Are there Benefits of having a Full Sheet Metal Shop in the HVAC Industry?

In the HVAC Industry today, a full sheet metal shop might be considered by some to be an unnecessary luxury, but we would argue that it’s a cornerstone of a successful operation.  The space saved alone by stocking flat metal instead of trunk lines and fittings is considerable, but there are several benefits and conveniences of our shop.  46 years of bending metal, building ductwork, making custom flashings, and playing with toys from tin snips to the welding machines, we’ve seen a few things.

Ductwork and fittings for new construction and retrofit systems needs to be carefully sized and balanced throughout the house to make sure that heating and cooling are distributed properly.  Having the ability to measure up the house, build our own insulated duct in-house, and making our own fittings and transitions ensures that our customers get a custom duct system that works with the unique design of their home.  Tight spaces can benefit from flex duct, but when we have room and can stretch our tin snips, we can design some truly beautiful duct!  Not many in our industry know how to design and build ductwork anymore; Stephens Heating is proud to say that we do!

Not every home or building needs a full duct system obviously, but retro-fits use this shop as well!  If a new furnace is a different measurement than old one, an off-set must be fabricated to transition from one size to another.  You guessed it; we build those.  Each job is different and unique and we are challenged, sometimes on a daily basis, with our metal fab skills.  This saves time ordering fittings and waiting on suppliers to deliver and allows us to install each system with a precision that prefab just can’t provide.

We regularly do small flashing and metal fab for contractors, painters, roofers and other trades as well as homeowners and do-it-yourselfers.  It’s always interesting to see what people are building, designing, or dreaming up that they need our expertise to finish.  My favorite are the artists who come around looking for scraps of different metals or need us to do one small thing to finish their project.  I will personally confess to using the sheet metal sheer in heels to cut paper.  Don’t judge, it worked and saved me a few minutes!  Never a dull moment in this shop.

Not everyone in our industry can afford the space for a full sheet metal shop, nor does every company need one, but we are proud of our legacy and we plan on keeping our shop going strong in the years to come, training new apprentices on these tools and machines so the next generations can pass along the knowledge.  Sheetmetal fabrication is a dying art.  I know what you’re thinking, but it IS an art!  Stop by our office and ask to see the old sheet metal layout books on our shelves; ductwork used to be beautiful if you can believe it.  You might not know it looking at our well-loved and lived-in shop, but some awesome things have come out of this big bay door and through this office and we’re not done by a long shot!