Superior Scaffold hangs a whopper of a job at Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY

This is a monstor of a job.  We promised some photos and since we, at Superior Scaffold, keep our promises – here they are.

 

It’s hard to believe that this all hangs 40 feet ABOVE the entire gaming room floor while people are hustling and bustling about underneath.

They sit above the interior that is the size of 2 full length football fields.

   

These wings or fingers are 300 and 400 feet long!

   

What this project entails is getting crews up underneath the ceiling while the casino remains open for business as usual so they can get the new HVAC and mechanicals installed.

 

The solution came in the form of what is called a multi-point suspended scaffold.  It’s not only wide, but stable enough to hold equipment, rolling towers, HVAC piping, etc.

These giant work platforms actually hang from chains from the arched trusses at the ceiling.  It’s netted in so nothing can fall off of the sides and its sturdy enough to support just about anything you can put onto it.

       

We’ve done these before (see blog on Hanging bridge platform) but never at this scale.

   

The ceiling has giant arches which of course curve and give different elevations along that curve.  So the challenge for our crews was to get the lengths of chains correct over the entire spans of this platform while they were assembling them to keep the platform perfectly level.

 

The segments had to hang at different elevations from the trusses to accommodate the particular ducting and venting going on up there.  Some lengths would be 20 feet while others would be 10 and so forth.  But once our guys go the proper lengths in place the platform was installed, level and sturdy.

Here is a video so you can see in real time what these platforms look like.

There aren’t many comapanies that can or will undertake an immense job like this.  Our star estimator, Anthony Pini, made it his personal mission to come up with solutions to solve this engineering problem – and his team succeeded without incident.

The new HVAC and mechanicals are installed and everyone at the Seneca Niagara Casini can literally breathe easier!

Call Superior Scaffold today at (215) 743-2200 for solutions to your unique scaffolding project.  Ask for Tom Cruise, AKA Tony Pini.

Triple the action for Superior Scaffold at the Old Dublin Pike Bridge in Doylestown, PA.

The stone arch bridge was originally constructed back in 1875 and then rehabbed in 1947.  So it was time for a reconditioning – seems that this old bridge still has over 5,000 cars travel over her every day in Doylestown, PA.  Crews needed a way to support the structure and to get into the arches to repair the stones and masonry while keeping the road open above.

 

This was the challenge for Superior Scaffold.

 

First order of business was diverting the river through two of the arches so one could be fairly dry while the scaffolding was erected.  Then, once that was built, the water had to be diverted again so the second, and then third arch could be constructed.

 

The next challenge was how to best shore up the arches so work could be completed but also support enough weight for heavy machinery traveling the road over head.  Superior engineer Bob Robinson decided on 20k scaffold frames to hold up the shoring beams and wood supports.  It allowed the road to remain open for business while construction crews completed the work below.

 

It’s a unique way to solve the problem and keep a major thoroughfare open.

The job went off without a hitch and the mighty river is flowing once again and cars are happily traveling over the old bridge in Buck County.

Call Superior Scaffold at 215 743-2200 or go to http://www.superiorscaffold.com for all of your scaffolding and shoring needs.

Superior Scaffold and the historical Bausman Memorial United Church of Christ

This neat old church at 1064 Penn Ave, in Wyomissing, PA, that began its life in 1909, needed some repairs to the high vaulted plaster ceilings – so they called Superior Scaffold.

Photo courtesy of Ed Reneger

Superior is known for its skill working with historical buildings and the care it takes around one of a kind artifacts and structures.  This was no different.  We had to construct some cool system scaffolding up, over and around pews, alters, and priceless objects at Bausman Memorial United Church of Christ

 

The ceiling was divided into sections with flying buttresses, so the layout had to be spot on accurate.

 

We used system scaffold with joists and plank to not only get to the hard to reach places but to also build a solid platform or dancefloor for the workers.

The steep, sloped, plaster ceilings had new sheetrock added over the old plaster, and then they were textured and painted.

This gave the old girl the dress up she needed for the next 100 years.

We were proud to bring our skills and experience working with historic buildings to Bausman Memorial United Church of Chris.

Here are some articles detailing Superior Scaffold’s work with historic buildings:

Independence Hall

Our Lady of Lourdes

A little history on this church.

Bausman Memorial United Church of Christ is part of a denomination which is a merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches of the United States.

Construction of a small church began in 1909 and it was dedicated in 1911. As the congregation grew, members decided to complete the church building with an addition begun in 1922. The completed building was dedicated in 1924.

1064 Penn Ave  Wyomissing, PA 19610
(610) 375-9790

Bausman Memorial United Church of Christ is a church of diverse learners seeking answers to life’s questions based on the teachings of Christ. We nurture each other with respect, share with each other as family, and engage God and others in worship, music, study and in service. Every Sunday we offer Church School programs for all ages at 9:00 a.m. and gather for worship at 10:15 a.m.

http://www.bausmanucc.org/tp40/Default.asp?ID=278557

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=153612

Philadelphia Inquirer reports Superior Scaffold to erect Canopy at Amtrak’s 30th St. Station

Superior Scaffold will provide 10-foot-high canopies around the gigantic 30th Street Station.  This is no small feat.  (Look at the photos)  In fact, this is Amtrak’s 3rd largest station – it’s huge.

 

The renovation will take several years to complete at a cost of $60 milliion.  The scaffolding will be erected to not only protect pedestrians but allow business as usual during a planned restoration of the limestone facade of the 80-year-old neo-classical building.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (philly.com) reported the story Aug 17, 2013 and quoted our very own man about town, Pat McAndrew (of the naked, fighting McAndrew clan) who had this to say, “the canopies – posts with “debris panels” on top – will be installed atop concrete barriers along the Market and Arch Street sidewalks and at the east and west entrances to the station.  The station will remain “totally accessible” to pedestrians during the work.”

Well put Pat.

The $2 million canopy installation will start in a few weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

The 30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the seven stations in SEPTA’s Center City fare zone. It is also a major stop on Amtrak’s Northeast and Keystone Corridors.  It sits at 93 N. 30th St. & Market St. Philadelphia PA 19104 (215) 580-6500.

I, Mtruch [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Here’s a link to the philly.com article.

And some cool information:

Great photos of the 30th Street Station

http://www.yelp.com/biz/30th-street-station-philadelphia-2

Nothing’s easy – The Road from Israel to South St. Philly for the famous LOD Mosaic

On January 26^th, Superior Scaffold was proud to help bring to the East Coast one of the most incredible Roman Mosaics ever unearthed.  The challenge to get them inside the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology was something of an engineering marvel taking scaffolding teams, crane operators, art curators, engineers, and scores of people.

But first…      A real-life “Cover up”.

In 1996, workmen constructing a new highway in Lod, Israel (near modern-day Tel Aviv), made a shocking discovery: a 1,700 year old Roman mosaic under the surface of the road. At that time, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted a rescue excavation that revealed a full series of mosaic floors, measuring roughly 50 feet long by 27 feet wide. Conservators provided preliminary treatment of the mosaics, but they were then reburied until funding could be secured for the full scientific excavation and conservation. In 2009, excavators unearthed the Lod Mosaic once again. The mosaics were then separated into panels and rolled away from the earth.  Today, they remain in near perfect condition.  Three of these panels are on display in Unearthing a Masterpiece.

This piece is very unique because it lacks human figures.  It was likely commissioned by a high-standing Roman official for his private home. Alluding to gladiatorial games, the mosaic panels depict scenes of hunting, trading, and marine life.

And because these tiles date back to 300 CE and are some of the most complete, well-preserved, and largest Roman mosaics ever found, everyone involved wanted to keep them that way.  So the call went out to Superior Scaffold to help get them into the building.  Piece of cake, right?  Wrong.  Follow the photos below to see just what was involved.  Now, we were just one cog in a very important machine.  But our piece was of utmost importance.

A crane hoists a crate onto Superior’s platform

These tiles were so large that they had to be placed into 7 gigantic wooden crates and shipped to Philadelphia.  And on the morning of January 26, 2013 two large box trucks arrived and blocked South Street in front of the Museum.

The biggest challenge on this job, that required weeks of careful planning, was that these crates couldn’t just be waltzed through the loading dock and up to the third floor where they were going to be displayed.  They were way too big and heavy to fit.

They had to be hoisted by a 100 foot crane up off of South Street and deposited onto a giant 16’ tall platform that Superior built over the main stairs and Warden Garden Coy pond that straddled two giant sliding wooden doors accessing the grand staircase on the third floor into the Pepper Gallery.  Wow, that was a mouthful.  But seriously, look at the photos.  Superior’s platform allowed the giant crates to be maneuvered directly inside to the display area where curators could uncrate the masterpiece and put it together for display.

   

Sitting on top of the system scaffold, Superior used 9’ aluminum stringers crossed with solid plank and then topped with plywood.

Then entire unloading process took approximately 6 hours.  Of course, our part started long before the trucks arrived and lasted well after the crates were unpacked.

Here is a sort of chronological assembly, if you will (from Superior Scaffold’s POV)

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In the end, the Museum safely unloaded, unpacked, and assembled the Mosiac in time for their ribbon cutting ceremony on February 10, 2013 to start the exhibit (Unearthing a Masterpiece:  A Roman Mosiac from LOD, Israel) which runs for a limited time.

Estimator Pat McAndrew not only oversaw the installation but also attended the opening where he took these photos of the famous Mosaic.

Superior will be back out assembling the same scaffolding in May when the exhibit is packed up again and shipped to the Louvre in Paris.  After a short time there, it will make the trip to Israel and it’s final resting place in a specially built museum.  So see it while you can

And a shout out to Bob Thurlow in charge of Traveling Exhibits at Penn Museum for some of the great photos of the crates going in.

If you would like more information about the unearthing of the LOD Mosaic click here.

Going off the deep end with scaffolding…

The Princeton Medical Center at Plainsboro, NJ is adding on to their illustrious hospital with two new rehabilitation pools.   The crews needed to get access to the ceiling to do some repairs and additions.  Well, with swimming pools spanning the entire room it makes it a bit difficult to reach up that high.

So they called Pat McAndrew at Superior Scaffold and said, “Help.”   Since they had spent most of their budget on these incredible pools they were looking for a low cost alternative to just scaffolding the entire pools all the way up to the ceiling.   They also wanted to use Baker/Painter scaffolds to roll from one end of the pool area ceiling to another.

So, they creatively devised a plan that would put an 8’ scaffolding tower down into the center of the large pool from the 3’ shallow end down to the 9’ deep end.  They used 8’ horizontal trusses at deck height and then ran aluminum joists from side walls to trusses at 16” centers.  The entire thing was then topped off with a deck of ¾” plywood.  This would allow the baker scaffold to roll freely around the entire room while allowing crews to reach to the ceiling.  You can see just how wide and deep this room is.

Now, the small pool was a bit different.  They rested aluminum joists on the concrete side walls at 16” centers and then topped that off with plywood.  Since it was only 18’ in diameter the aluminum joists would be able to support all of the weight put upon them.

Bingo, bango, bongo… another Superior solution and satisfied customer.  Superior specializes in creative solutions for scaffolding problems.  Call 215 743-2200 to see what Superior can do for you.

A renovation for the ARCH Building at University of Pennsylvania

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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 24^th and 26^th 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cira_Centre

http://ciracenter.com/

Scaffolding walkway at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia, PA

Here’s a nifty little job.  Something you might not see everyday: An Interior Canopy.

Now, you might be asking yourself, why would Superior Scaffold put something that is normally outside on the sidewalk, inside a hospital?

  

It’s simple, really – Chestnut Hill Hospital needed to remain open for business while repair crews replaced the skylights in the entire lobby and vestibule.  By putting what amounts to a canopy or sidewalk shed inside, doctors, patients, visitors and guests can all pass safely through the entrance while work continues overhead.

It’s business as usual, as we say in the industry.  I’ll post some pics of the all glass ceiling when I get them.

Chestnut Hill Hospital is a community-based teaching hospital with 164 beds offering a range of inpatient and outpatient, diagnostic and treatment services in Northwest Philadelphia.

Superior is the best in the business when it comes to canopies / sidewalk sheds.  Call (215) 743-2200 for information.

Superior Scaffolds for Jesus

America for Jesus, (One Nation Under God, Inc.) called Superior Scaffold to provide the scaffolding for their giant assembly at the Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA Friday 9.28 (7pm – midnight) and Saturday 9.29 (9am – 5pm).

           

Superior was called in to provide much of the scaffolding support including 10 giant towers spread out all acrros the giant mall.  Eight of those towers are for speakers, lights and video units and 2 are for speakers and cameramen who will be videotaping the events.

 

2000 pound counter weights were added the bottom of the towers to help anchor and stabilize the structures.

 

The mall sits adjacent to the Liberty Bell museum and directly in front of Independence Hall (where Superior provided the scaffold for the renovation).

 

The organization is a coalition of ministries who unite to organize national calls to prayer for the sake of the church and the nation.

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It’s still not clear just how many people will attend this assembly but estimates have topped at over half a million people.  We will follow up with photos after the event.

If you have scaffolding needs or questions call Jesus’ right hand scaffold man

Pat McAndrew at (215) 743-2200 for all of your scaffold needs.