In July 2026, ABC Mechanical replaced the air conditioning for the fitness center at 300 Collins in Miami Beach in under 48 hours. On July 15 the ceiling grilles and panels came down, and the old fan coil unit was disconnected and pulled out. On July 16 a new high-efficiency fan coil went in, with press-fit copper connections, clean wiring, and every connection tested. The ceiling was closed up and the gym reopened cooler and more efficient. The video above shows the job from start to finish.
Nobody holds a meeting about a gym that is a little too warm. People just stop using it.
That is the quiet risk when the air conditioning in an amenity space gets old. At 300 Collins, a luxury residence on Collins Avenue in South Beach, the fitness center's old system had done its time. The building needed it replaced. The deadline we were given was 48 hours, max.
Why a gym is a hard room to cool
A gym asks more of an air conditioner than almost any other room in a building. People working out give off a lot of heat and a lot of moisture. In Miami, the air outside is already full of moisture. This gym also has big windows, which let the sun in. An undersized or worn-out unit loses that fight fast.
So the goal was not only a new unit. It was a unit that moves the right amount of air, runs efficiently, and goes in without turning the gym into a construction site for a week.
How the two days went
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Before the job
Plan and deadline
The sequence was worked out in advance, with the 48-hour limit as the starting point. Out with the old, in with high efficiency.
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Day 1, July 15
Tear-out
Grilles off. Ceiling panels down. The old unit was disconnected and pulled out.
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Day 2, July 16
Install
The new fan coil was set in place. Press-fit copper connections, clean wiring, and every connection tested.
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Finish
Back open
Ceiling closed, new grilles in place, system online. The gym was back open, cooler and more efficient. Total time on site: under two days.
Day 1: getting the old unit out
The old fan coil sat above the ceiling, out of sight, which is where most of them live. Before anything can come out, the grilles come off and the ceiling panels come down. Then the old unit has to be disconnected from everything feeding it and lowered out through the opening.
It sounds simple. It takes a crew that has done it before, because every connection has to come off cleanly before anything is lowered out.
Day 2: what went in
The new unit is a Nailor low-profile fan coil. A fan coil is a small air handler. A fan pulls room air across a coil, the coil cools it, and the fan sends it back out through the grille. Here is what the specs in the video mean in plain words.
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Low-profile
The unit is slim. That matters when the space above a ceiling is tight, because the new unit has to fit where the old one lived.
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1,000 CFM
CFM means cubic feet per minute. It is how much air the unit can move. Too little and the room never feels cool. Too much and the room can feel clammy, because the air does not stay on the coil long enough to dry out.
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Proportional ECM motors
An ECM motor can change its speed. Instead of running flat out all the time, it speeds up and slows down with what the room needs. That usually means less electricity and a steadier temperature.
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AHRI certified
AHRI is the industry group that runs certification programs for heating and cooling equipment. Certified means the ratings on the unit are backed by that program, not only by the manufacturer's word.
On the install side, the crew used press-fit copper. Press-fit connections are sealed with a press tool instead of a torch. That is quicker, and it means no open flame inside an occupied building. Then came the clean wiring, and then the step we never skip: every connection tested before the ceiling goes back up.
What a property manager can take from this
You do not need a gym in Miami Beach to use these. Any building with an amenity space, a lobby, a clubhouse or a conference room will face this job eventually.
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Find out what is above your ceiling
Most people have no idea how old their fan coil is, or what size. Ask for the make, the model and the age on a calm day. A contractor who knows what is up there can plan a swap in advance instead of guessing during a failure.
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Start with the deadline
On this job the limit was 48 hours, and the whole plan was built backward from it. If your gym, lobby or clubhouse has to be open by a certain day, say so first. It changes how the work is sequenced.
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Ask how the work gets done, not only how long it takes
Method matters in an occupied building. Ask about how connections are made, how clean the work area stays, and what gets tested before the ceiling is closed.
The part that matters most
When the gym reopened, it was cooler and more efficient than before. The people who use it did not have to think about any of this, which is how it should be.
Under two days, start to finish, with minimal downtime. That is the standard we try to hold on every replacement.
Sources
Project details in this article come from ABC Mechanical's project team and the job footage shown in the video above. Job dates are July 15 and July 16, 2026. Equipment details are as stated in the video. Plain-language explanations of fan coil terms are general industry background, not a statement about any other job.
- “HVAC Replacement in Under 48 Hours | 300 Collins Miami Beach | ABC Mechanical.” ABC Mechanical HVAC on YouTube. Project video showing the property, the Day 1 tear-out, the Day 2 install, the equipment specifications and the under-two-days timeline described in this article
- ABC Mechanical project team, July 15 and 16, 2026. Job sequence, dates and the 48-hour deadline