Loren Wood Builders LLC

Scope Of Work

We enjoy supporting the local arts in Bloomington and had the pleasure of working on a remodel with Bloomington Center for Creative Glass. The remodel was focused on their “hot shop” where glass will be blown and fused. The project was made more interesting by the fact that the space was previously used for light industrial and several changes had to be planned to support the added power consumption of the various kilns and glass blowing equipment.

The client had acquired a 21’ vent hood for the space that would be positioned over the furnaces to dissipate heat while work was ongoing. The hood itself weighs about 500 pounds and was basically a shell, containing no fans. Working with Clutch Fabrication we had 6 steel legs fabricated to support the weight of the hood. After these were anchored to the floor the hood was lifted into place and attached to the surrounding walls.

The next challenge was determining what city and state codes were applicable for a vent hood of this size, whose sole purpose was to move hot air out of the building. Our team worked with the city Building Department and the Fire Inspector’s office to determine the amount of air turnover required to make the space safe for operations. Commercial Services provided and installed the fan system that vents the heated air through the roof of the space as well as an adjustable thermocouple (control that comes on when the air reaches a certain temperature). Two barometric vents were also installed to allow fresh air into the space while the fan is running.

To address the additional power needs for the project we were required to upgrade the electrical service to a 400 amp service. Two new service panels and a new meter base were installed to support this and the entire building is now fed from these new panels.

For safety and general aesthetics, we also installed corrugated tin wall cladding in the workshop area. While it adds a nice finished look to the space it also protects the walls from hot materials that may be moving around.

We are really looking forward to seeing all of the furnaces in action when the shop is fully up and operational. Always such a pleasure to work with and support the arts in Bloomington.