The campground I'm a member of just got a new building delivered for registration and the camp office. I agreed to procure and install a mini-split system for HVAC, but the project manager decided he wanted the AC installed before the rest of the work gets done so it will be more comfortable for the people finishing out the rest of the work.
What the PM did not realize is that mini-splits are designed to be installed on finished walls, and literally nothing had been done in the building at all since it was delivered in February (when the weather was much better for doing construction). This meant I had to finish the walls in the areas where the units had to go, which added a full day's work to the job.
The added work meant I could not split the HVAC install over two days and had to work twice as long in a building with zero insulation and a metal roof when the weather reached 110 degrees outside. I ran an extension cord for a portable AC, but it lost the battle against the sun. The first day it was already 99 degrees inside the building when I started the portable AC, so it never got ahead and temps got well above 100. The second day started out at 75 degrees inside and finally hit 100 around 3:30. The portable AC was definitely beneficial on the second day, but I still ended up with significant heat exhaustion. When my pulse hit 150, I decided to stop and go jump in the pool for a couple of hours.
This is what I was working with:
The equipment:
I insulated and sheetrocked just the areas I needed finish.
This one 3.5" opening is the reason I told them I would only do this if it was a mini-split. Window/wall units would require opening and reframing part of the exterior wall.
The unit for the office:
The unit for the registration area. I had really wanted it in the middle of the wall, but field conditions got in the way. Water service and a tree were in the location where I wanted the exterior compressor unit to go, and moving it meant the refrigerant lines would not be long enough to reach the desired location of the interior head unit.
The exterior of the penetration:
Line covers are the way to go:
All hooked up (except for the electrical supply whip):
Be careful in this weather folks.
What the PM did not realize is that mini-splits are designed to be installed on finished walls, and literally nothing had been done in the building at all since it was delivered in February (when the weather was much better for doing construction). This meant I had to finish the walls in the areas where the units had to go, which added a full day's work to the job.
The added work meant I could not split the HVAC install over two days and had to work twice as long in a building with zero insulation and a metal roof when the weather reached 110 degrees outside. I ran an extension cord for a portable AC, but it lost the battle against the sun. The first day it was already 99 degrees inside the building when I started the portable AC, so it never got ahead and temps got well above 100. The second day started out at 75 degrees inside and finally hit 100 around 3:30. The portable AC was definitely beneficial on the second day, but I still ended up with significant heat exhaustion. When my pulse hit 150, I decided to stop and go jump in the pool for a couple of hours.
This is what I was working with:
The equipment:
I insulated and sheetrocked just the areas I needed finish.
This one 3.5" opening is the reason I told them I would only do this if it was a mini-split. Window/wall units would require opening and reframing part of the exterior wall.
The unit for the office:
The unit for the registration area. I had really wanted it in the middle of the wall, but field conditions got in the way. Water service and a tree were in the location where I wanted the exterior compressor unit to go, and moving it meant the refrigerant lines would not be long enough to reach the desired location of the interior head unit.
The exterior of the penetration:
Line covers are the way to go:
All hooked up (except for the electrical supply whip):
Be careful in this weather folks.