The following projects were kicked off or completed during the 2020 calendar year.
Mold Abatement
We discovered a significant amount of mold in the basement (including Stachybotrys, aka “black mold”) in the early spring. This led to hiring a professional firm to perform mold abatement and demolition.
Following a successful air-quality test, we rebuilt the basement to include:
- New structure (where needed) with mold-resistant drywall. As of December, about 90% of the drywall had been installed. Some work will carry over into 2021.
- New free-standing metal shelves, replacing wood shelves attached to the wall and/or prone to mold.
- New electrical (see details below).
We painted exterior walls with a sealant material to reduce moisture intrusion (this work will continue into 2021). We installed a new dehumidifier to aid in humidity control.
The abatement activity mandated further work – including pipe repairs (in 2020 – see below) and basement waterproofing (in 2021) to eliminate future issues.
Parking Lot Repair
A portion of the parking lot was cut out and replaced, while the remainder was repaired (cracks filled) and re-striped.
Water Gate Repair
The city identified that the gate valve at the street, which isolates the city water main from the supply line to the club, needed repair to eliminate a leak. We hired a contractor to repair the valve.
Tempering Valve
We installed a new tempering valve to replace the existing leaking unit. The tempering valve regulates the hot/cold feed to provide a single pipe temperature-controlled feed to the showers.
Interior LED Lighting
Installed new LED lighting from TOGGLED throughout the clubhouse (and in the pump house) to improve light quality and reduce energy consumption.
This project was partially supported by the DTE Energy Efficiency Program for Business, which offset some costs.
The replacement portion of the project consisted of installing 4000 K high-output (6,200 lumen) 46 W IP65 (water, dust, and weather-proof) fixtures (TOGGLED FV420PO-A423-40230):
- 12 total replacements (1:1 fixture count) in the restrooms and snack shack.
- 3 additional fixtures in the women’s restroom.
- 1 additional fixture in the snack shack.
- 3 total in the pump house (replacing 2 x 13 W CFL bulbs).
The retrofitting portion of the project involved removing existing ballasts, re-wiring fixtures, and installing LED bulbs (TOGGLED E416-40310-2) into 12 x 4-bulb fixtures in the lobby (7) and basement (5).
More than $100 per year in energy savings is anticipated.
Audio System
To improve the quality and audibility of music and public announcement (PA) throughout the club grounds, we designed and installed a new pro-grade JBL 70 V audio system. Separate zones and mixing options allow independent music and PA levels for the pavilion and pool deck. An automatic “ducking” operation mutes the music during PA announcements.
The new system consists of the following components:
- 2 x JBL Pro Control 28-1 Speakers (on the club house and on the pump house)
- 4 x JBL Pro Control 25-1 Speakers (under the large pavilion)
- JBL CSMA 2120 Mixer-Amplifier
- Sangean HDT-1 HD Radio Tuner
- AKG DST 99S Cardiod Gooseneck Microphone
The work involved:
- Ran new wire (Belden 6300UE) to the clubhouse and pump house speakers. Re-used existing wiring for the pavilion speakers. Removed the existing speakers (Boston Acoustics Soundware), then sold them to offset some of the cost. All wiring is run via conduit and behind attic spaces
- Purchased and installed 2 x -20 dB attenuators between the Sangean HDT-1 and JBL Mixer-Amplifier to overcome the “hot” nature of HDT-1 outputs (too loud). This makes balancing audio (i.e. absolute/relative volume of music and PA announcements) much easier.
Wireless Network
This project is detailed here.
Diving Board
This project is detailed here.
Club House (Basement) Plumbing Repairs
A plumber performed the following repairs in the clubhouse basement:
- Replaced lengths of 1.5″ and 2″ copper pipe to address persistent leak issues.
- Eliminated obsolete fixtures (no longer used) placed directly adjacent to electrical switchgear.
Pump House Plumbing Repairs
A plumber performed the following repairs in the pump house:
- Replaced two isolation valves (in disrepair) that allow the boiler (heater) to be removed from the pool water circulation loop in case of a leak or other failure. The operation of these isolation valves is critical.
- Replaced the boiler circulation pump (used to force circulation of heated water into the loop) due to a failed shaft seal. Due to the nature of the application (chemically treated pool water), a bronze housing pump is necessary, which makes this an expensive repair.
- Replaced a pipe (near the pump and isolation valve) to eliminate a leak.
- Replaced a ball valve (that had a broken handle) that allows isolation of city water flow into the slides.
Other Projects: Women’s Restroom
- Repaired ceiling drywall cracks and repainted the ceiling.
- Removed an in-wall Edison fuse. No longer required.
- Replaced an old/worn GFCI and light switches with 20 A commercial-grade devices. Installed stainless steel wall plates.
- Installed new ceiling boxes and attic wiring to support three additional light fixtures.
Other Projects: Men’s Restroom
- Removed the exhaust fan and louvers (previously vandalized) and temporarily covered them with wood. The seized motor was deemed non-repairable. The fan is planned to be replaced in 2021.
- Removed three in-wall Edison fuses. No longer required, and in several cases, were being used in an unsafe manner.
- Replaced an old/worn GFCI and light switches with 20 A commercial-grade devices. Installed stainless steel wall plates.
- Disconnected/removed old, non-functioning exhaust fans over the large room stalls and shower. These will be replaced in the future.
- Removed abandoned wiring from the attic (over both restrooms, including what appeared to be 70 V transformers from an in-clubhouse audio system of a prior generation).
Other Projects: Family Restroom
- Replaced the sink. The prior sink prematurely cracked and failed due to trapped water in the drain. In the future, additional measures will be taken to ensure the sink is drained.
- Replaced the drywall ceiling in the “changing room” portion of the family restroom. The existing ceiling was sagging about 2 inches before replacement. As of August, some trim work and finish are still needed.
- Installed 4 x 6-inch LED recessed lights. A note about placement: A somewhat non-conventional layout was used due to obstructions provided by ceiling joists and conduit in the attic.
- Replaced non-GFCI receptacles in the “changing room” portion with 20 A GFCI units out of an abundance of caution (may not be required; no running water in this room).
Other Projects: Pool
- Replaced four underwater pool bulbs (500 W). Cleaned glass and installed new gaskets (as a preventative measure for water tightness, per standard recommendation). Installed new stainless hardware, where necessary.
Other Projects: Pool Deck
- Installed a new white PVC divider fence outside the men’s and women’s restrooms. As of the end of 2020, a minor amount of finishing work remained for this project.
- Replaced damaged receptacles (at both the north-end and south-end of the pool deck) with 20 A commercial-grade devices. NOTE: These receptacles are not GFCI type, though they are protected via in-line GFCI devices within the pump house.
- Replaced the seals on both pool slides, eliminating water leaks.
- Re-assigned circuits such that the GFCI-protected receptacles on the pool deck are now active and available at all times. Previously, these receptacles were inappropriately shared with a pool light circuit.
- Added a 20 A GFCI breaker to the basement sub-panel for the pool deck post lights.
Other Projects: Snack Shack
- Corrected a significant receptacle wiring issue.
- Replaced receptacles with 20 A commercial-grade devices and installed all stainless steel wall plates.
- Re-assigned mixed-up circuits per code requirements (garbage disposal, countertop receptacles, and lights/fan are now on dedicated circuits).
- Installed a new receptacle and cover plate for garbage disposal (under the sink).
- Added a 2nd LED light fixture, utilizing an abandoned ceiling box.
- Installed a new exhaust fan (Broan L700) and corrected wiring issues. Removed the in-wall Edison fuse. Installed drywall as needed to enclose the new exhaust fan. Then, patched and painted the ceiling.
- Re-assigned receptacle circuits to ensure only one refrigeration unit is connected to each.
Other Projects: Lobby
- Installed replacement LED exit signs (with floodlights). Corrected wiring issues. Made minor drywall repairs.
- Removed an existing shelf and assorted wiring associated with the stereo amplifier (to the large pavilion), PA amplifier, and network equipment (some no longer functional). Patched and painted the left-over holes in the wall and ceiling.
- Installed a shelf under the front desk to support audio equipment.
- Installed network and audio boxes under the front desk to connect equipment.
- Replaced assorted light switches and receptacles (at least one was in significant disrepair) with new 20 A commercial-grade devices. Installed new white wall plates (where necessary).
- Removed surfaced-mounted phone wire (tacked-on by the cable company’s installer) and pulled new Cat 5e cable (in-wall, via an existing conduit) to a new phone plate. The wire is now routed to the basement network panel. While an analog cordless is in use now, this protects for a future VoIP handset (or network jack) upgrade.
- Replaced the single-gang box behind the lobby desk with a dual-gang box with built-in USB charging ports. Corrected a wiring issue.
- Upgraded the front desk PC with a solid state disk (SSD), re-imaged with a fresh installation of Windows 10. The small LCD (15-inch?) monitor was replaced with a 24-inch widescreen model. Replaced the keyboard and mouse. Added a battery backup (UPS), shared by the PC and audio system. Because of this, music and paging are still possible during a short-term power outage.
Other Projects: Club House Exterior
- Combined soffit light circuits and added an automatic timer (to turn on at dusk).
- Separated the front LED flood light from the soffit light circuits to allow independent control.
- Corrected wiring and installation issues with the front LED flood light.
- Removed an abandoned flood light in the soffit near the front door.
- Installed and/or replaced multiple receptacles with weather-resistant (WR) 20 A GFCI devices.
- Replaced old/damaged weatherproof in-use boxes.
- Cleaned up crooked conduit and an abandoned switch/receptacle on the north end of the building (rumored to be remnants of the long-removed filter for the baby pool).
- Replaced a dawn-to-dusk fixture with a new LED unit. It uses about 75% less energy than the mercury vapor unit it replaced. Pleasant, warm 3000 K color temperature matches other exterior lights. Water intrusion in the previous unit required wire replacement. Re-painted the mounting pole and installed all new mounting hardware.
- Corrected an exposed wiring issue on one of the exterior lamp posts.
Other Projects: Large and Small Pavilions
- Removed old (original?) speakers and wiring under the small pavilion. These speakers had been disconnected long ago.
- Removed left-over exposed network wiring from a prior WiFi repeater that had been disconnected (and was found to be broken).
- Installed new Windward 68″ indoor/outdoor ceiling fans with LED lights under the pavilion.
Other Projects: Grounds
- Removed a hazardous receptacle and broken/rusted conduit near the tennis courts. Inspected wiring for damage. Replaced with a new receptacle in a proper in-use covered housing. Re-wired within the pump house to be available and energized at all times for member use.
Other Projects: Basement
- Installed new stud walls and moisture-resistant drywall (as of the end of 2020, some of this is still pending completion).
- Installed oscillating wall-mounted fans to keep the basement dry (and free of mold).
- Added additional clamps to support under-joist sagging flexible conduit.
- Replaced rusted exterior wall-mounted steel electrical boxes and added a water barrier behind new boxes.
- Installed GFCIs for all basement receptacle circuits (water heater/heat tape/pump circuit excluded).
- Cleaned up abandoned and damaged fixtures and conduit.
- Fixed miscellaneous electrical workmanship issues.
- Installed new receptacles and switches per stud wall rebuild.
- We had the internal weeping tiles inspected/snaked to clear up the basement water issue. Blockage was found to be minimal. Instead, it appears to be a fundamental design/installation issue (this will be addressed in 2021 via the basement waterproofing project).
- Installed a ground bar in the basement sub-panel and cleaned up the wiring.
- Traced and labeled all circuits connected to the basement sub-panel. A new reference sheet has been created.
Other Projects: Basement Utility Room
- Covered the fresh air vent to reduce basement moisture. This vent is believed to be a remnant from a long-removed boiler system that required a lot of fresh air to operate.
- Re-purposed a former light fixture (from upstairs) with 4 x LED tubes to replace 2 x CFL bulbs, providing significantly greater light.
- Removed abandoned sprinkler system wiring (rusted wall-mounted boxes and conduit).
- Corrected an illegal shared neutral (same phase!) circuit condition.
- Installed a replacement Grundfos Alpha hot water re-circulation pump on a timer.
- Like the rest of the basement – new receptacles and switches installed.
Other Projects: Pump House
In December, planning began for a major project to overhaul the occupant safety & piping in the pump house. Due to the large scope, We will detail this project on a separate page.
We kicked off an extensive effort in the fall to document the systems in the pump house. The results of this effort are visualized and described in the wiki.
- Replaced a rotted portion of the fascia board.
- Corrected multiple circuit overload issues by carefully tracing, testing, and documenting all circuits to the pool deck.
- Re-assigned pool light circuits to properly distribute loads. Added three additional 20 A breakers to the panel. There are 10 x 500 W pool lights (5000 W total).
- Marked all circuits with letter designators at the panel, on all wires (pairs) in junction boxes, and CAD drawings for future reference.
- Added an in-line GFCI out of an abundance of caution to support the underground run to the receptacle near the tennis courts.
- Removed an abandoned 240 V 20 A breaker from the panel.
- Replaced all in-line GFCI devices due to significant visible rusting and/or corrosion on the existing devices.
- Replaced the failing display in the Chemtrol PC2100 (involved solder re-work).
- Installed a new junction box for network/audio to support future expansion.
- Installed new pH and ORP probes for the Chemtrol PC2100.
- Designed and installed a custom web-enabled controller for pool heater monitoring. This project is now described in more detail on a wiki page.
- Disconnected and removed a mostly abandoned water level probe system (no longer functional). Replacement of this system is possible in the future – keep an eye on the Wiki!
- Replaced all light switches with 20 A industrial grade devices less prone to rust/corrosion.
- Replaced all GFCI indoor receptacles.
- A GFCI was added for the pool heater and re-circulation pump.
- Confirmed proper torque for all panel lugs and performed a thermal inspection.
- Added chemical safety labels to the Chlorine tab and hydrochloric acid containers.
- Replaced a failed butterfly valve on the 6″ return line between the balancing tank and the strainer basket.
- Repaired failed wiring on the pool vacuum and properly installed connectors (loose-hanging, before work) and evaluated the battery.
- Installed a new ignition transformer in the pool heater (boiler). The existing unit was failing to produce adequate spark. As of September 6th, the flame sensor replacement is still pending.
- Installed a new garage door.
- Replaced the exhaust fan, shingles and roof deck to repair a long-term leak and wood rot issue. Replaced cut drip edge (see aforementioned fascia replacement).
- Removed heavily deteriorated shelving and many damaged materials (due to animal nesting, corrosion, and water exposure). Discarded scrap/unusable materials stored on the wall and in the overhead rafters.
- Secured the two large exterior vents (previously pushed in by animals) in the pump house by re-seating the screens and locking them in place with self-tapping sheet metal screws and fender washers. This should prevent further intrusion.
- Sealed pipe entry points in the north side brick with expanding foam to prevent animal intrusion.
- Temporarily boarded over a missing soffit vent to prevent animal intrusion. Further work on the soffits is proposed for 2021.
- Installed a new 1/2″ NPT 60 PSI pressure gauge on the left-most pressure tank.