A recent project at the Hamilton Transit Centre (HTC) in Richmond, B.C., Canada, was twice the size that Smith Sheet Metal Works LTD, Port Coquitlam, B.C., had ever taken on. Further, it required all the buildings to be completed simultaneously. Smith Sheet Metal Works tackled the job with confidence and successfully delivered it on time.
On approximately 17 acres, HTC supports the operations and maintenance of a fleet of 40- and 60-foot buses and contains areas for carpentry, upholstery, electrical, sheet metal, and auto body work.
Smith Sheet Metal Works fabricated and installed a stainless-steel exhaust canopy over a massive parts washing bay, stainless steel bus exhaust canopies, and multiple 50-foot-long fuel bay stainless exhaust canopies, dust collection systems, plus a huge spray booth exhaust and make-up air system— big enough to fit double-length articulated buses.
“We used TIG welding to connect 316-grade stainless ducting to the canopies,” said Smith Sheet Metal Works owner Aaron Smith. “Every repair bay also had a retractable vehicle exhaust system that was connected with fully-welded and polished stainless steel exhaust ducts. Welders were on site for about two months connecting all of the systems.”
In order to accommodate lifting large buses into the air for maintenance and repair—and to maintain a pleasant appearance—all of the ducting had to be fitted into the exposed roof trusses. “It posed quite a challenge,” Mr. Smith said. “We had to create specialty fittings because not all of the trusses lined up, creating numerous offsets.”
Overall
, Smith Sheet Metal Works, which is a member of the SMACNA British Columbia chapter, used about 9,000 feet of spiral ducting as large as 52-inches in diameter. The company partnered with SMACNA-BC’s ECCO Supply, Burnaby, B.C., to obtain matching spiral elbows for everything up to 18-inches in diameter.
Smith Sheet Metal Works also provided a welded kitchen exhaust system built to NFPA standards and ducting systems for offices, along with 58 variable air volume boxes with individual zone control.
Additional Resources:
Hamilton Transit Centre article, SMACNA BC’s Sheet Metal Journal
Smith Sheet Metal Works
HTC washing bays