Unique House - DF

Dan Foley

We will be working on this one over the next several weeks. It is located in the Cathedral Heights section of Washington, DC. The new owner is remodeling the house and we will be updating the mechanicals. - DF

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Dan Foley

Bomb Shelter

The previous owner had a concrete bomb shelter built in the basement. It featured a hand cranked blower to bring in fresh air and exhaust stale air. The intake and exhaust are pictured.

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Steamhead

That's unique all right

and beautiful! What's in there now (steam?), and what are you going to put in?

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Dan Foley

A/C

Here are some pics of the a/c system. I have never seen such a botched job in such a nice house. The air handler sat exposed in a finished space and the ducts ran across finished floors! The basement system was a flex duct spider system hanging from the heating pipes. Needlees to say, it's all coming out and will be redone properly.

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Dan Foley

BMW power

For you gearheads out there - here is a photo of the owner's supercharged BMW motor. He races BMW's for fun.

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Dan Foley

Boiler

I almost forgot to show the boiler. It is a converted gravity hot water system and will be replaced in the fall. Right now, we are focusing on getting the new cooling system online.

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Constantin

If I didn't know better,

> We will be working on this one over the next

> several weeks. It is located in the Cathedral

> Heights section of Washington, DC. The new owner

> is remodeling the house and we will be updating

> the mechanicals. - DF

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 262&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Professional"_/A_

Constantin

If I didn't know better,

I'd say the AC portion of your upcoming project was a DIY install. Flexduct is the hallmark of hacks, but the guilty party here cemented his designation as über-hack by running flexduct visibly through occupied spaces.

I mean, at the very least, build a box around the poor things so that the senses aren't assaulted every time one comes into that room.

Don't even get me started on the Evaps in the basement and under the roof. Whoever did this install should have their license revoked (if they had one). I wonder how far off the heat gain is from the cooling capacity of that pile of junk. The static pressure must be through the roof.

On the other hand, this looks like a nice project for you Dan. Good Luck!

J.C.A._3

Second picture (in the first post),

Reminds me of the old reform school! (just kidding!)
I hope your thinking something nice for the replacement of the obviously botched "flexie duct".

What an ABOMINATION! What kind of "professional" would do such work? Please send "after" pictures. A couple to the owner that accepted this foul work would give him something to think about!

All the best. Chris

DaveGateway

What a hack job!!

I work in a lot of vintage homes with limited attic/crawl spaces as this one obviously is. Fortunately a lot of that work is through a very good restoration GC/carpenter contractor. As a team we can propose routing, soffitting, equipment rooms, etc., so as not to impede on the architectural integrity. It looks as if this one was done by an AC hack (FLEX?) with no carpenter support. I don't run flex even in unfinished spaces unless absolutely necessary.

In all fairness, it's possible the original AC contractor was instructed to "get us some air conditioning...CHEAP, with no money for architectural upgrades. Sure, it's the kind of job that most of us would walk away from, but I can hear the HO now, "We never use the third floor anyway. Do whatevever it takes." What a glaring example of THAT thought process.

I'm working in an historic home right now. Similar with converted gravity except no previous AC. Huge rear addition and add a fourth floor. Thirty pages of drawings and no mechanicals...no kidding.. just notes. Sixteen tons of conventional and mini duct cooling later, with a condensing boiler just for the added in floor heating (inadequately distributed as per the architect of course), and we are humming along with a game plan that is acceptable to all. Would I have touched that job without it being within the scope of a MAJOR renovation? No way! Too many compromises in performance and aestetics.

Dan, I'm sure the creative juices are flowing. And I'm just as sure that you have a qualified carpenter/GC or whatever to insure that the new system(s) will look as if they were always there. Our job can be toughest outside the equipment rooms. Have fun!

ScottMP

Bomb Shelter

I have a customer who has one in his basement with the same hand crank. I laugh every time I see it. Think of it, " Hey honey lets crank in some more of that atomic laced air not the shelter, its a little stuffy in here ".

By the way " Nice Hack Job " . Dosn't it seem that some of the nicest homes have the worst systems installed.

Scott

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Dan Foley

Hand Crank

Scott,

I was thinking the exact same thing. Nevermind that this house is about 2 miles from the White House. If they ever drop the big one, it's dust! -DF


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Mike T., Swampeast MO

Believe it or not, air filtration wasn't even required in many PUBLIC fallout shelters as long as there were enough low volume/velocity air intakes for the occupancy load. If I remember properly, the air itself isn't too harmful after a nuclear blast--it's the larger particulate debris from the blast that can travel many, many miles and can also be "washed" out of the air if it rains.

Of course the shelters for "important" people have HIGHLY filtered air supplies to help protect from chemical/biological attack as well as fallout--"normal" people are supposed to get by with plastic sheeting and duct tape...

The heavy steel doors and locks were as much about keeping other people out as blast protection.

Matt Clina

Romex Cable

Is that 120V power wiring, stapled to the outside of the house??

Wayco Wayne_2

What's wrong

with having a fan coil unit in the middle of the room. Just throw a mattress on top of it and you got a bed. You guys are sooo picky. WW

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