Fort Carson MATES Mechanical Upgrade

Project involved design to upgrade the Mechanical HVAC systems for a vehicle maintenance facility. This was a 26,000 S.F. mixed occupancy facility comprised of approximately 9,000 S.F. for vehicle maintenance, 8,000 S.F. for warehouse, and 9,000 S.F. for office space, parts storage, and miscellaneous functions. The vehicle maintenance facility was designed for repair of light commercial vehicles and heavy artillery equipment.

Schendt Engineering Corp. prepared of as-built drawings of the mechanical and electrical systems for the entire facility and evaluated the condition of the existing equipment. The project involved replacement of three make-up air handling units, the vehicle exhaust system, seven exhaust fans, installation of two rooftop units and installation of a welding exhaust boom.

The vehicle maintenance areas required a ventilation rate of 6 air changes per hour which was provided by direct fired make-up air units located on the roof. Up-blast roof exhaust fans ducted to within 18” of the floor were utilized to remove potentially flammable vapors and discharge the fumes up into the air and minimize the potential for re-circulation back into the building. The vehicle exhaust system consisted of five 26 foot long articulated arm booms utilizing rigid ductwork on the boom and high temperature flexible hose supported by a balancer at the end. The booms were ducted to a single exhaust fan which was designed to support three pieces of heavy artillery equipment at one time.

The welding booth also required a ventilation rate of 6 air changes per hour which was provided by a direct fired make-up air unit and an up-blast exhaust fan mounted on the roof. Local exhaust for welding operations was provided by a 14 foot long articulated arm exhaust system.

An in-direct fired unit was utilized for the restroom and locker room areas. Gas fired DX rooftop units with economizers were utilized for the office and classroom areas. New ductwork was installed to properly distribute the air to each space.

Electrical work for this project included new electrical service feeders, new lighting in the office area, and power to the new mechanical equipment.