Woodworking Facilities

Okay kiddos! Here is the “buzz” on Wood working facilities and the codes that dictate them. I am going to mention this now, and never again in this session because I know very little of the details to my statement. Upfitting woodworking facilities ain’t cheap. Let's just say, they'll cut into your budget pretty well!

The basics, when deciding to start a woodworking facility:


You need sprinklers in your building.
You need to occupy a non combustible building
You’ll need to have fire alarms (full fire alarm)
You need to provide your awesome and very helpful designer with all of your equipment specs so he/she can pass it on to the electrical engineer to determine panel sizing.
You’ll need to provide a UL listed dust collection system. This is where it gets fun. There are now (2) approved methods of dust collection.

The peskiest part of upfitting a woodworking facility is presenting it to the County. Building reviewers and Fire Reviewers cringe and wince at the very mention of wood, let alone sawing wood. It actually puts reminds me of Johnny Depp’s version of Willy Wonka when he has to say the word, “parents”. Working closely with the reviewers will only help you in the long run.

To simply state it, the reviewers want all the dust in the air from the saws and equipment to be absolutely contained within the dust collection system, and if, for some reason it is not, they want the National Guard to find out about it and get the dust under control…STAT. Sometimes you may wonder why the national security threat is at "Orange", well now you know. You may laugh, but it’s pretty close to true!

Just think, if the beloved "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" had set up his show in Charlotte, it would never have aired. It would have been just too risky, even with Al there to keep things in check. Good thing it wasn't real anyway.

Maybe there is some alternate universe in North Carolina that only the code reviewers know about. If airborne dust particles catch fire inside a concrete facility, it becomes a breeding ground for the procreation of evil nymphs that have been hidden away from mortal man for thousands of years. Where do you think Sarah Palin came from?

In the reviewers universe, if a facility caught fire it would be a scene out of Independence Day. I am not sure if this county is trying to avoid the negative media attention or the really bad speech by Bill Pullman…. Either way, I concur. I don’t want that either!




“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”




- President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman in Indepedence Day)





Yikes.

- Beth Herbst (Concerned movie goer)