Getting our ducts in a row

George, the air-system installer, had called out measurements, and Peter (left) his nephew and helper for the day, was fabricating them out of big sheets of insulating material ready for cutting, folding, stapling and taping.

Once again, I got a quick course in Construction 101.

You can see the big sections of square tubing standing up at the right of the top picture.

When George had to install a bend (which you avoid where possible, for optimal airflow), he used some basic solid geometry and a big, sharp knife to create an offset.

As I was watching him join and seal the sections -- leveling, strapping, "painting" with heatproof sealant -- George turned and asked with a smile, "Hey, you tryin' to steal my trade?"

No way, I laughed, but it's always fun to watch a good teacher.

Less fun was the itch that seemed to start on every part of exposed skin at once. It's the fiberglass -- not a problem when the ducts are up, but during fabrication is a different matter. The HVAC guys said they're used to it by now.

They got about two-thirds of the stuff installed Sunday, and barring urgent need they'll be back next weekend to finish up -- they'd rather not get other trades itchy or underfoot.