My original concept and purpose of this site was simply to DOCUMENT. Document what? Anything. Everything. Life. However, I’ve found myself hesitant to make a 2nd post, being indecisive about what to write about, and simply not taking action… procrastinating. It’s not HARD to document – to share about what’s been going on in the past 2.5 weeks since I kicked this site off the ground. A LOT of life has happened… it passes so fast! For the sake of general family privacy, on a public-facing blog, I’ll probably refrain from allowing this to become any sort of family documentary and will most likely keep that info to a minimum. Maybe I’ll write an “About Me” at some point in the future, but today is not that day. For now, I think I’m going to focus on getting better at sharing technical information, business thoughts, and ideas as things relate to my small business, Driven By Graphics (a.k.a. DBG). I certainly don’t expect to share on each of these on every post, but it’s been a while so let’s see how we can do today…
Technical Information
I wish I had some really insightful stuff to share here, but those will probably become more dedicated posts about a specific topic or subject. The only technical information/topic I can think to discuss right now relates to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)… something I know very little about. However, I’m in the middle of my shop build and the HVAC system is the next major step in terms of shop progress. So what’s the big deal about HVAC now? Well, as far as I can remember I’ve been both a form and function person and I end up with my only personal thoughts on how something should look (i.e. aesthetically pleasing) and just be done well, with craftsmanship and pride in any work done. So with all of that said, there are some challenges when it comes to the HVAC system in the shop, mostly because unlike a home or even a typical commercial office, the HVAC system was not designed into the original plans. So while the shop is still being built out and the walls are open there are a lot of considerations that have to be made. I want to optimize space as much as possible, so concealing the ductwork as much as possible is one primary goal… and to do that as much as possible it’s going to require that the floor trusses between the office and loft be cut to accommodate the trunk line(s) of the ductwork. To cut the floor trusses, I need to know what size ducts are going to be required and coordinate the size needed with cutting the trusses in locations that do not impact the structural integrity of the truss. So where does that take us?
Well, a couple of weeks ago I knew VERY LITTLE about anything related to HVAC systems other than when mine wasn’t working. But I’ve been studying, researching, and trying to understand how [simple] HVAC systems are engineered and designed. I’ve learned that you want approximately 0.75 (or 0.8) cubic feet [of air] per minute (cfm) per square foot (sq. ft.). So when we consider that the shop is approximately 1875 sq. ft. (including the 2nd-floor loft), I know I need at least 1,400cfm from the air handler. I’ve also learned that an HVAC system can produce approximately 400cfm per ton; HVAC unit sizes are measured in tons. So basic math tells us if we divide 1,400cfm by 400cfm/ton, we end up with a requirement of a 3.5-ton HVAC system. From there I’ve started to look at the shop as the individual rooms/workspaces and have been trying to figure out how many registers will be needed. The “office” area is approximately 575sq. ft. * our 0.75cfm / sq. ft. value tells me that I need approximately 430cfm in the office area alone. Well, how do you make that happen? A smaller flexible hose will be run off of the main trunk line and feed into the registers, which make up the vents everyone sees. A 6-inch diameter flex will allow 100cfm; so 4 of those will bring me up to 400cfm and I’ll add a 4-inch diameter flex to add an additional 50cfm. In total, that brings us to 450cfm allowed by the ducting, into a space that needs approximately 430cfm to be cooled… so we should be good 🙂
Now I have to do the same for the main work area / high-bay side of the shop and again for the loft/storage area. Once I know how many vents (registers) are needed, I can plan out where those will be placed, then I’ll have to go back and look at the sizing of the main trunk lines to feed each of the vents and make sure they’re sized appropriately as well. Could I hire someone to do this? Absolutely and I will. So why am I wasting the time to figure it out and learn it myself? Because knowledge is power and I want to ensure the system installed is adequately sized, the number and size of the vents are proper, and hopefully mitigate any potential for service calls related to the shop not being properly cooled because an undersized unit was installed or if the humidity is too high inside because an oversized unit was installed and it doesn’t run long enough cycles to properly condition the air. That’s PLENTY of technical for now 😉
Business Thoughts & Ideas
In wrapping up this post I just wanted to share some lines from a video on YouTube I watched last week – unfortunately I didn’t save the link. The video’s primary purpose was to be motivational in nature but it had a section that I found interesting as it related to decision making. It went a lot like this…
Are we always going to make the right decision? Absolutely not… no way in a million years! But most people dont have the guts to make the tough decisions because they want to make the right decision, so they end up making no decision.
Decision making is the force that shapes destiny.
Personal or corporate business destiny.
So if you’re going to control your life… the way you take control is by making new choices.
If you don’t like how things are, what do you have to do?
Change it! And to change it you have to make a decision.
Leaders make decisions!
Rhetorical reflection: What decisions am I making to be a better leader? What things or areas of my life need change? What decisions do I need to make this week, month, and year?
