Portola Hotel Skylight and Spa Skylight Inspection

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The Portola Hotel and Spa is a comfortable hotel in Monterey, CA, offering stylish accommodations, great dining, and rejuvenating spa services in a unique area.

An onsite hotel skylight inspection and survey  was made on April 22nd, 2014 by Skylight Specialists, Inc. Represented by Rob Packard.

Skylights of concern are the upper and lower main lobby skylights.

(2 ea.) Structural aluminum I-beam skylights, manufactured by Ickes-Braun. 30’ x 80’ nominal. Ridge lights. Single clear glass with reflective film applied on the exterior. Glazed sides and ends. Includes venting section on one side only of both skylights.

Our Skylight Inspection Found:

The venting components of the skylights have become troublesome with difficulty in maintaining a reliable working system that ventilates hot air and condensation out of the interior. Certain sections frequently blow a fuse or do not work at all. Synchronization is sometimes out of whack where one section is closed and the other section is open.

  1. One section operated but had difficulty opening properly due to tension within the operating components. Adjusted the components to operate without binding. This dramatically improved the operation of the system. Cycled 2-3 times and it performed as needed.
  2. Two of the four electric motors do not function. This motor had obviously pulled heavy loads as the paint was burnt off the motor from overheating. The power cord wire running from the outlet to the control panel showed signs of having been overheated.
  3. There are many inconsistent areas of caulking application and also mistakes made in the butt joint sections.
  4. On one section a fuse was blown on the control panel. The fuse was replaced and the system operated with no issues.

Recommendations:

The control panel functions for the operation of the skylights seem to be operating as originally planned except for the rain sensor and the wind speed controls.

The motors are at least 36 years old and it is our recommendation that all four be replaced. Care should be taken to follow all manuals in possession to make sure the proper electric motor is acquired and wired properly to prevent premature failure.

The company responsible for applying the film on the exterior of the skylights did a fairly decent job of application. However, film companies do not focus on the importance of applying the wet seal or caulking to the system. A proper wet seal should be performed to create a leak proof skylight.

Inspection/Certification Nationwide — It all starts with a simple phone call.
1-866-759-7732

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