Mechanical Consulting for General Contractors and Design Teams

System selection and equipment layout

The right system depends on the building: a two-flat conversion, a small office and a mixed-use storefront each point toward different equipment. We compare options on installed cost, space, venting, service access and how the building will be occupied, and we tell you which assumptions your designer should confirm.

Equipment layout is where coordination problems hide. We check service clearances, door and stair paths for getting equipment in and out, condensate and relief routing, and conflicts with beams, ducts and plumbing.

Boilers and hydronic systems

Hydronic work is our daily business, from cast-iron replacements in older Chicago buildings to modulating-condensing boilers and radiant floors. On a review we look at primary/secondary piping, pump selection, zoning, air elimination, expansion tanks, low-water cutoffs where required, and whether the controls strategy suits the emitters.

When an existing building keeps its radiators or baseboard, the new boiler has to match that system's water temperatures. That is a common gap between the spec sheet and real operation, and we point it out early.

Venting and combustion air

Gas-fired equipment needs a safe vent route and enough combustion air. We check vent material and length against manufacturer limits, termination clearances to windows, doors and property lines, and whether orphaned water heaters are left on an oversized chimney when a furnace or boiler is replaced — a frequent problem on renovations.

Walk-throughs, punch lists and inspection readiness

On existing buildings, a pre-construction walk-through often answers questions the drawings cannot: what the existing gas service is, where the flue actually goes, which risers are still in use. Near the end of a job we can walk the mechanical scope against the punch list so items are corrected before the inspector arrives rather than after.