Ventilation

The day is sunny but still cold. Snow is mostly gone, but the water puddles are really ice. Spenser lost his footing several times on our walk this morning.

Yesterday we got a return call from Bobbe (hot tub). I told her that we were seeking some guidance on the amount of ventilation we needed in the sunroom. Bobbe said no one has ever before asked that question (amazing!!!). Her initial response was that no ventilation was needed. However, very quickly, she cautioned that she was not an authority on the matter and suggested I call someone who builds sunrooms. I did not bother to tell her that my HVAC contractor ("expert") suggested we contact her for guidance. So much for those resources.

Thankfully, I got a response from my friend Bob. Bob is a professional mechanical engineer who specializes in commercial and industrial HVAC system design. Bob and I worked together when I was a supervisor at an engineering firm here in town. Bob is now a senior engineer at a different engineering firm in town. Based on the very brief introductory information I gave to Bob, he said it sounded like a complicated application but "not too bad". Bob asked about the AC system we intend to install, the wood that is going to be used in the room and what provisions have been made for makeup air. He also opined, based on the information I provided, that "just an exhaust fan won't work". I replied to Bob with information he requested and suggested that we would be happy to have him stop by and/or review the drawings we could supply to him. We'll see how he responds.

Next week is supposed to be dry and in the 60's. I spoke with Mike this morning and he cautioned that, despite the warmer weather, the ground may be too frozen to permit leveling. I offered to go out and hand dig the ground, but I took his comment to mean that we should not expect anything to happen next week.

I told Mike that I was consulting with a ME on the ventilation question. Mike seemed very supportive. I confirmed with Mike that the current design does not include any air makeup provisions into the sunroom and included this in the additional information sent to Bob. Therefore, any exhaust ventilation would potentially create a negative room pressure. Mike expressed his "hope" that the size of the exhaust fan he was proposing would not create an unacceptable amount of negative pressure. I sent an email to both Mike and Tyler (architect) that I am consulting a professional mechanical engineer about the ventilation issue and would keep them informed. I have a lot of confidence in Bob's ability, at least a lot more on this issue than anyone I have consulted to date.

ADEQUATE VENTILATION IS AN ISSUE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE ORIGINAL DESIGN!

Despite our expressed concerns about ventilation at the outset of the project, other than just drawing a fan on a piece of paper, this issue was not truly addressed in the design. Despite this failure to properly evaluate, we will drive this to a conclusion that we are comfortable with, or we will not proceed.

Despite my increasing disappointment with the original architectural effort and on-going architectural support, I have authorized payment of the payment of the next 25% of construction support to the architectural firm. I did this after my talk with Mike. He thought that (after seven months into the construction that should have been completed in four months) we were approaching the 50% point in the construction.

Today I got a response from Jim (glass roof) regarding the fabrication schedule. He said that "they do not have you with a definitive “week of” yet. Best estimate is currently end of March".