Bldg Tech - Mechanical / Electrical Layout: Dorf ARE Graphic Workshop Summary of Notes

(Note: This is MY summary of the notes notes from the Norman Dorf ARE Graphic Workshop, for complete notes, visit the areforum.com ftp site.)
Building Technology Division
General
- Don't tweak your designs if you have extra time - you will run out of time, most likely in the middle of tweaking.
- computer does not grade on quality of design, only check against code/program data

Mechanical / Electrical Layout

- Two issues being evaluated (don't inter-relate)
o light spacing
o diffuser and ductwork layout

- Know how to read a lighting chart
o Shows how many foot candles at a certain height
o spacing is dependant on ceiling height in program reqt's

- NON-requirements
o no need to light accent walls
o Furniture layout is not relavent to lighting layout

- Tricks
o go room by room

o use sketch circles to layout room (I haven't found this usefull)
. 6' dia. circles = 4' light separation (check program)
. move group of circles until centered in room
. drop 2'x2' fixtures in center of circles (make sure program doesn't require ONLY
2'x4')

o Add grid to layout and adjust as required
. grid from wall, 1' min. and 4' max

o every 144sf of room requires one diffuser and on return grill (check program)
. use id button and click grid to get square foot area of room (be sure you've drawn grid correctly.

o grid overlaps column corners

- Efficiency
o Rigid duct does not fit under joists
. must go between joists or parallel within 2' of BEAMS and BEARING walls.
. minimize lengths, layout for economy and maximize endrun with flex duct to reduce use of rigid

o flex duct from center of diffuser to rigid
. 10' max run

o connect return riser with rigid duct, poke through wall into ceiling space

o Don't forget fire dampers
. they point in direction of air flow

o keep 4' min. separation between supply and return grilles
. support grilles on 3 sides with grid

Checklist (in this order in my opinion)
- Grid in all rooms
(zoom in and scroll bar to each room, doing one task at the same time saves from switching between tools each time)

- align/rotate grid within each room

- Calc lighting separation and Place

- Draw rigid duct (minimize amount, center at rooms if possible)
. don't forget return

- Calc number of grilles required for each room (make list) and place.
. put supply closer to rigid to reduce flex duct run (ignore good practice of supply furthest from doors and near windows if you have to)

- connect flex duct from center of supply to rigid

- don't forget fire dampers