# Smoke hatches need service



## Scarrgo (Jun 15, 2015)

Hello all,

As the title says, the smoke hatches in our space are in need of service, and the company name on the hatches is not in business anymore(I can not remember the name at this moment), they are about 15-16 yrs old.

I am looking for a company in the Michigan/Macomb county(North of Detroit) area that repairs hatches. As I have been asked to do the foot work for our maintenance department so they know whom to contact to get said hatches fixed.

I would rather use a company that someone here has worked with rather than just call Joes Smoke Hatches from an internet search.

Thanks

Have a great day

Sean...


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## Colin (Jun 15, 2015)

I'm sorry I can't help yet, but am in a similar position. In my (college) facility the smoke vents are original to the 1962 construction with the only update being electromagnet closures in place of the fusible links in a renovation 12 years back. They're severely rusted to the point that 3 of 8 doors (more soon I'm sure) will shift in their frames and get jammed shut or else not close back up. All 8 vents are part of a single housing spanning the entire stage width, so it looks like the whole width of the wall is going to get torn out and re-built. Our head of Environmental Health & Safety has made it a capital project for fiscal year '17, which is unnervingly far away, and we haven't started looking for someone to do the work yet. I'm in MA, so we might not be using the same company as you in the end, but I'm still keen on hearing anyone's input and will contribute anything I find out on my end.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 15, 2015)

How interesting. I'm working on a Life Safety Code project to try to update the requirements for these including regular testing and maintenance.

Manufacturer first, but if the manufacturer is out of business i don't have sure suggestions. This is a roofing product. I'd try large roofing contractors after the manufacturer. I have several times included the work as part of the stage rigging work, but unlikely a rigger will do this stand alone - only when they have to as part of a larger project. I have talked a campus maintenance crew into doing it - just simple mechanics. Clean and lubricate, maybe install new gasketing, test it. Maybe retofit the Thern Fire Safety Curtain winch if you want to bring up to code.

Not something I can do remotely or at no cost, but I have included these in my consulting work, preparing plans and specs - or maybe just specs - for bidding repair/rebuilding. 

Please share if you find a magic answer that makes it go easily and well.


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## Scarrgo (Jun 16, 2015)

Thanks for the reply Bill, 

So when you working on a project do you spec a certain product, such as an "Acme 42-6 smoke hatch"? or are they custom built for each specific job? and is there a code that dictates how they should operate, that a roofing company would know about, I do not want them to just wire them shut.

Ours have some broken parts,and two of the doors are slightly open so depending on the weather, we get rain, snow and dogwood falling from the grid, sometimes with comedic effect, and our maintenance dept is understaffed and yesterday the guy said "I just dont anything about them and yeah, I am not going up there".

I will contact our roofing contractor and see if its something they could repair.

Sean...


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 16, 2015)

We base a spec around Bilco - the "Kleenix" brand of smoke vents. I get more specific in a retrofit or renovation about the rigging and quite often use the Thern winch, but there are complicated issues with listing (UL, FM) surrounding that.

Hard to know when you say they are not closing if these are repairable or need replacing. I couldn't tell you without looking at them for a while, but it's just anything a good mechanic should be able to determine. I wrote an article for Protocol (Summer 2013) which is also available on my web site, "Ideas" page: Stage Ventilation: Clearing the Heat and Smoke", that reviews the requirements.

Or contact me offline.


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## BillConnerFASTC (Jun 17, 2015)

By happenstance and a by the way, I found a stage rigging company that might do this work. Contact me off list - either a conversation here or [email protected]. Nothing in it for me but avoiding such specific commercial recommendations here.


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