New Office Fit-Out Not Cold: Supply Grille Boxed In

A new office fit-out never cools properly and the system gets blamed. Whether it was specified wrongly or is delivering into nothing.

By Team Snowflake | Updated 24 Aug 2026

Teaching case based on recurring Snowflake service patterns; identifying details are combined.

How this presents

A newly completed office not reaching temperature, with the system commissioned and running as intended. Plant readings are normal and the fan is delivering its expected volume. The shortfall is in the space rather than in the equipment.

Setup: Mitsubishi Electric DuctedNew installOfficeMarina South
Misread as: A newly fitted system underperforming from the start, suggesting it was specified or installed wrongly.
Check first: Following each supply route to where it actually discharges

What else produces this

A system delivering its design volume while the room stays warm has to be losing the air somewhere between the two. That is not a fault in the ordinary sense and it will not appear in any test at the plant. It is how commissioning figures come to be perfect alongside a room that does not cool. Following each supply route to its outlet is the check, and it is done on foot with a ladder.

Normal volume and pressure at the plant confirm the system is producing what it was designed to.
A room failing to reach temperature despite that output places the loss after the equipment.
A supply outlet enclosed by new ceiling boxing shows where the air is being delivered instead.
Other outlets in the same space performing correctly confirm the design itself was sound.

Why it happens

Fit-out work adds bulkheads, boxing and feature ceilings after the air system is set out, and the two drawings rarely reconcile on site. An outlet enclosed by later construction still receives its full volume and delivers it into a sealed void. The system is working exactly as designed and the room never sees the air, which is why every reading taken at the plant looks correct.

What resolution involves

The boxing is opened and the outlet given a route into the room, restoring the design without altering the system. The general point matters more than this instance: when cooling fails immediately after building work, look at the building work first. Equipment that has been commissioned and proven does not usually fail in the same week the joinery goes in.

How to tell it worked

Air felt at the outlet from inside the room, not volume measured at the plant. Those two figures disagree in exactly this situation, and only one of them describes what the occupants get.

Before you approve a quote

A fit-out can hide the outlets along with the services

Plant readings prove the system is producing air. They say nothing about where the air ends up.
When cooling fails right after building work, inspect the building work before the equipment.
Follow every supply route to its outlet on foot. A commissioning sheet cannot show you a boxed-in grille.

Questions this case answers

Our office fit-out left one meeting room warm. Is the system low on gas?

The charge is not the problem: the plant readings were normal and the fan was delivering its expected volume, so the fault is a supply outlet enclosed by new ceiling boxing, discharging into a sealed void.

Can a vent be open and still deliver almost nothing?

Yes. An outlet enclosed by later boxing still receives its full volume but discharges into a sealed void, so from the room it can look open and deliver nothing. Following each supply route to where it actually discharges is what catches it.

How do I tell an airflow problem apart from a capacity problem?

Measure in the room, not at the plant. Normal volume and pressure at the equipment with one room still failing places the loss after the machine, and air felt at the outlet from inside the room settles whether supply is reaching the space.

Should the aircon side or the ceiling contractor handle this?

The ceiling side, because the outlet was boxed in by fit-out work rather than by the aircon. Opening the boxing and giving the outlet a route into the room restores the design without altering the system.

Ready to get started?

Tell us what’s going on. Symptoms, setup, photos, anything we should know. We’ll assess and come back with the right next step.

WhatsApp us