Correcting a Failed Installation — Condenser Racks

This job came to us after someone else had already done it. The original installation was carried out by a carpenter rather than a mechanical contractor, and one of the units had developed a refrigerant leak in the piping.

We repaired the leak and then corrected the underlying problem. Three condensers had been set directly on the roof surface, where they sit in standing water, trap debris under the coil, and block the roofing they are sitting on. We lifted all three and re-mounted them on 12-inch racks, clear of the membrane.

Refrigerant piping is not general construction work. It is brazed, pressure-tested, evacuated and charged to manufacturer specification, and a system installed by someone outside the trade will usually announce itself within a season or two — often, as here, as a leak.