TCH-news
February 24, 2017

Toronto Community Housing: 11,300 Lbs of New Equipment

Residents at 710 and 720 Trethewey Drive in Toronto, Canada, can now enjoy more fresh air and better heating in their buildings, thanks to the recent installations of new condensing boilers and air handling units. This work is part of the TowerWise Retrofit project, funded by The Atmospheric Fund, which will upgrade seven Toronto Community Housing buildings, currently home to over 1,200 residents. The project aims to reduce energy consumption by 20%.

Ecosystem representatives were on site to supervise the lifts. A 200-ton crane was tasked with the heavy lifting, moving seven big pieces of equipment, totalling 11,300 lbs, up 190 feet.

This video summarizes the events of the day:

At 710 Trethewey Drive, the crane hoisted two air handling units, each weighing more than 1,700 lbs, to the roof after lowering the old air handling units to the ground.

The requirements for 720 Trethewey Drive were slightly more complex because the building was due to benefit from a boiler upgrade as well as new air handling units. After the old air handling unit was removed and lowered to the ground, a new 5,000-lb air handling unit and two condensing boilers, each weighing more than 1,200 lbs, were raised to the roof. The boilers were moved from the crane directly into the mechanical room on a custom-built ramp.

“The lifts presented an interesting challenge to us,” shared Vladimir Naumov, Ecosystem’s project designer. “An underground garage surrounds the two buildings, and a crane would be too heavy and could potentially damage the garage. As a result, we had to make sure the crane was completely outside of the garage perimeter. However, this meant we needed a longer crane that could still reach 190 feet in height.”

“Another challenge was that we were working in live buildings, with residents coming and going,” added Steve Korobaylo, Ecosystem’s site supervisor. “To ensure smooth operation, we notified residents a week in advance, put up clear signage and were available to address resident questions and concerns.”

“Despite a slight delay in the morning, we were able to make up time, all thanks to everyone’s collaboration,” concluded Vladimir Naumov. “We completed ten lifts in one day, on time and on budget.”

Learn more about the project.

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