Located 0.8 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the new 285,000 square foot facility opened in November of 2020. It features 117,000 square feet of multi-purpose, column free flexible space built to accommodate 12 basketball courts convertible to 24 volleyball courts or 195,000 square feet of programmable space to accommodate a variety of events using court space along with the ability to lay the track flat, 200 meter, state-of-the-art indoor hydraulically banked track. Field event features including dual jumping pits, dual pole vault pits, dedicated track warm-up lanes with private athlete restrooms. Seating for 5,000 track spectators. 

But we want to talk about the ductwork. conditioning equipment sales represents TurnKey Duct Systems in the state of Virginia. Mike Nooney of ACES has been a leading salesman for TKDS through the years, and this project certainly made him and the installing contractor, Craiberly Inc. look like hero’s in the duct business. 

The project was a fast-paced job once released for fabrication. With a lot of big duct and much of it the same size. Multiple trucks were sent in sequence. Craiberly Inc was ready to basically hang the duct as  it came off the trucks. In a facility such as this, extra care was taken so that no dents nor dings were in the exposed paint grip duct. 

Did we mention all the duct was double wall construction? Yes, it was! The use of double wall flanges saved the installing contractor a tremendous amount of time in the field. TurnKey cut all the duct to length, installed, and sealed the flanges at their factory. Radiused grilles were supplied by ACES so to keep a neat appearance, TKDS factory cut the holes in the double wall and sealed off the insulation. The duct arrived ready to receive the grille. As in all pitched roofs, there were quite a few special degree elbows as well as unique radiuses to align with the ceiling. 

Coordination and communication is key in any type of project and was crucial in supplying the duct on this job. TurnKey Duct standards are to provide a CAD drawing detailing the duct as it believes it is to be provided. A careful review by the contractor and their OK is the signal to begin fabrication. 

Danny Wise, TKDS project manager, carefully coordinated both with ACES and Craig Warren of Craiberly to make certain that TKDS stayed “on track” and that the duct the customer needed was on site, on time. 

A collaborative effort of TKDS, ACES, and Craiberly made for another successfult project for all. 

This article originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of SNIPS Magazine.