Field Report

I was out the in the filed all day yesterday visiting three different job sites. The first thing I do when I go on these all day trips is stop at Mc D's and pick up a sausage mc griddle and a coffee. The first stop I made was at a major jail addition. They've made a lot of progress since the last time I was out there a couple months ago. The site was pretty muddy from all the recent rain. Good thing I had my work boots on. It's amazing seeing a job that you've spent so much time on come to life. The Contractor had many of the Housing Unit Mechanical Rooms installed so I was eager to see how they turned out. The biggest complaint the jail had about the original design was how congested and inaccessible the existing mechanical rooms are. It was a Hurculean task because not only did I need to improve the original design, I had to add an additional 10 pounds of shit into the 5 pound bag. I was very impressed with how well it turned out. Joe Maintenance Guy has pretty good access to the ERUs to service the filters, motors, and coils.

After a couple hours on site at the first job, I drove on to my second job - a courthouse renovation/expansion. This job is almost complete and will likely be my last visit to the site. All of the walls are painted, the carpet and tile on the floor is installed, etc. The only work being now is the controls, security electronics, and TAB work. I noticed a few issues with equipment access, which I'm always a stickler for. What is the Contractor thinking when he installs a VAV box with the control panel smack up against a wall? Even if my drawings showed it that way (which they didn't) for God's sake don't install it that way! Send me an RFI so we can figure out what's the best way to install it. I look at a lot of the architectural stuff too as well as my mechanical work. I notice little features like the judge's desk being lined with Kevlar so the judge can hide under his desk in case there's a gunman in the courtroom. The jury box has flat screen panels that rise out of the railing so the jurors can review evidence. Courthouses are getting pretty high tech.

On to my third job. Got to my final destination around 2:15 and finally grabbed lunch. The last job is an academic building for a new community college campus. One of things that jumped out at me was the wood ceiling tiles in the main lobby. They look so rich and warm! Another thing I noticed was the results of my efforts to incorporate my mechanical design more seamlessly into the architecture. All of the drywall has long since been put up and many of the rooms have been painted. The third floor is almost completed too. Cabinetwork and lab sinks have been installed in many of the classrooms. There's even a classroom to simulate a dentist's office to train dental hygienists. I left my last site around 4:30 so it was getting darm by the time I left. Got home around 5:45. I'll spend a good chunk of today writing up my site visit reports.