Profile
Over the 17 years of working in the Engineering consulting industry Duane Tilden has enjoyed working on a large number of diverse projects. These projects include multi-residential developments, resorts, hospitals, banks and credit unions, commercial developments and strip malls, restaurants, supermarkets, schools and trade shops, assisted living facilities, natatoriums, Churches, institutions, and industrial facilities. In some instances projects may include elements of more than one type of listed facility.
Since 2000 Mr. Tilden has specialized in renovation, restoration and re-engineering of existing facilities related to pipe failure, replacement of piping systems, and Building System’s Plant and Energy upgrades. Duane has also performed engineering research as well as producing an expert witness report on behalf of BCBC.
Duane is a widely referenced blogger at http://duanetilden.com regarding the latest news on international energy trends, green building, sustainability, renewable energy, architecture and engineering, and social media.
A partial list of these projects follows with some highlights, and a more comprehensive list available upon request
Project: 115 Place Cooperative
Client: 115 Place Co-op Housing Association
Project Engineer: Duane M. Tilden P.Eng Crown Mechanical Consulting
Contractor: Harmony (Maverick) Building Services.
Domestic water system re-pipe for a multi-residential tower. The project entailed the replacement of the existing failing domestic water piping system. The existing system consisted of multiple risers running up each floor, which had common floor plates, behind the walls, with take-offs and shut-offs to the plumbing fixtures.
The water supply system was boosted, with the lower zone on regulated city water pressure, and the upper two zones water pressure on the booster system. This project was constructed in phases, with subsequent phases follow.
The new supply system consisted of ductile iron pipes running up in the garbage chute closet, with take-off for CPVC supply ring mains on each floor. The pipes were run around the perimeter of the hall, inside a rated enclosure to feed each suite. Shut-off valves to each suite were installed behind rated access panels.
The shut-off valves connected to the PEx piping system which was distributed throughout the suites in a plumbed fashion, using all high quality brass fittings, and quarter-turn shut-offs to each fixture.
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Jasmine Place Co-op: Domestic Water Pipe Replacement
Client: Jasmine Place Housing Co-operative (27 units)
Engineer: Duane M. Tilden, P.Eng (DEC Design)
Architect: NSDA Larry Cook – Architect AIBC, MRAIC, BEP
Contractor: Milani Plumbing & Heating,
This mechanical repipe of the domestic water piping system was scheduled to occur while the building envelope was being upgraded. The architect and Co-op decided that since a major renovation project had commenced to repair major leaks in the roof and exterior, that it would be a good time to replace the leaking domestic water piping.
The existing water piping system was piped from a mechanical room hot water heating system, and distributed in copper piping at the ceiling of the parkade to individual risers to the floors above. Risers ran up the 3 stories to each group of fixtures.
The new system was repiped using a combination of CPVC and PEx piping. New piping was hung in the parkade with a single set of hot and cold water risers to feed each suite in the 3 floors above. Shut offs were provided at the base of each riser. The riser fed to a shut off panel and distributed PEx piping system to all the fixtures in the suite.
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Project: Elderly Housing, renovation and renewal potable water system
Client: The Salvation Army
Engineering: Duane M. Tilden P.Eng / David Lee, Sr Associate Yoneda & Associates
Architect: Garth Ramsey – Architect AIBC NSDA
Contractor: Mierau Contractors Ltd.
Assisted living project for the Salvation Army. The project consisted of a newly constructed wing of housing units for the elderly, complete renovations of the middle services building, and a partial repipe of the existing residential housing complex.
The middle building contains full service commercial kitchen, laundry, chapel, offices, meetings and games rooms. The kitchen was redesigned requiring all new plumbing systems to be connected to existing.
Existing hot water systems were removed and a new hot water supply system was designed and installed to provide water to the new commercial kitchen, the laundry, washrooms, and to the 50+ assisted living units in the new wing.
The front building required a partial repipe of the mains in a separate contract as the hot water mains and recirculation piping had developed pinhole leaks. The rear building is the newly constructed wing of residential assisted living units. The contract included the design and construction management of all aspects.
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Project: Centerpoint – New Construction
Architect: Busby Perkins and Will Architects
Engineering: Duane Tilden, P.Eng
Mechanical Contractors: Broadway Mechanical / Merit Mechanical
Large development in Burnaby consisting of 35 storey residential tower (Burnaby’s tallest building), 6 storey commercial building, townhouses, two floors of retail with Best Buy as anchor tenant, 6 levels of of underground parking and a large green roof. Heating and cooling systems designed based on heat pump technologies complete with variable speed dry fluid cooling towers for free energy and boilers for back-up heat.
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Project: Delta Airport Hotel Upgrade
Engineering: Duane Tilden, P.Eng / David Lee; Yoneda Associates
Architect:
Mechanical Contractor:
Large $5,000,000 mechanical systems upgrade to existing hotel. All 415 guest suites had to have newly installed heat pump units to provide space conditioning to replace existing systems. Renovation work required phasing to remain functional facilities during the course of the construction. Work included new roof mounted cooling tower, installation of sprinkler systems, extension of systems to existing Elephant & Castle restaurant, and other work.
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Project:Poets Cove Luxury Resort
Client:
Engineering: Duane Tilden, P.Eng / William T. Vaughn P.Eng (DEC Design)
Architect:
Mechanical Contractor:
– Large resort on an island in the Georgia Strait which utilized sea water for geothermal heating and cooling.
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Abbeyfield House Domestic Water Re-pipe
Client: Abbeyfield Homes
Property Manager: City of Vancouver
Engineer: Duane M. Tilden, P.Eng (Yoneda & Associates)
Contractor: Milani Plumbing & Heating,Vern Milani, President
This domestic water re-pipe was quite interesting to me. The Abbeyfield was one of the first projects that Duane worked on as a budding engineer in training, under the supervision of a designer, in 1991/92.
In 2006 Mr. Tilden was invited to come back to the house and provide the engineering services to replace the failing copper domestic water piping system while working for Yoneda.
In this 3 storey and basement housing facility for the elderly, each resident has a room with a bathroom, as well as common large bathroom with therapeutic soaker tub, a large kitchen for community cooking, and downstairs laundry.
The hot water system had failed due to pinhole leaks which had developed in the recirculating hot water system over the 14 years of service. The leaks were causing significant water damage in various areas of the building, in the ceilings and walls.
After completing an invasive survey of the system it was proposed that completely new water system would installed. The new distributed water system was composed of CPVC piping for the larger pipes and recirculation system, with PEx piping to the individual bathrooms and other fixtures. All new pipe routing was required and the existing system was abandoned in place after switch-over.
Due to the unique floors and heritage character of the interior, careful planning and routing of the piping was necessary. The building was fully occupied during construction.
The mechanical contractor, Milani was contractually responsible for retaining their own general contracting services to restore all cuts, openings and finishes to original condition, and to provide enclosures, drops, access panels and shut-off valves.
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Rainbow’s End Housing Cooperative
Mechanical: Duane M. Tilden, P.Eng (DEC Design)
Client: B.C. Housing
Architect: Private
Contractor: Private
This project involved litigation. During the demolition phases the professional services of Mr. Tilden were retained to prepare an expert witness report for legal action between B.C. Housing and the original design team, consisting of Architect, Engineers and contractors.
In addition to these services, Mr. Tilden prepared the demolition plans as necessary to determine how much of the existing systems could be salvaged and what required redesign and replacement. Coordinating the demolition plans with new construction and systems as required.
This was a significant scope of work involving litigation, combined with demolition and new design and construction.
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Project:The Lazy Gourmet
Engineer: Duane Tilden, P.Eng, Yoneda & associates
Architect: Jack Lutsky
Mechanical Contractor:
– Renovated existing Legion Hall into restaurant / catering facility with office spaces on upper floor. Mechanical systems were designed to blend in with the award winning interior design.
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Project: Anahim Lake Elementary and Coluneetza Sr. Trade School
Engineer: Duane Tilden, P,Eng; Yoneda & Associates
Architect: Bernard Perreten Architects.
Mechanical Contractor; Tri-City Contracting
Replacement of an elementary school on reserve in Anahim Lake. Designed I designed a water treatment system and Hydronic heating systems, which included high efficiency boilers, well water treatment system with including sand filtration with backwash and UV disinfection. Ventilation units were located in mechanical mezzanine.
Project also included work performed on the Columneetza Senior Secondary Trade School in Williams Lake.
Columneetza Senior Secondary Trade School – Trades shops building replacement in Williams Lake, BC. Shops for welding, carpentry, automotive, machine works, electronics, plumbing and computers. Mechanical systems design included all HVAC, plumbing, compressed air, sawdust extraction, welding fume hoods, paint fume hoods, sprinkler systems and pressure washing.
Both projects were fairly extensive in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Districts of British Columbia.
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Dr. Peter Hospital – Hospital in Vancouver for HIV/AIDS patients. System utilizes geothermal ground loops for heating and cooling. CBIP application with Kurt Hepting, P.Eng. NSDA Architects / DEC Design
Columneetza Senior Secondary Shops – Trades shops building replacement in Williams Lake, BC. Shops for welding, carpentry, automotive, machine works, electronics, plumbing and computers. Mechanical systems design included all HVAC, plumbing, compressed air, sawdust extraction, welding fume hoods, paint fume hoods, sprinkler systems and pressure washing. Bernard Perreten Architect / Yoneda
Western Canadian Coal (Wolverine) Truck Maintenance Facility – Large coal truck maintenance facility located near Tumbler Ridge. Building included truck wash facilities using Hotsy system, in-slab radiant heating system, diesel fired heating system for high demand ventilations requirements, and office spaces. Westmar Engineering / Yoneda
WORK History
Project Development, Community Engineering Services, 2012 to Present
Work Experience Reviewer/Final Reviewer, APEGBC EIT/GIT, 2005 to Present
Sr. Project Manager/Sr. Engineer, Yoneda & Associates, Vancouver, BC, 2004 to 2007
Design Engineer, DEC Design Mechanical Consultants, New Westminster, BC, 2002 to 2003
Summit on Spirituality and Sustainability, The Round House, False Creek, Vancouver, BC, 2001
Mechanical Engineer, Pro-Bono consulting, Dhamma Surabhi – Vipassna Meditation Center built outside of Merritt, British Columbia.
Principal, Crown Mechanical Consulting, Burnaby, BC, 1997 to 2007
Mechanical Designer, Yoneda & Associates, Vancouver, BC, 1990 to 1997
Education and Training
Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC), 2001
- Completed Level C-1 “Fundamentals of Protective Coatings for Industrial Structures” for SSPC
British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, BC, 1991 to 1996
- Enrolled and completed a number of courses involving mechanical engineering design-HVAC, plumbing and drainage, BC Building Code, fire protection and computer programming with advanced AutoCAD (v12) courses including LISP programming
- Completed Introduction to Machine Design1 and Introduction to CAD/CAM 1
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, 1979 to 1986
- BA Sc (1984) in Metallurgical Engineering, graduated 3rd in class. Awarded the Frank A. Forward Memorial Scholarship in Metallurgy (1982), and C.S. Samis Award (1983)
- MA Sc. Program from 1984 to 1986 funded by a Great Award under Dr. Fred Weinberg (Department Head) and Dr. Indira Samesekera, Department of Metallurgical Engineering
Professional Associations
Member of APEGBC granted on January 20, 1998
Former Associate Member of ASHRAE
Former Member of SSPC
Websites
http://duanetilden.com The Latest News on International Energy Trends, Green Building, Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Architecture & Engineering, and Social Media