Cooler Days Ahead: $1.65 million HVAC replacement underway at First Baptist

Pictured above: A 200 tonne crane soars above the Downtown Newnan skyline as it was used to hoist new HVAC equipment onto the roof of First Baptist Church of Newnan on Thursday, January 4, 2024. (Credit: Caleb Barker / Mileshko.com)

From Headley Construction

First Baptist Church of Newnan reached a major milestone this month during the extensive replacement of an outdated HVAC system serving its Sanctuary and Sunday School Building.

It was hard to miss the 200 tonne crane and jib stretching 250 feet into the air from the corner of Madison and College Streets on Thursday, January 4, 2024. The church has partnered with Headley Construction to complete one of its most significant energy efficiency projects to date. Newnan’s oldest general contractor is well-known for its work on local worship spaces, approaching complex improvements to historic churches with good stewardship and positive impact on future generations in mind.

Founded in 1828, First Baptist has grown from a log cabin assembly to a thriving multi-building campus, a spiritual home to a continually growing community. Headley Construction previously served the church on a $1.4 million renovation in 2016. While the upgraded spaces and sanctuary improvements met the congregation’s needs, the dated HVAC system did not.

“With these old two-pipe systems, it’s really cumbersome to change over from heat to cool or cool to heat,” explained Superintendent Kyle Ibsen as he oversaw a skilled crane operator and crew hoist the new 4,000-pound chiller unit over one of the church buildings to its resting place on a galvanized steel platform on the roof of another. “We’re going to a modern four-pipe system. Before, it was at least a day, sometimes day and a half, of downtime between heat and cold. Now, in the spring and fall months, when its cool in the morning and warm in the evenings, the temperature will just automatically adjust.”

In addition to carefully coordinating installation of the enormous chiller, Ibsen is closely collaborating with Daryl Schrock of Addison Smith Mechanical Contractor and his crews to finish duct work in the sanctuary building, replace air handler units, and complete extensive pipe fitting on schedule and within budget.

“We had to weld and run about 300 feet of steel pipe to both this new unit on the roof and a boiler located in the basement. Next, we will begin hooking the unit up, running electricity to it,” Ibsen continued. Headley Construction maintains a strong commitment to hiring local subcontractors and will use Shenandoah Electrical Services to perform that work.

As the project progressed, the project team led by Headley Construction’s President Mitch Headley, Engineer Rob Muzio, and Michael Miller, First Baptist’s Building Committee Chair, realized an opportunity to recover funds for the church with the salvaging of the original chiller and sale of its refrigerant.

“Since we were founded, we’ve always strived to provide the highest quality construction for the lowest cost,” mentioned Mitch Headley as he watched the towering crane carefully lift the new unit. “But when we can figure out how to put a little money back into our client’s pocket on a major air conditioning project like this? Well, that’s just cool.”