The Roof

The engineers who put together our plans came down to inspect the roof to see if it could support the chiller.   We were able to get a set of plans of the roof construction from the owner, which help out a lot, but it took them some time to find the specifications on the materials that were used because of the age of the building.  

After some number crunching, it turns out that the engineers did not think it would be a good idea to put that much additional weight on this roof.  Granted the chiller weights about 2,000 pounds, but we were surprised with that conclusion.  Industrial buildings are generally designed and constructed to support roof top units of this nature.

It didn’t matter what we think, if the engineer won’t sign off then the town won’t approve the permit for the location so that’s the end of that.  On to plan C. We are down to either just putting it inside the brewery itself or finding a space outside that will not require a variance.  The downside to having it inside is that it generates a fair amount of heat and noise but if that’s the only solution that’s where we’ll have to put it.  We’ll have to talk to the town and see what we can work out. 

Chiller Solution

We spoke to our landlord and decided to move the chiller to the roof.  It was a better location in the first place but my landlord didn’t really want me to put any equipment up there so I opted for outside the building.   Now that the outside is an issue we are back to the roof. 

We told the zoning official about the move to the roof.  He was fine with that and since there was no longer any zoning issues he signed off on our plans—as long as the chiller is not visible from the street. 

Now we can get our permits, right?  Not quite. In this situation a solution only creates another problem.  Now the construction department needs an analysis signed by a licensed engineer that the roof will support the extra weight.  Also I am told that our permits can not be released until the fire marshal has approved the changes he asked for and I am still waiting for our sprinkler contractor to submit his plans.   

Next Problem

Now that the floor has been removed we can’t really move ahead on anything else until the rest of our permits are issued.  It has been a few weeks since we got them the names of our contractors so I figured it was a good time to stop over and see where we stood.  We were told that the zoning officer had yet to sign off on the plans and he was leaving in a few days for vacation so we should speak to him if we wanted anything in the next two weeks.

We figured that getting his sign off wouldn’t be a problem.  Back before we signed the lease we spoke extensively with zoning to make sure there wasn’t going to be an issue or a repeat of Manasquan.  After the warm reception in Manasquan one of our top priorities when looking for a new place was that it did not require a zoning variance.  

After a few conversations, we determined that the building was zoned properly and we could move forward with our plan.  The zoning officer told us that they would be required to sign off on any plans for construction but that shouldn’t be a problem now that we cleared from a zoning perspective. 

So we got a hold of the zoning officer, expecting a quick sign-off ,when the first thing they told me after looking at the plans was that I could not put our glycol chiller outside the building where we had planned.  We were told that it appeared as thought a variance would be needed to put the chiller in the parking lot on the side of the building.  

The only way they would know if I needed a variance was if I submitted a site plan of the property including the proposed location of the chiller.  In order to submit a site plan I needed an updated survey of the property—which we didn’t have.  That meant hiring a surveyor and getting an engineer or architect to turn that survey into a site plan.  And that wasn’t the worst part.  We then needed to go before the board the get the variance approved—which would require hiring an attorney and planner to represent us.  Having lived through that process before, I realized that it could take months and cost thousands of dollars.

They claimed the issue was that the chiller would take up space along the side of the parking lot and may obstruct the flow of traffic.  My understanding is that according to code we need 12 feet on both side of the driveway in addition to any space the chiller may take up.  Without an accurate survey and plan they couldn’t tell if there was sufficient room for the unit.  

The best part of this discussion was that there is an existing air conditioning unit next to the proposed chiller location that takes up as much space in the driveway as our new unit would.  The air conditioner has been there since the building was completed in the 1980s without issue.  We were told who ever did that did it without proper permission so it was irrelevant to this matter.  

So now were back to the drawing board on the chiller and we need a solution before the zoning officer goes on vacation or we have to wait another two weeks for permits. 

Chiller Delivery

Our chiller unit arrived today.  We got a 10 hp glycol chiller from ProRefrigeration in Auburn Washington.  Even though we had the specifications on the unit and knew the size, it’s much bigger than we realized.  The units about seven feet tall, six feet long and four feet wide—and weights about 2,000 empty. 

The delivery is good news considering we ordered the unit about nine or ten weeks ago and it’s a critical piece of equipment that keeps our beer cool while its fermenting and carbonating.  The problem is that we were unable to unload the unit because of the way it was shipped.   

As you can see from the picture the only way we could get it off was by picking it up for the side but that would require having a forklift outside or being able to drive our forklift out of warehouse but we don’t have a ramp.  The other option was to drive our forklift onto the trailer, but the gap between our dock and the flatbed was too great to get a 10,000 forklift over. 

What we learned when our brewing equipment was delivered that we could use a pallet jack to pull the delivery or equipment to the end of the flatbed then use the forklift to lift the item into our warehouse from the loading dock.  The problem here was the unit was shipped on a step over the tractor’s back tire.  No one at the shipping company told us it was coming on a step and we didn't think to ask because it never happen before.  

The only real option was to rent a forklift that could pull it off from the outside then move it into our warehouse.  It would be a tremendous waste of time and money to pay for a forklift to be delivered for ten minutes of work, but we really had no choice.  Of course it was 4:00 pm on Friday so after a few phone calls we realized that wasn’t going to happen. 

Luckily a forklift place around the corner, ProLift offered to let us use one of its lifts to move the unit from the step down to the lower part of the flatbed so we could get it off ourselves.  So the we drove the tractor over to their shop and they moved it for us then re-strapped it to the flatbed and we drove it back to the brewery.  From there we pulled it off with our lift.    

Not the best use of three hours on a Friday afternoon, but at least we have our chiller and of course, thanks to the guys at ProLift for helping us out.