Last month we were working on a commercial remodeling project. Part of the work involved moving an existing gas fired hot water boiler. When we disconnected the piping and moved the boiler we discovered a big burn hole under the unit. It appeared that the boiler had gotten hot enough to scorch the wood underneath. It had burned through one layer of plywood and started to burn into the layer underneath.


This points out how important it is to keep proper clearances between appliances and devices that generate this type of heat. Zero clearance combustion fireplaces sound like they can be set right tight to wood....but they cannot. You must carefully follow the set back distances from all metal to wood framing.

Boilers and furnaces also have required distances to combustible materials. These units generally do not get so hot that they will scorch wood or combustible material, but they have the potential to do so. If a gas burner malfunctions it is easy for a boiler or furnace to overheat, or direct flames outside of the firebox. If the unit is sitting on or adjacent to combustible mateirals there is potential for a fire.

In the case of the commercial boiler in our remodeling project it apprears that the wood under the boiler never had enough oxygen to support flame. However, it is clear that it smoldered for quite some time. Eventually it could have burned through the last layer of plywood. At that point there would have been a rush of oxygen and the area most likely would have burst into flames....something no one wants to have happen.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:01 AM | Link

 
For those of you reading this website to get a feeling for what Northfield is like as you consider moving here, I want to let you know that we had a busy weekend of events again. The Northfield area is so fortunate to have a great selection of events to attend at all times. It seems there is always a variety of things to do and see... athletic events, cultural events, consumer activities, etc. This weekend was no different.

Friday evening Ellen and I attended the High School's "Art a la carte" event. This event includes a wide selection of all types of art...choral groups, jazz groups, break dancing, sculptures, clay work, dramatic readings... you name it, they had it. The cafeteria was full of edible art which was some of the most creative work I've seen. In several areas the students were working interactively with people to allow them to create art from friendly plastic, paints, and other mediums.

The art presentations at the High School really show how facilities can support programs. Since the creation of the auditorium and the art rooms the program seems to have grown by leaps and bounds. It is great to see the students expressing themselves through art in this manner.

Saturday I was at the Northfield Home and Garden Show from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. It was a long day, but a great day to visit with many, many people. I think the high winds kept people looking for inside things to do and they came to the show.


I was able to visit with Leif Knecht from Knecht's Nursery and Landscaping and Rick Risberg from Valley Bank in Dundas. We just finished up a significant remodeling project at Valley Bank. Leif always has a lot of work to do to get ready for the spring planting rush each year.


I also had a good chat with former school teacher Rieber Paulson. Rieber operates a small Christmas tree farm right in the heart of Northfield. I built a new home for a client just east of his land and we both commented on how much wildlife is in the area, including deer, fox, raccoons, etc.

Saturday evening Ellen and I attended the Northfield Arts Guild fundraiser auction. This is a fun event... three floors of things to look at and purchase and a building full of people to visit with.


The Northfield Arts Guild had "celebrity" bartenders serving beverages. My two favorites were City Councilor CC Linstroth and City Attorney Maren Swanson. They did a great job serving people and providing good commentary on the evening events. See Northfield.org's NAG Auction Photo gallery for dozens of photos of the auction.

After the Arts Guild auction wound down, we went next door to the Contented Cow. Ellen's brother Jon Bjork was entertaining people with his guitar playing. We again were able to visit with people in a relaxed setting after a busy day.

Sunday evening I went along with my son, Tristan, to the Northfield High School Mock Trial banquet. Tristan is the Mock Trial coach. The Northfield Mock Trial club had an excellent year, taking third place in the State competition. This is a group of students that works hard and has a great amount of talent. They went up against schools that are coached by many hours of high level attorney advice. It was rewarding to see a group of students go head to head against this level of competition and do so well....all because of hard work and personal talents.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:51 AM | Link

 
A couple of months ago, I set the email forwarding alias for NCC's "info at" email address to go to the server's trash bin because of the amount of spam it was receiving. On the old NCC website, that address was posted on the web pages and the spambots got ahold of it, of course.

But I discovered yesterday that I neglected to change the settings for the Contact Us form and so any comments submitted via that form after I made the change never made it to the company.

A major goof on my part.

So if you tried to contact someone via that form in the past couple of months, no one replied to you because they never received your email. My sincere apologies to you and the staff at NCC.

Griff Wigley, Wigley and Associates

Posted by Griff Wigley at 7:15 AM | Link

 
The Northfield Home and Garden Show will be at the Northfield Middle School on Saturday, March 20th. Northfield Construction Company will be located in the northeast corner of the gym....the same place we have been each year the show has been held.


This year Northfield Construction Company is giving away three $25 gift certificates to the James Gang Coffeehouse and Eatery. We will have a drawing for the certificates from the names of folks that register at our booth at the Home and Garden Show. We built the James Gang Coffeehouse last year. Jim and Joan Spaulding opened for business in January and we hope whoever wins the gift certificates enjoys some good food and beverages.

The Northfield Home and Garden Show is a great event for everyone. There will be all types of home related businesses there again including remodeling contractors, window and siding installers, home furnishings, landscape firms, water conditioning firms, etc. It is a fine place to come and get ideas about home improvement projects or just to visit with professionals about home and garden issues.

Please stop by the Home and Garden Show on Saturday and visit with me....it is a free show and many booths will have give away promotional items. I'll be there all day, from 9:00 to 4:00 so please stop by and visit with me. I'll also have other Project Managers with me part of the day, including Chris Smisek and Phil Olson.

Posted by Ray Cox at 5:39 AM | Link

 
Ellen and I attended the Friends of the Northfield Public Library fundraiser at the library on Saturday evening. The fundraiser includes a silent auction and a live auction. This is a great annual event that Northfield Construction and I have supported for many years, generally giving Chamber Dollars or a gift certificate to a local business.

This year I've been making birdhouses in my wood shop.

I donated a birdhouse to the library fundraiser this year and Ed Kuhlman auctioned it off. It is fun to see Ed work the crowd to get a good donation out of the gifts. (Ed just posted to his weblog about the event and just put up a photo gallery of it. Photo #6 shows Library Director Lynne Young holding up a birdhouse.) There was an excellent variety of items at the fundraiser this year, both in the silent auction and at the live auction.

Last month I had one of my birdhouses auctioned off at the Northfield Rotary Club auction fundraiser (see another blog post from Ed Kuhlman re: the event, including a photo. I will have another birdhouse....the "log cabin" model on the right, at the silent auction for St. Dominic's Church coming up in April. This is a fun way to raise funds for worthy organizations....and I have a good time building the little birdhouses. With busy, sometimes stressful days, it is relaxing for me to be in my wood shop working with my hands.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:50 AM | Link