i just leased a unit in a new plaza. im going to put a barbershop in it. what i want to do is to remove the suspended grid ceiling so it can make the shop look bigger. i know their is sometype of requirement for the ac and i cant just leave it out in the open.. what do i need to do to meet the requirements? ive seen that they put some type of cover over it..
Exposed commercial HVAC has different requirements than regularly installed ducting. Most of it has to do with ridged ducting, proper insulation so that the tubes do not collect water vapor and cause a drip that people slip on. Best to check with your local permits and building codes office for anything particular to your area. If you remove something against code, you could be fined, shutdown till it is fixed or have your Certificate of occupancy revoked.
The space between the drop ceiling and the actual ceiling is most likely being used as a return plenum. That is, the entire ceiling is your return duct. You will notice there are a couple egg crate tiles in the ceiling that allow for return air to get above the drop ceiling.The supply ducts are no doubt wrapped to avoid the dripping as stated by Dart otherwise you wouldn't have got the C.O. in the first place. The return is filled with hot, humid air that would've condensed on the cool ductwork and dripped onto the drop ceiling, but i doubt this is the case. They are insulated. If you were to remove this ceiling, you would have to spend the money to run return duct to the various points in the barber shop to ensure air changes and proper CFM (cubic feet per minute) exchange. Not to mention the reason a drop ceiling is there in the first place is to make the room smaller so the unit won't run as much and cost loads of money. Which brings up another problem. If you raise the ceiling in the room, you've just changed the heating and cooling demands for that roof unit and it may not be able to keep up. My advice is to leave the celing and all as it is. If you want to do something with it, why not paint a design on the tiles? If you know an artist, or artistic yourself, do a :Sisitine Chapel thing and have a mural on the ceiling. The tiles come down easily and it would be quite the conversation piece. OK so i'm not a decorator........
