We’re Moving – (our blog)

Hello all!  The big day is here and we’re transferring our blog to our self hosted website – so hold on to your hats…It’s going to be fun and exciting and barely noticeable to you. Ha.

I’m telling you this because when we move our email subscribers will continue to receive email notifications as before but WordPress.com followers will only see new posts in the reader – you will not receive email updates UNLESS you subscribe to receive those on our new site. Make sense?

So, to recap. We are moving our blog to our new website so be sure to check us out there.

Easy. And as always, we are extremely thankful that you follow along with our scaffold travels.

We are thinking about keeping this blog alive for the fun adventures of Superior Scaffold. But until then we hope to see you over at the NEW SITE!!!!

Thank and have a wonderful day!

 

Superior Scaffold
http://www.superiorscaffold.com
(215) 743-2200

 

 

SWING, SWING, SWING, at The Sterling House, 18th & JFK (pt. 3)

As Louis Prima once sang, “Swing, swing, swing” – oh wait, close… “Sing, Sing, Sing – (with a swing)”.

But that’s just what Superior Scaffold did on the third phase of this project (See part 1 – and part 2) – Swing, Swing, Swing.

The Sterling Apartments is a unique building at the corner of JFK blvd and 18^th in downtown Philly. Superior had 2 36’ foot straight platforms on the front and sides of this building so crews could polish the metal on the facade. Very cool.

Here you can see crews working directly from the suspended scaffolding.

The second part of the swing scaffolding on this job came in the back of the building where they are demoing the old weight room and expanding on the 30^th floor. Superior provided 2 corner rigs so crews could work on the outside of the building at the top.

 

Most people actually associate “Sing, Sing, Sing” with Benny Goodman’s famous instrumental classic but it was really Luigi (Louis) Prima who wrote and first performed the song in 1936. I’ve included both versions her so take a listen and you chose which one you prefer.

And just for grins – here are the lyrics in case you want to belt it out!

Sing, sing, sing, sing
Everybody start to sing
La dee da, ho, ho, ho
Now you’re singing with a swing

Sing, sing, sing, sing
Everybody start to sing
La dee da, ho, ho, ho
Now you’re singing with a swing

And when the music goes around
Everybody goes to town
But here’s something you should know
Ho ho baby ho ho ho

Sing, sing, sing, sing
Everybody start to sing
La dee da, ho, ho, ho
Now you’re singing with a swing

And when the music goes around
Everybody goes to town
But here’s something you should know
Ho ho baby ho ho ho

Sing, sing, sing, sing
Everybody start to sing
La dee da, ho, ho, ho
Now you’re singing with a swing

 

And as always, if you need to Swing, Swing, Swing around your jobsite or building – call Superior Scaffold at (215)743-2200 or visit http://www.superiorscaffold.com!

 

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The Sterling House (part 2) – “Can’t you hear me knocking?”

We showed you the brilliant landing platform on the 30th floor of the Sterling House Apartments (18th & JFK) in our previous blog.  See it here: It’s a bird.  It’s a plane.  No, it’s a crane landing platform?  (part 1)  and I promised to bring you the second part.  So here it is…

Overhead sidewalk protection all around this building.

It’s a multipurpose overhead protection system (as you will see in the following pics) not only did it have to provide protection for the pedestrians around this busy apartment building but it also had to provide support for our swing staging all around the facade.  If you look to the right on the photo below you will see the tops of the motors peeking out above the panels.

And to do this – Superior Scaffold deployed the heavy duty 767 Philly canopy frames with steel beams on top.

One of the biggest challenges was to create a canopy over the entryway to the Sterling House down over the sidewalk.  It was quite a distance and at several elevations.  To bridge the gap Superior incorporated a series of system scaffold pieces into the overall design to create the perfect overhead sidewalk protecton for the client.  It’s almost like 2 separate canopies but you can see in the pic below how the one actually rests on top of the other.

This was a creative scaffolding solution to this problem.

 

And I wanted to point out our two latest safety features.  You might have already noticed the long yellow banners attached to the legs of the frame scaffold in the photos.  These say “warning tripping hazard” and are in response to the number of people walking the streets while staring down at their cell phones.

And the second safety change we’ve made recently comes at the bottom of the frame jack where the plate meets the concrete.  We now cut off the sides of the wood to fit the size of the jack plate completely – no more overhanging area for people to get caught up on while they walk and text and surf the web.  We are always looking for ways to make our scaffolding safer to the general public.  We will be constantly updating and improving as new insights become available.

Save some brain power for the Sterling House Pt 3 (“Swing, Swing, Swing”) coming real soon!

Call Superior Scaffold today at (215) 743-2200 for all of your scaffold, scaffolding needs.

 

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The resurrection of the old M. Night Shyamalan house.

Judging from the story and the new pics in todays Philadelphia Inquirer piece – the renovation of M. Night Shyamalan’s old house was a smashing success.

Superior provided scaffolding support all around the house during the renovation and even tented the entire structure with an enclosure system.

You can see all of the before pics in our blogpost here:

Superior Scaffold helps with the renovation of M. Night Shyamalan’s Old House

To see what Superior Scaffold can do for you – don’t hesitate to call (215) 743-2200 today.

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/260361321.html

 

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It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a crane landing platform? (part 1)

A lot of the renovation work at The Sterling House Apartments (18^th & JFK Blvd) is being done at the TOP of the building.

1. Updating the fitness center with an additional 1500 square feet, new equipment, personal TV’s, and larger windows with fantastic views of the city.
2. Adding a rooftop social deck with lounge seating, gas fireplace, and glass windscreens all around.
3. They are also doing modifications to the rooftop pool itself.

So, the million dollar question is:  How do they get all of the necessary building material up to the top floor without disturbing the tenants or damaging the interior of the building?

A BRILLIANT IDEA. (Not new, but just smart)

Superior erected a cantilevered LANDING PLATFORM on the 30^th floor so a crane can deposit materials outside and then they can be quickly rolled into the building right where the construction takes place. Brilliant.

Thanks to Karl Kalbach – Competent Person, Scaffold Builder, for the great pics.

The platform can accommodate 2000lbs of material and 2 men. It was rigged out of the back of the building so it’s accessible from the alley behind the complex. There is a ramp down the back so material can rolled directly into the construction area.

Photo by Karl Kalbach – Competent Person, Scaffold Builder

This is beneficial in several ways. First, the tenants can have regular use of their elevators and building while construction goes on. Large pieces of dry-wall and materials that might not fit into the elevators or up the stairs to the 30^th floor can get up quickly without any damage to the interior.  Not a new idea but a very cool one.

Courtesy Karl Kalbach – Scaffold Builder

Crews use the crane to get the necessary materials up to the desired floor.  It’s all set up behind the building so it won’t disrupt the busy traffic out front.

Here you get to see the crane in the background – as well as Superior Scaffold’s awesome overhead protect and swing staging working on the facade of the building.

Superior had all of it’s disciplines represented at this job –  I will detail those in part 2 (“Can you hear me knockin’?”)

We just don’t get to see debris chutes very often and sure enough – we had one down below on this job – so here you go.

For all of your scaffold, scaffolding, equipment rental, needs call Superior Scaffold at (215) 743-2200 today.

 

 

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Customizing your overhead protection – The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, PA

Superior Scaffold doesn’t just install the safest, best looking canopies (overhead protection) in the city we also customize them to our customer’s needs.  We can match the color and content of your brand to maximize exposure for your company.

Case in point is the aluminum canopy we installed at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, one of Philadelphia’s premiere hotels located at 10 Avenue Of The Arts, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

The Ritz’s elegant brand needed to be conveyed all through their facade inspection and renovation process. (that can take up to two years).  Who wants an eyesore in front of their business for that amount of time?

That’s why Superior Scaffold works with their clients to create the most aesthetically pleasing product on the market.  The first step on this job was to create an stylish aluminum canopy that would be tall enough to allow guests very few obstructions.  Our brushed aluminum scaffolding was just the ticket.

  

The Ritz-Carlton also wanted their luxurious blue conveyed on the outside of the scaffold as well.  We custom painted the panels to match their logo – giving this sidewalk shed an almost regal feel.

  
And the final touch was the special color debris netting we added to finish this functional masterpiece.

Other challenges included the special beam sizes needed to span the load over the train station exit at one end of the canopy.

This facade work was completed and the Ritz-Carlton is looking fabulous – another satisfied client.

  

As always, I like to show you the project being erected – so here are a few shots as the job went up.  Enjoy!

  

Call 215 743-2200 and ask Superior Scaffold how they can create a custom canopy for your project.

  

Join us next time for completely customizing your canopy – or sprucing up your sidewalk shed!

 

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Suspended Scaffold & Overhead Protection at Rittenhouse Plaza, Philadelphia

Deep in the heart of Philadelphia’s most prestigious historic district (Rittenhouse Square) is this gem of a pre-war building called Rittenhouse Plaza at 19^th and Walnut.  The historical structure of this building is being preserved to retain the integrity of the original design (1926).

Superior Scaffold was called in to help get crews all around the perimeter of this 21 story art deco building while they give it an extensive exterior restoration.  Our experience working with historic buildings gave us the upper hand in designing a suspended scaffold plan to get crews onto the facade.  Bob Sarkisian, V.P. of Suspended Scaffolds worked extensively with the client on the best approach to complete this job.  Ultimately, there were multiple suspended scaffolds working simultaneously to finish the job.

 

Because it the building’s design and limited access to the roof area, Sarkisian spent many hours working with the clients designing the rigging and platform layout for utmost access and safety.  You can see in this photo where he had to place the outriggers and counter weights to balance the suspended scaffolds.  If you look carefully at some of these other photos around the back and sides you can see the swings and the outriggers.

And in these photos you can see the shape of the building and how the staging was building to accommodate the corners (to get the most real estate for crews)

Superior also designed a fully functional overhead protection system that allowed the work to continue overhead while everything went on business as usual down below.

Crews were able to complete the restoration work on time and within budget helping make the Rittenhouse Plaza shine to its proper glory.

Some fun facts about The Plaza:

*The building is a Co-Op and not a condominium.
*1901 Walnut St. is finished in an Art Deco Style, and has one of the most visually interesting lobbies in town.
*When first constructed in the 1920’s, the building was designed in such a way that it basically could be split down the middle,
and would be the same on both sides. Two elevator banks, serving 3 units per floor.
*Elevators were manned until the mid 1990’s…today, they are fully automated 🙂

http://www.centercitycondos.com/high_rises/rittenhouse_plaza.html

Call Superior Scaffold today for all of your suspended scaffold and overhead protection needs.  (215) 743-2200

Superior Scaffold Sidewalk Shed: The key to commerce.

To some this might seem a bit commonplace, since you see them everywhere, but to us it’s the key to commerce.  These canopies are what keep industry rolling.  Just think about it for a minute.  If we didn’t construct these sidewalk sheds around buildings that were doing façade work or window replacement or brick and mortar repointing, everything would shut down.  No food for the tenants, no around the corner morning coffees, no treats or ice cream – nothing.  These are our very own little stimulus package.

Many times, just like with this canopy, it serves a dual purpose; one, keeping the building and byways open for business while protecting the patrons and two; it also works as a platform for our swing stages.  (We will have some additional pics later).

These are known by a couple of names – Canopy, sidewalk shed, overhead protection.  It really doesn’t matter which one you use or prefer but the result is the same.  I never really understood the term “Sidewalk Shed”.  Maybe it’s because it’s shaped like a shed and provides protection overhead and from the sides?  It’s sits on the sidewalk, that part makes sense but it’s really not a shed, it’s more of a walkway, a passage, a throughput… Hmm????   I looked up the term Shed in the dictionary and this is what it said: a slight structure built for shelter or storage; especially :  a single-storied building with one or more sides unenclosed.  Someone in the office suggested that the term might have come from train shed, or snow shed.  He mentioned that it might be anything with sides and a roof and then said that it could have come from NYC – back when they used to use corrugated metal on the sides so they looked like a shed.  I don’t know.  Googling around really didn’t produce much – other than: A sidewalk shed must be erected whenever materials will be hoisted over the sidewalk, regardless of building height or horizontal distance between building and sidewalk.

This is a very well designed and constructed canopy at the corner of 20^th and JFK, in Center City, Philly.  It’s what we call an extra-tall canopy to clear the giant storefront windows.  Superior Scaffold can accommodate any scenario – large, small, medium, wide, short, we customize them to every job.  We can add different colors that accent the building (see our Amtrak canopy blog) put debris netting around the top for added protection, and even completely enclose the sides to protect against the elements.

So, the next time you are walking through Philadelphia or any city, for that matter, take a moment to thank your scaffolding company (Superior Scaffold on the East Coast) for their work helping to keep your city moving and open for business.

And if you find yourself in need of a Canopy, Sidewalk Shed, Overhead Protection, or sidewalk bridge – pick up the phone and call Superior Scaffold today at (215) 743-2200 or visite www.superiorscaffold.com.

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Superior Scaffold doing double duty

In this edition of “Scaffolding Philadelphia” we get to show you how we can do double duty with our scaffolding creations.

This particular story was previously documented in the number 1 hit blog “Bend Me, Shape Me” that detailed the versatility of the altrex staging used by our suspeded scaffold division.  But this soon to be number one blog hit “Double Duty” (I can see Foreigner singing the theme song here or since this is a Tony P job – even Journey with Steve Perry) details the lower half of the job at City View.

Not  only did this overhead protection have to protect the general public from all of the window and facade work going on above them but it also had to become the platforms for the swings to sit on at the end of the day.

This is a fairly extensive canopy that had to allow for the entire walkway, entryway, and even shops to remain open during the entire phase of renovation.

The people at 2001 Hamilton St, Philadelphia, PA 19130 were more than gracious while Superior Scaffold erected this sidewalk shed out front.  Here’s a shot of the  job as it is being built.

 

Here’s a shot from the roof where you can see the outrigger for the swings dangling below.

And this is a shot of the building’s setback that the swing department had to negotiate.  See the shots below on how they managed that – or read the “Bend Me, Shape Me” blog.

 

The day I was “up air” super salesman, Anthony Pini, provided coffee and donuts for the crew.  It obviously paid off because not only did the overhead protection do the job but it looked great as well.

You can see the extensive work crews did to keep this patio restaurant open for business.

If you need a sidewalk shed, overhead protection, a canopy or even a custom swing (Suspended Scaffold) job call Superior Scaffold today at (215) 743-2200 and ask for Tony P.

Amtrak rides the Superior Scaffold rails around the entire building

Superior Scaffold is proud to be providing scaffolding support for Amrak’s renovation of their 30^th St. Station in downtown Philadelphia.  The historic building that opened in 1933 will get a much needed facelift.  It’s an incredible looking structure and can you just imagine what it’s going to be like when it’s finished?  Wow…

Amtrak wants to make the neoclassical 30th Street Station a more welcoming gateway to West Philadelphia and Center City.  The 30th Street Station handles 120 Amtrak trains, 960 SEPTA trains, and 26 NJ Transit trains each weekday. More than four million Amtrak passengers went through the station last year.

Superior’s first order of business was to erect canopies and sidewalk protection around the entire building – and that’s a good sized building.  The station is a hustling, bustling metropolis all of its own with cars, buses, and lots of people all the time.   Those are just some of the challenges faced when erecting scaffolding around a busy building like this.  For that reason, most of the work was done at night as pedestrian and vehicle traffic was diminished.

I love this part of the description because we actually get to see BEFORE and AFTER shots of the scaffolding (something we don’t always get).  But this gives you an insider’s look at just what goes into scaffolding an historic building like this.  It also lets us see some the challenges crews face.

The jersey barriers on each side were quite the problem.  Superior had to scaffold around all the physical obstacles, lamp posts, bollards, parking meters, taxi cabs, pedestrians.

All of 30th Street Station is hollow underneath so Amtrak required Superior to build canopies on top of barriers to distribute weight load.

This was done so scaffolding can be installed on top of the canopy to do facade restoration.

Amtrak even specified the type and color of paint…a beautiful soft green. Customizing the look and color of a canopy is an option that many of our clients choose.

This is going to be an 8 – 10 year project.

Superior had to construct overhead protection at different elevations for buses, cars and pedestrians.

The biggest challenge was finding jersey barriers with one flat side as Amtrak mandated.

Fortunately Rob Buckley from Buckley Construction had what the doctor ordered.  177 – 12′ barriers.

Next challenge was setting them in place. We used a lull and a unique clamp made just for lifting the barriers.

We also had to cut many of them to fit into Amtrak’s layout (parking meters, doors, etc.) It’s not easy cutting concrete barriers!

Some shots to give you an idea of the scope of work with the canopies and overhead protection.

Before.

After.

Some of the detailed work that goes into doing an extensive job like this.

These structures are just the first phase in an extensive renovation.  They have to be strong enough to support additional scaffoling when they start renovating the facade of the building.

Superior provides scaffolding for renovations, inspections, new construction – just about any type of project.

Give us a call today at (215) 743-2200 or visit www.superiorscaffold.com for more information.

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