Individual Zone Heating and Cooling

Project: Manhattan Remodel and Cape Cod Affordable, Episode 8, Part 3



It's time for doors, windows, ceilings, and mechanicals in the Manhattan Brownstone. Bob joins Chris Vila, the project manager, for a look at the ceiling that had to be reopened to run refrigerant lines for the air conditioning and the plaster walls that are now wired for the plasma screen television above the hearth. In the front rooms, ductwork is in place for the heating-and-cooling system and a Chicago-bar drop ceiling is installed to hide the ductwork. Fire batts are used to prevent noise transfer through the ceilings. Pella French doors are installed on the balcony while the surrounding masonry is rebuilt with weep holes to divert water and moisture from behind the brick. Oversized Pella double-hung windows are framed out and installed to bring in light and air. The Mitsubishi City Multi HVAC system is set up to deliver customized individual-zone heat and air conditioning throughout the apartment.
Part 1: Installing a Drop Ceiling to Hide Duct Work
Part 2: French Doors and Weep Holes on the Balcony and Installing Oversized Double-Hung Windows on a Historic Property
Part 3: Individual Zone Heating and Cooling
Bob meets with Meredith Schelp from Mitsubishi Electric HVAC to learn about the City-Multi HVAC system that will heat and cool the Manhattan Brownstone floor-through apartment. This system allows for simultaneous heating and cooling of separate zones throughout the apartment, so that a busy kitchen can be cooled while a quiet den or bedroom receives heat. The system uses outdoor and indoor units with variable drives to accommodate delivery demands. There will be three units installed in the apartment, each above the ceiling in vestibules where the ceilings can be dropped to hide them. Joseph Yannaco of Polar Mechanical Corporation explains that the interior units control the temperature and delivery of the conditioned air. The thermostatic controls run on sensors, so there's no need to keep the panels mounted visibly on interior walls. Ducts carry the heated or cooled air throughout the apartment.
This project deals with two very different notions of home. Bob begins on New York City's Upper West Side, where an 1890s Brownstone is revitalized through high-quality craftsmanship and sensitive design. New York's past meets its present, as the entire floor is recaptured and refurbished to create a spacious urban apartment on the doorstep of Central Park.

At the same time, Bob works with a Cape Cod developer to apply Massachusetts land use statute 40B to create affordable housing, and a neighborhood of homes in Mashpee, MA. These Energy Star certified homes show how quality building practices and reasonable asking prices can work together to provide livable, affordable homes and neighborhoods to those who work in our communities.

ALL EPISODES IN MANHATTAN REMODEL AND CAPE COD AFFORDABLE

MOST POPULAR CLIPS

OUTDOOR PROJECTS

HOUSE & GARDEN TOURS