--- On 25 Apr 1997 09:12:32 -0700 Judd Stewart <[email protected]> wrote:
>HELLO, > >I'm planning on installing a screen room and I have a couple of questions >concerning layout and installation. The purpose of the room will be to >troubleshoot and prescans, repeatability is paramount. > >1) With regard to construction, from the mfg. I have look at so far the sheet >material is basically the same thin gauge zinc steel over particle board >joined with a clamping mechanism. Will this joining system last or does it >need repeated tighting and testing? The problem with modular rooms of this type fabrication is changes in humidity. The humidity causes the wood cores to shrink or swell. Secondary effects come from mechanical vibration (air handler fans and zealous slamming of the access door) and thermal effects. All cause the joints to slowly loosen. Re-torque the bolts about every quarter. After a couple of years, you may notice that the periodic re-torquing doesn't need to be done. Then move your torquing schedule out to maybe every year. I have had rooms where re-torquing was absolutely necessary (Chicago and Central New Jersey, with Lindgren and Ace rooms) and rooms where I never periodically retorque (San Diego with LMI and Ray Proof rooms). I think the main difference is that in Chicago & New Jersey, the rooms saw much more temperature and humidity variations than in San Diego. > >4) I'm considering a Anti-room- I can't afford a separate room so I'm >considering a partition in the big room. Just received some quotes and the >cost of the extra door is astounding! A good door takes good design and is labor intensive to construct. I feel that you can hardly over-design a door, and you really want to spend the extra time/cost to have the door fits checked during door/frame assembly to ensure proper clearance and fits. A crummy door will aggravate you 10 times a day; every day! > Is the anti-room worth the investment? > Partitions are a real pain. I had one room in San Diego which was about 50 feet long. We put two permanent walls across the inside, creating a test chamber at each end and an instrumentation chamber in the center. Worked out very well, except that the erection crew likely still hates me. We spent a lot of time cleaning joints and stuffing seam gaps with bronze wool. BTW, this is the key to any modular room installation. Be zealous about protecting the joining surfaces. Don't install a warped panel or a dinged clamp rail. Inspect the plating job on all hardware. Wipe down all joints with solvent to remove finger oils just before installing each item. Inspect everything as you position the panels. Ban prybars and big ole screwdrivers from the site! Use soft shims (wood blocks) to hold positions. Watch out for parent room obstructions which tend to induce errors in your installation. I once found a 16 foot wide room, built into an alcove, which didn't have hardly any bolts on the rear wall fully torqued. After the room had been partially assembled and shoved into the alcove, nobody could reach in to tighten the bolts. So, they just must have decided that those rear wall bolts weren't really needed! Key problem areas during construction are penetration port joints, other port joints, powerline filter penetrations, room corners and the whole door/frame assembly. Always stuff bronze wool into room panel joints (during initial assembly) for corners and clamp rail joints. Sometimes, 2 inch wide aluminum tape can help to seal some joints which show leaks after construction. >thanks > >Judd Stewart >619.623.6639 > Nothing beats seeing for yourself. You are welcome to look at Cubic's facility. We have a 50x25x10 ft modular room, with an ante-chamber attached using a short "tunnel" at a penetration port. The main room is standard galvanized steel / particle board construction, while the ante-chamber is a double shield copper screen over open wood frame. Thanks to close scrutiny during assembly, both rooms perform very well. -------------------------- Name: Ed Price E-mail: [email protected] 619-505-2780 List-Post: [email protected] Date: 5/8/97 Time: 1:36:15 PM --------------------------
