Custom glass awning redesign and installation
With Pentillion Construction, I delivered a custom glass awning replacement where the design intent was clean and visually simple, but the existing building made the installation much more complicated than the drawings suggested.
The project replaced existing vinyl awnings with a suspended glass canopy system supported by steel outriggers and diagonal tie rods. The challenge was making that system work on the real building, with the right tolerance, alignment, drainage, serviceability, and installation sequence.
The hidden structure did not match the clean drawing
The upper tie-rod anchors were intended to connect back to the structural concrete spandrel beam, but that beam was hidden behind exposed-aggregate precast architectural panels with an inconsistent air gap behind them.
That changed the problem. The anchors could not simply be fastened as drawn, and the inconsistent gap made it difficult to scan the structure and confidently locate reinforcing steel before drilling. The installation needed enough field tolerance to avoid reinforcement while still leaving the finished awning visually aligned from the street.
Making the anchorage adjustable without looking like a fix
I helped investigate the existing condition and separate what was architectural cladding from what was part of the structural load path. That understanding shaped the redesign of the upper anchorage.
The detail needed to bridge through the architectural panel, connect back to the structure, and still allow the installer to shift final anchor locations where needed. The exposed cover plates then had to conceal that adjustment zone without looking like an afterthought.
The tie rods also had to stay visually aligned even when the hidden anchors had to move. The connection evolved toward a more adjustable arrangement using clevises and paired plates, with practical details such as wrench flats and opposite-handed threading so the rods could be adjusted in place.
Letting the glass layout respond to the building
The lower outriggers created another coordination problem. Their locations needed to avoid likely reinforcement while still supporting the glass layout. With the architect’s approval, the glass panel widths were allowed to vary within a controlled range so the steel supports could respond to the real structure instead of forcing a layout that was difficult to install.
The glass support detail also had to be reconsidered. A more fixed pressure-plate approach would have made installation and future service more difficult, especially if individual panels ever needed to be removed. Working with the installer, we moved toward a more serviceable approach that better suited how the glass would be handled, installed, and maintained.
Designing the corner so it could actually be fabricated
The corner conditions added another layer of practical design work. The corner framing had to coordinate glass sizes, steel fabrication, galvanizing, fit-up, and installation sequence.
I raised concerns about field welding galvanized steel and helped move the approach toward details that could be fabricated and installed more predictably. When galvanizing distortion became a concern, I helped look for a simpler framing approach that better matched the typical outriggers and reduced the risk of a distorted corner assembly.
Turning layout into a repeatable field process
A major part of my contribution was turning the layout problem into something the installer could repeat in the field. Because the outrigger and standoff locations varied along the building, there was no simple continuous datum for every cored opening.
I designed and 3D printed a positioning jig that sat on the installed outrigger and held a laser-cut template board for the core-hole locations. The template allowed the layout to shift when needed to avoid reinforcement while maintaining the relationship between the outrigger, standoff, and tie rod.
Dealing with drainage after the slope changed
The project also had to respond to drainage requirements. A late requirement changed the awning slope so water drained back toward the building rather than away from it.
That meant reviewing tie-rod geometry, glass slope, flashing, and gutter details so the finished system could manage water without creating maintenance or building-envelope problems. I helped develop a custom gutter approach that could be installed with the completed steel and glass while remaining serviceable and cleanable.
Keeping the work moving on site
Alongside the design and coordination work, I supported day-to-day site execution. That included coordinating with the architect, structural engineer, fabricators, glass contractor, sheet metal contractor, crane company, tenants, and site team; helping maintain scaffold access; developing site-specific safety procedures; removing existing awnings and flashing; coordinating electrical and signboard-related work; reviewing layout; resolving field discrepancies; and checking installation details as the work progressed.
A clear vision
The finished awning looks clean because we solved a lot of messy problems before they became visible. Hidden structure, reinforcement risk, anchor tolerance, glass layout, galvanizing, drainage, installation access, and future service all had to be handled together.
This project shows how I work between drawings and the field. I ask how an idea will be located, fabricated, adjusted, installed, drained, maintained, and handed off.
Commercial office renovation and kitchenette fit-out
With Pentillion Construction, I helped coordinate a smaller commercial office renovation that included new interior walls, soundproofing review, kitchenette design and installation, glass doors and glazing, flooring, lighting, painting, and HVAC ducting.
The work was a compact tenant-improvement scope, but it still required the same kind of field coordination that makes these projects succeed. The layout, finishes, glazing, kitchenette, and building-system work all had to come together in a way that made the space feel complete and usable rather than like a collection of separate trade scopes.
One part of the work involved reviewing interior walls for soundproofing considerations. Another involved designing and installing the kitchenette so it fit the tenant’s needs and the available space. Flooring, lighting, paint, glazing, and HVAC ducting then had to be coordinated with the broader renovation sequence.
The project is a smaller example of practical tenant-improvement work: understanding what the tenant needs, coordinating the trades and finishes, and following through on the field details that turn an office renovation into a functional finished space.
Industrial infrastructure project management at Harmac
My role at Harmac Pacific started early in my career and expanded my project management experience in an industrial operating environment. The work was different from commercial renovation work: the scale was larger, the consequences of downtime were higher, the stakeholders were broader, and the field conditions were often less forgiving.
The main thread was practical industrial coordination. I worked with operations, maintenance, trades, contractors, utilities, residents, property owners, environmental stakeholders, and regulatory agencies while helping move mechanical and infrastructure projects from planning into execution.
Pipeline replacement through difficult terrain
One of the major projects was part of Harmac’s water supply pipeline replacement. The work involved replacing roughly 1,200 metres of 52-inch creosote-soaked wooden stave pipe with 48-inch HDPE pipe. My role focused on managing and coordinating difficult stages of the work where the pipe route, access, environment, and existing structures made the work more complicated than a straightforward pipe replacement.
A key challenge was that sections of the old wooden pipe were on trestles over environmentally sensitive areas. Access was limited, the old material required care, and the project had to protect both the surrounding environment and the remaining support structures while keeping the replacement work moving.
Helicopter removal and trestle protection
For one difficult stage, the old pipe sections had to be removed from a trestle where conventional access was limited. I helped coordinate the removal strategy, including the use of a helicopter lift to remove old pipe sections from the site.
The new HDPE pipe also had to be pulled through a route where the trestle needed protection from excessive loading. Rather than defaulting to a more complex equipment approach, I helped develop a method using a sacrificial cable and a secondary restraint cable. The sacrificial cable provided a controlled weak link, while the restraint cable helped protect the trestle if the pulling force became too high.
That approach allowed the work to proceed without installing a torque-limited winch onto an excavator, reducing complexity while still giving the team a practical safeguard for the structure.
Simplifying another stage with culverts
On another stage of the pipeline work, I reviewed the constraints around existing trestles and HDPE pipe flexibility. Based on that review, I suggested removing unnecessary trestles and replacing the approach with culverts where appropriate.
That kind of decision was less dramatic than a helicopter lift, but it reflected the same pattern: understand the real constraint, check whether the assumed construction method is actually necessary, and look for a simpler path that still satisfies the project needs.
Chlorine dioxide mixer replacement
I also supported replacement of an aging chlorine dioxide mixer in a harsh pulp-mill chemical environment. The work involved materials and details that had to suit the service conditions, including titanium valves, 317L stainless steel, fiberglass components, and Derakane epoxy vinyl ester resin.
That project required coordination across safety, maintenance, operations, materials, procurement, contractors, and installation planning. In that environment, the design and material choices mattered because the equipment had to survive chemical exposure and fit into an operating industrial system.
Drawings, procurement, and contractor coordination
My work also included preparing RFQs and RFPs, using weighted criteria for contractor selection, and producing technical information needed by fabricators and contractors. I designed machinery bases and lifting equipment in SolidWorks and produced manufacturing, assembly, layout, foundation, and lifting drawings.
Those drawings were not just documentation. They were part of the handoff between engineering intent, fabrication, installation, safety planning, and field execution. In an industrial environment, unclear drawings or incomplete scope can quickly turn into shutdown risk, contractor confusion, or unsafe work conditions.
An early-career lift
This work came early in my career, but the systems and consequences were large. It put me in the middle of operating industrial infrastructure, environmental constraints, old structures, contractor decisions, hazardous-service equipment, and shutdown pressure.
The pattern still shows up in my later work: understand the system, verify the field condition, involve the right people, and find the practical path that lets the work move forward safely.
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