Gorilla and Mushroom Renovation

This is a common question asked by many in the forums... and thought it would be approiate to do a write up on this.

Trunking is the general term used for the white casing that is used to hide the insulation and copper pipes and water pipes that connects your compressor to your air-con unit (fan coils) on the wall.

Due to the different layout of each home and the postion of the fan coils, there is a need to plan the trunking to achieve a reduction of the unsightly looking casing and at the same time optimizing the length of the gas pipes to prolong the life of your air-con. This is because the longer your trunking (esp the copper pipes) is, the harder your compressor has to work to bring the cool air to your fan coils and draw the warm gas back, the shorter the life span of the compressor.

The procedures of installing the aircon is usually done this way:
1) Copper pipe and insulation
2) Water Pipe (if done separately from the copper piping )
3) The air-con fan coils and compressor

Depending on where you run the trunking, the contractor usually will make a minium of two trips to install your air-con, one for the trunking and the other for the system itself.

The first trip to install all the necessary trunking, then your painter can paint over them, including the area behind the air-con fan coils. On the second trip, they install the fan coils and compressor. Doing it this way will ensure that your no part of your brand new air-con will be painted by accident, and the finishing touches to the trunking is nicer looking when painted over with the same colors as your wall.

This of course is not compulsory, but a norm. If you are implementing a complicated theme, you may want to discuss with your air-con contractor to spilt the installation to more days.

There are various ways for the trunking to be routed. How you select will determine when the trunking can be installed.
If you are running your trunking all along the floor above the skirting, then the copper pipes and water pipes can only be installed after the flooring and skirting is done.

If you are thinking of hiding some of your air-con trunking behind the false ceiling first, then the trunking has to be done before your cornice/false ceiling man comes to install the false ceiling and L-boxes.

Normally, the air-con contractor will plan your trunking route with both the water pipe and the copper gas pipes in the same casing. You also have the option of running them separately, depending on the lay out and the trunk route plan of your unit as well.

The only way to know is to look at the floor plan, know where the overhead beams are, coupled with the renovation theme to plan your trunk route.

Regarding the insulation used, there are many types of insulation available in the market... and there is a very good write up on which thickness to choose from this site Singapore air-con.blogspot.com.

Again, which insulation you use and whether there is a limitation to how thick the insulation can be used in your home, will depend on the unit. For example, if you are using a System 4 air-con, and all your rooms are very far from the air-con ledge, the biggest 4 by 2 inch casing may not be able to contain the 1/2 inch insulation for all the gas pipes, there may be a need to downgrade it to the 1/4 inch insulation so that all the copper pipes can fit into one casing.

This has to be discussed in detail with your air-con contractor on site so that a good trunking route can be achieve.

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Related:
Air-con... How to select?
Air-con... A rough guide

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