A World Of Angles

So much of this construction revolves around rectangles, it seems. Once the work with dirt (filling the gulley) was finished—work that couldn’t be confined to geometric boundaries as we usually think of them—we’ve been in the realm of 90 degree angles. Tennis courts (here getting fenced), the theater lobby (getting enclosed with roofing--not really on its side!), the gym annex (walls up) are all being defined clearly as rectangles.

The photo taken inside the theater proper—the one in which you see the light and shadow on the wall-- demonstrates the interesting aspect of the different type of roof decking used on this part of the building. Since acoustics is so important in theaters, the builders use acoustical decking which has holes in it. The grooves in the corrugated panels are filled with a material that will absorb the sound and prevent unwanted resonance and echoes. Whoever would have thought…?

Something Old, Something New; Something Hidden Now in View

From old to new: the old tennis court is loosing its fencing and will soon be ready for parking. The academy's own maintenance people are taking care of this job. The new courts have all the poles in place and await a paint job that will define the courts and bring them to requirements in size and color. As you can see, fencing is still needed. This is a sort of ground hog view of the area.
The annex is revealing much more of its inner structure with its rooms and passageways being defined as the men lay the concrete blocks. Around the corner, the roof is just about defined by the beams that are almost all in place in the photo. Easily seen are the way the beams fit into the wall. Once in, they are bolted in place which means that the i-beams must have holes in the right places when they leave the foundry, and the masons must know where to leave holes in the walls. The pre-planning is phenomenal. The crane, a smaller one again, is sitting firmly in place in the area of the main entrance to the theater. One can imagine crowds in its place in the not too distant future. Good things come to those who wait in patience--for us now, and for the crowds of the future.

Up On The Housetop...

And now for the metal decking (corrugated panels being put on the top of the trusses). These panels will be welded to the trusses, and will support the membrane that comes next in the roofing process. Is there any order in which the decking panels are placed? It doesn't seem so at this stage, but they will cover the whole top of the theater eventually. The beams for the lobby roof will be arriving this week. Then the whole theater will be in various stages of being roofed. Under the roofing as it is now, we can see a good deal of the cat walks. It's easiest to make out on the stage, which is what you see in one of the photos, but the catwalk extends out over the audience area because of the lighting that will be fixed to beams out there. Working the lights will be an adventure in itself.

The other act that is developing on the site is the progressive rising of the gym annex walls. This part of the construction also promises to be under roof very soon . Up on the hill all the poles are up on the tennis court, and, contrary to what was recorded here several days ago, the fencing will be brand new. The usable fencing from the old courts will be used at the east end of the track area. Moving right along....

The Dance Of The Gloved Hand

So what's going on up there? How does the crane operator know if he's guiding the truss or whatever in the right direction--exactly? The man sitting on the parapet is the west wall man who is giving hand signals to the crane operator down in the west yard. This blogger was quite fascinated with the apparent expressiveness of these signals--they were as good as words, maybe better. (Again, be sure to click on the photo.) We can see the east wall man in a bucket, in his turn also giving signals which the crane operator certainly can't see. Is the west wall man relaying these, or is a point man down on the floor the relay person? Whichever it is, the truss in these pictures is snugly brought to its resting place--in the hole reserved for it on the east wall and the slot left for it on the west wall. The man on either side then welds it into place. The man in the middle bucket must disconnect the cable spreaders, the lines attached to the truss. Notice the harnesses on the men in the buckets. These are attached a tether line that acts as a safety line in case a worker would lean too far out from the bucket and fall. We do pray frequently for the safety of the workers! The vertical bars that are hanging from the truss in one picture are hangers for the catwalk. Finally, we can see the "dash board" in a parked bucket. The men we see in the photos above are not only performing their various tasks in the air, but are also maneuvering the vehicle from which the bucket extends. All of this requires a great deal of concentration in order to remain safe and efficient, one would think.
The next posting will show the next act on the roof. Be sure to come back after the break!

Up, Up, and...Wait, Not Too Far!

The photos show a progression of action in the process of placing trusses on the theater frame to support the roof. (Be sure to click on the pictures so you can see what's really going on). Yard work is needed first--the trusses, 80 feet long, must be given a final prep before being borne aloft. Then each is lifted to the top and lowered into place. There the men await to assist in the placing of each truss. These men, one at either end, then weld the truss into its final destination. This process for each truss can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes. It will take the afternoon of one day and the morning of the next to get in place all the trusses as well as the floors of the catwalks and anything other metal frame that must go close to the inside top of the theater. Subsequent blogs will feature more pictures and explanations of this whole process which captivated the viewers on the fourth floor (convent) of the school. Answered will be such questions as, "How can the crane operator know where to go with anything he's put aloft?"

Site Manager's Photos

The 80' steel trusses came in around noon today, and were quickly unloaded. The crane operator began the process of lifting the trusses aloft and placing them with the help of the iron workers stationed above. The Hemmer site manager, Steve McVey, has been kind enough to take some photographs on this crucial day when the blogger couldn't be here. In the bottom photo can be seen the south east corner of the stage with the beams placed on Tuesday as well as a portion of the cat walk.

Steel Yourself

The tennis court has been blacktopped and is now being fenced. The fencing will come from the present court. The east wall of the theater has been completely bricked while the south wall facing the expressway is well on its way.

Today's big act in the drama is the arrival of the shorter beams of steel (largest about a ton) and their placement inside the theater. First, the unloading, some shorter pieces in the yard, bigger beams lifted into the inside over the west wall. The crane then moves into the theater via the large temporary opening, and puts out its stabilizing arms. It then lifts the beams that have been laid on the theater floor so that they will all rest on their sides. Notice (below in Inside Job) that this exposes holes that the lifting cables can be attached to. After all beams are so placed and each in turn fixed to the crane line, the crane operator lifts one after the other and swings it over the stage. All these beams will be placed over the stage area today and will support the cat walk and lighting apparatus. In the photos you can see the holes on the wing wall and back wall. These hold the beams in those respective places. There are bolts standing up in the wall holes so that the beams can be bolted in. The beam that stretches across the front of the stage is marked at the foundry so that the iron workers will know where each cross beam is to be placed to line up with the hole in the wall at the other end. This blogger was fortunate to receive a hard hat today and taken onto the site where she could indulge in her photo mania. Tomorrow, the 80 ft. joists arrive--an even bigger act in this drama! Can you guess where they will go?