Monthly Archives: November 2012
Amazing underground scaffolding
This is one of my favorites. Yes, it’s technically under a building – the Philadelphia VA Medical Center but it’s still underground.
Superior Scaffold set this up so crews could get to the electrical underneath the floor of the hospital.
But that’s not the half of it. Getting the equipment into and beneath the hospital building was the major challenge. Check out the video for what was involved.
Superior salesman Tom Creighton did a bang up job estimating the layout and materials to make this happen. Not only is it under the building but it’s on a radical inclined as well.
Crews had to lug all of the materials through a maze beneath the hospital and then out a tiny door and then climb up a rope just to get to the bottom of the bottom. And then they had to assemble the scaffolding; all of this intricate craftsmanship to run new conduit from one electrical box to another!
In the end, the client was happy. The job was completed. And we got another story to tell.
For all of your scaffolding needs call Superior Scaffold (215) 743-2200
A renovation for the ARCH Building at University of Pennsylvania
Superior Scaffold salesman, Anthony Pini rocked the house on this job at the University of Pennsylvania’s ARCH Building (Arts, Research and Culture House) in Philadelphia, PA. Not only did he meet the client’s needs on every phase, but he went so far as to bring the crews coffee and donuts on several occasions. He’s is certainly the king of customer service for Superior Scaffold.
This is a very deceptive job from the outside because it’s shrouded from trees, signs, and netting. It masks the major renovation going on both inside and outside of this historic building. Built in 1929, it was in desperate need of a renovation. This $15 million redo will add new flourishes while preserving the original ornate structure.
The job was unique because it required Superior to scaffold half of the building so crews could get to the roof, façade, gables, balconies, windows, and even interiors all at the same time. It was truly a multi-trade scaffolding job. But the truly challenging part was that Superior crews had to take it all down and put it back up again when the work moved to the other side of the building.
You can see here that intricate woodworking around the ceiling also needed to be addressed, so Superior provided the University of Pennsylvania with several rolling towers for the inside of the massive structure.
The U of P had strict deadlines and timeframes for each phase of the job which Pini and Superior Scaffold met and exceeded.
How to change a light bulb – Scaffolding style
How do you change light bulbs on the ceiling above a giant spiral staircase that descends several floors?
You can see the light fixtures just out of reach from the railing in the shot. Sure, you could dangle precariously from several extension ladders, or you could cautiously lean over the edge while your coworker holds onto your belt loop while you reach with all of your might to grasp the super hot bulb and pray that you didn’t piss them off in the past. But then, how would you get to the recessed ones directly in the center? Hmmmm??? Or you could do it the Superior Scaffold way – using system scaffold.
The Cira Centre is a 29 story glass high-rise in the Universal City area of Philadelphia. You can’t miss the glass structure against the skyline. They had a problem. Several of the light bulbs in the ceiling had burned out and they couldn’t reach them to change them out. They called Superior Scaffold to devise a creative way to breach the spiral staircase in between the 24th and 26th floors so crews could replace the old bulbs with longer lasting energy efficient ones.
“The benefit of using system scaffolding in an area like this is that we can build the base around almost anything, even a spiral staircase. It’s very versatile and stable, especially when you need legs of different lengths or heights,” said estimator, Pat McAndrew.
You can see from the photos just how they built the scaffold to fit into and around the staircase.
So remember, when you’ve got something you can’t reach with a traditional ladder or other means – scaffolding just might be the trick.
More info on the Cira Center at 2929 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19104.
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