Openings ~ Let It Be Christmas ~

Intertech Flooring Purchases Austin and San Antonio Assets of The Invironmentalists. Purchase to build upon Intertech's growing customer base, enhance capabilities in delivering flooring products and services in central Texas (October 20, 2004 - AUSTIN, Texas) - The Invironmentalists and Intertech Flooring are pleased to announce Intertech's acquisition of the Austin and San Antonio locations of The Invironmentalists. The transaction covers The Invironmentalists' commercial flooring, installation, and maintenance business in both Austin and San Antonio. Operations will be merged into Intertech's existing locations, which include 7303 Burleson Road in Austin, and 4710 Perrin Creek in San Antonio. Intertech is a leading provider of commercial flooring products and services in central Texas, and is one of only four flooring companies in Texas to hold the prestigious Floor Covering Installation Board's national certification. The firm provides material and installation of carpet and custom rugs, resilient and wood flooring, and raised access/cleanroom flooring. Intertech also provides professional design and specification consultation, maintenance programs, asbestos renovation and modular wiring and under-floor HVAC delivery systems. Willard "Bill" Imhoff III, President and CEO of Intertech, indicated that the purchase is another step in a growth process that has been built on a foundation of safety, quality, and timely service. "The acquisition of The Invironmentalists' business in Austin and San Antonio creates an opportunity for us to serve more customers and deliver exceptional value," Imhoff stated. The Invironmentalists' reputation for quality was a motivating factor in the decision to purchase the business. "The Invironmentalists is known for delivering outstanding service, quality products, and dependable maintenance. We are looking forward to exceeding our new customers' expectations and executing a seamless transition to new ownership," Imhoff continued. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Bill Imhoff and his talented management team in the sale of the Austin and San Antonio units of The Invironmentalists. We believe that Intertech Flooring is the ideal buyer to leverage an extensive knowledge of the commercial flooring market in servicing the existing customer base and building upon it," said Tim Durkin, president of The Invironmentalists. The Invironmentalists had previously announced a restructuring resulting from a shift in focus in business strategy which called for a return to local ownership in the sales, service, installation and maintenance of flooring products. The Invironmentalists was advised in this transaction by Carl Marks Capital Advisors.

About Intertech Flooring Intertech Flooring is a locally-owned and operated Central Texas company providing flooring products, installation and maintenance services for a wide range of commercial clients throughout the Southwest. The company was established in 1988 in Austin, and opened a San Antonio location in 1992. Intertech Flooring is a founding member of StarNet, the national flooring experts, and holds the prestigious Floor Covering Installation Board's national certification. Intertech's products and services include installation, design consultation, carpet, wood flooring, raised access/cleanroom flooring, under-floor power, data and air distribution, asbestos renovation, and maintenance. More information can be found at www.intertechflooring.com. About The InvironmentalistsTM The Invironmentalists, formerly DuPont Flooring Systems (DFS), is the interior services company of INVISTA. The Invironmentalists provides commercial interior solutions to clients in North America. The network of owned and franchised/licensed locations provides commercial flooring products and related services which include installation, maintenance, and reclamation across the United States and Canada. With its strong local roots, rich industry knowledge, and solid customer relationships, The Invironmentalists has broad-based commercial flooring capabilities and delivers high value interior solutions for building owners, commercial end-users, and property managers. The Invironmentalists' Continuous Care philosophy was adopted to facilitate ongoing customer service throughout a commercial building's lifecycle. More information can be found at www.theinvironmentalists.com. About Carl Marks Capital Advisors Carl Marks Capital Advisors LLC (CMCA) is the investment banking affiliate of Carl Marks & Co., focused on offering sophisticated financial advisory services to middle market companies with revenues between $25 million and $1 billion. With proven results, CMCA's services include mergers & acquisitions advice, capital raising and financial restructuring. CMCA is affiliated with Carl Marks Consulting Group, a leading turnaround management consultancy. Further information about CMCA and Carl Marks Consulting Group is available at www.carlmarks.com. Upcoming Luncheons December 9, 2004 - Round table discussion and member networking.  January 13, 2004 - Alan Collyear with HOK Architects in Houston - Bush Library planning and design  February 10, 2004 - Jack Downing and Terese Ferguson with the Bower Downing Partnership, Inc. - Building Forensics  March 10, 2004 - Katie Johnson from Austin Green Building program - Non-Toxic Interiors for Commercial Buildings

Heat Check  Here is an air conditioning problem with a little basic math.  Suppose you need to add some equipment to a room that's not designed for them. Count the number of watts that you will be adding.  If you only have amperes, then multiple the amps by 120. Let's assume the additional watts are 10,000. For the air conditioning requirements, you need to know that 1 watt=3.412 BTU's.  1. Convert the watts to BTU's. 10,000 watts equals 34,120 BTU's  2. Determine the supply temperature of your air conditioning unit. It should be about 15 to 20 degrees below the temperature in the room. Let's say the supply temperature is 55 degrees  3. Decide the maximum temperature of the return air from the room. Let's use 70 degrees and realize that there might be hot spots 10 degrees warmer than this.  4. Determine how much air is being supplied to the room before the equipment is added. This number should probably be the volume needed on a hot day in July. Lets say it's 1000 cubic feet per minute (cfm).  5. Determine the maximum air flow that is available to the room. Your building plans or your air balance report might have this number. If you have a variable air system, the best way to determine the number is to set the thermostats to 50 degrees and record the cfm delivered. Your energy management system might provide this number or it can be measured. The number we will use is 4000 cfm.  6. The available cfm would be 3000 cfm at 15 degrees. (4000-1000=3000 and 70-55=15)  7. The cooling formula is cfm * 1.08 * delta temperature = BTU.  Therefore 3000 * 1.08 * 15 = 48,600 BTU's. Since this number is larger than the requirement of 34,100, you can probably use this room. It's nice to have a little safety factor.  8. If there was a deficiency, it's rather expensive to add ductwork and controls. It's not too expensive just to add some ductwork if there is a base amount of cooling that will not have to be controlled. I wouldn't recommend this approach unless the heat load was added while you were on vacation.  9. If you are in the make-it-work mode, you might be able to lower the supply temperature, or increase the static pressure of the system. Simple systems like your home unit don't have this flexibility. 10. Another area that is often neglected is the return air. Ensure you have a clear path for the return air. If the return air is through your suspended ceiling, you might add extra grills above your equipment. If you had an infra-red gun, you could replace your hottest tile with a grill. The return or supply air might have to go through a fire damper that is closed. Check above the ceiling for that 'clear path' to the mechanical room.  11. If one thermostat serves several rooms, the supply air may not be balanced. Most diffusers will have a regulating value where the diffuser hose taps into the square duct. You could purchase an air volume balancing meter for about $ 2000. This device has a hood that fits over a 2' x 2' diffuser. You could purchase a flow meter with a probe for about $ 272. The first device reads cubic feet per meter. The second device reads velocity; so, you need to calculate the area of the duct. If the duct was a round 10 inch duct and the velocity was 100 feet per minute, the calculation would be 10/2* 10/2 * pie * 100 =7850 cfm. It can't measure velocities below 80 feet per minute. A third device is a pocket air flow meter which cost about $ 135. It uses a turbine (propeller) to measure the air flow. It can measure the low flows that are found at the diffuser. There are contractors and consultants who can do this measurement for you. 12. If the volume of air is constant, you can calculate the resultant room temperature if a heat load is added. Turn the thermostat down so that the unit runs all the time. If the outside temperature is a factor, measure the room temperature at about 2 pm on a hot day. If the unit could lower the temperature to 63 degrees, the heat load is 50,000 BTU's, and the volume of cool air was 4000 cfm, then the resulting room temperature would rise to 75 degrees [ 63+50,000/(1.08*4000)] Use these formula's for ball park numbers so you can eliminate bad choices quickly. JR Howard

FOOD DRIVE - December meeting Shannon Schiermann wants to let everyone know that we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Capital Area Food Bank at the December meeting. Please bring 3-4 food items or you may donate cash. Watch your e-mails for more information . . . In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Shannon at Shannon.Schiermann@veritas.com. Holiday Party Don’t forget to RSVP for the holiday party Thursday, December 2 at the Capital City Comedy Club. Dinner will be served prior to the show. Details are on the website - RSVPs are due by this Friday, 11/26/04. To make a reservation go to rsvpifma@yahoo.com. CHUCKLES Me Want Coffee!!!!! An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter, "Me want coffee." The waiter says, "Sure chief, coming right up." He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee. The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of animal to splatter everywhere, then just walks out. The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Me want coffee." The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What the heck was all that about, anyway?" The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Me training for upper management position: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day." We hope you have enjoyed our newsletter. Should you have any questions, comments or would like to publish something, please notify Mary Duke at 512-908-4662, e-mail mduke@fmgi.com Thank you—and have a safe and happy holiday!