Achieving the ideal conditions for your construction site should not be an afterthought or a reactive solution that you seek when materials don't dry appropriately and you're behind schedule. During a project's planning stages, including a performance based, climate control strategy that employs good humidity control measures is a proactive approach that can help save money, keep your building clean and prevent delays. While the creation of a strategy may extend the planning stage, having one in place will greatly enhance productivity, avoid damage to your HVAC and will keep you a step ahead of temperature- and moisture-related problems.
Why Develop a Heating Strategy for Your Construction Site
- Create ideal conditions: Maintaining the ideal conditions at a construction site may be difficult because the weather at any given location is rarely perfect all the time. Even if employees work in an enclosed or covered space, the air, surfaces and ground may have different temperatures, which can affect drying times. A heating strategy prepares you for such a situation so you can act quickly to create an environment that’s conducive to your team’s needs.
- Work when the weather doesn’t cooperate: You can’t always delay a project when the weather doesn’t cooperate. At the same time, continuing a project without temporary environmental controls when the weather is cold or humid creates its own set of delays. A heating strategy allows employees to continue working and ensures the durability and reliability of building materials.
- Successful surface coatings and painting applications: Cold, wet or humid weather can make paint and surface coatings dry slowly and fail prematurely. A heating strategy prevents rework and helps you meet deadlines, which enhances customer satisfaction.
- Reduce the risk of mold, rot and corrosion: Moisture is one of the most destructive elements on a construction site because it promotes mold growth in porous building materials, rot and warping in lumber, and corrosion on metal components. An effective heating strategy includes moisture mitigation to prevent decay, premature failures and the growth of harmful organisms in building materials.
- Enhance productivity, safety and efficiency: A heating strategy promotes worker health and comfort. When workers feel comfortable and are not exposed to hazards, such as fumes or mold, they will work faster and absenteeism rates will decline.
- Heating methods: When developing a heating strategy for your site, the solutions should not introduce toxins or safety hazards into the workspace. With this in mind, reputable construction drying services use indirect-fired heat to warm spaces instead of direct-fired heat because the unit’s combustion byproducts and exhaust vent outside.
- Know your goals: When creating a heating strategy, establish goals. For example, do you want to maintain temperatures above a certain level? Are you trying to control relative humidity levels? Are you heating a space primarily for worker comfort? If daytime conditions are OK, do you need to keep the space warmer at night? Knowing the purpose of the heating strategy will help your construction drying contractor outfit the site with the best temporary environmental control solutions.
- Space size: Know the size of the space in cubic feet to receive heating solutions that are the appropriate size to promote energy efficiency.
- Heat losses: The building envelope at a construction site isn’t always tight. When developing a strategy, knowing where air and heat escapes will help a construction drying contractor develop a solution that minimizes heat transfers and losses.
Heating Strategy Considerations
After outlining the major components of your site’s heating strategy, show them to a construction drying service provider, like Polygon. These specialists will use the information to determine the right types of climate control solutions for your needs. At Polygon, we use indirect-fired heat for its environmental and health benefits. This type of heater produces clean, dry air that’s free of fumes to promote green building standards and a healthy work environment. For assistance with creating a heating strategy for your project or to learn more about Polygon’s cost-effective climate control solutions, talk to a specialist today.
[Elmira College via CC License 2.0]
