existing joists. First an anchor is screwed into the joists. A pencil rod is then fitted into the hole in the anchor and bent to hang from the joist. A lasar level marks the exact position for the kelly clips that will hold the main stays or block irons in place. The Chicago bar is then clipped to the block irons with a spaghetti clip to create a grid for the new drywall. The drywall will be screwed directly into the suspended Chicago bar.

Installation of the HVAC System

Bob joins Paul Costello and Lou Mazzini in the old dairy building to discuss the SpacePak high velocity hydro air HVAC system that's being installed in both the house and dairy. The system will provide both heating and cooling. In the winter a boiler delivers hot water to coils over which air is drawn. This heated air rises and is distributed at high velocity through plenum ducts running around the perimeter of the structure and on to room outlets through to 2" diameter sound attenuating tubing. The systems uses insulated fiberglass ducts which are coated on the inside to prevent mold and other growth. The system creates a pressure center in the room with a differential of two degrees between floor and ceiling. Cooling is accomplished by the same system only the air passes over different coils cooled by a refrigerants from 5-ton American Standard condensers situated behind the dairy. Domestic hot water will be provided by a very efficient indirect hot water system. The SpacePak system is particularly well-suited to restoration/renovation projects where space for ductwork is at a premium.

Installing a New Gas Furnace

Bob meets with Alex Alexander to check out the new gas furnace, then takes a trip to the shop to see how Alex uses a computerized plasma cutter to cut out the ductwork.