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Superior Scaffold ramps up for Toyota at the Philly Auto Show
The Philadelphia Auto Show runs from February 8 – 16, 2014 at the The Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia PA 19107
Toyota set up an indoor track complete with traction ramps, water hazards, sand traps and suspension bumps giving the user the ultimate car buying experience. Patrons are invited to ride along inside the new line up of Toyota vehicles to get a real world idea of how they will perform.
Toyota contacted Superior Scaffold to build the ramp that would test the climbing and traction control of their vehicles. We jumped at the chance. The ramp is 8’ high by 14’ wide and 53’ long. (see pic)
The challenge here was that the ramp not only had to support the weight of the cars driving up and over it but also the 100 tons of dirt that would be put on top of it.
Superior engineers put pen to paper and calculated weight ratios and all of their super mathematical formulas and came up with a superior design (which was stamped and authorized).
Work set out using beams, system scaffold, and shoring materials to construct the ramp.
Details: 14’ aluminum beams on 2’ centers were used at the ramps, 14’ steel beams at 2’ centers were used at the top (flat) section. 3’ and 4’ spans were used going side to side, and 2’ spans going ramp to ramp. They also used U-Heads on the flat sections and swivel U-Jacks on the ramps. Then they crossed everything with 18’ aluminum beams on the ramps at 1’ centers and 12’ aluminum beams at 1’ centers on the top section. And then the entire thing was skinned with 3/4’” plywood.
It’s a wild looking design that ultimately holds ton’s of weight. It’s so sturdy in fact that Superior Estimator, Pat McAndrew, and foreman, Kenny Foreman were putting finishing touches on beneath the ramp and Pat said, “We were under there for at least 20 minutes and unbeknownst to us – cars had been driving over it the entire time. We never felt a thing. It’s that sturdy.”
We were glad to help Toyota show off their new line up of vehicles. Now, if we can get a test ride around the track a few times we will be happy.
Call Superior Scaffold at (215) 743-2200 for all of your scaffold needs.
Visit www.superiorscaffold.com today.
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#buildingmaterials#construction#equipmentrental#rent#rents#ladders#offroad#track#show#auto#superiorscaffold
How to add floors to an existing building – high exposure cantilever scaffold
This is amazing to me. How do you add 3 floors to an already existing building? You probably haven’t thought about that before. I know that I hadn’t but the people at Superior Scaffold have many times. In downtown areas space is a valuable commodity so sometimes the only place to expand is up.
But this leaves a myriad of challenges. The biggest one being how do we do all of the necessary heavy work outside of the building that needs to be done? Well, by creating working space outside of the area being built.
And in this case at the Parc Rittenhouse – there needed to be enough room and support to handle all of the weight for construction materials and the guys laying the bricks, facade and masonry work on the new addition.
Check out how Superior Scaffold engineers solved the problem. It wasn’t from scaffolding from the ground up (impossible on this job – the lower roof wouldn’t support it) but from beneath the floors that were being added onto. They used a high exposure cantilever scaffold system with giant weight supporting aluminum beams. Check out the photos!
These huge beams are levered inside the floors below and stick out the windows. They are then counter-balanced with another set of aluminum beams up against the ceiling joists to hold the weight outside of the building. The ceiling beams are shored up and the system is balanced.
It’s a crazy system but makes total sense. Let the existing building take the weight and leverage to support anything outside on the beams. See the photos.
In some cases, like on the corners, crews had to actually cut holes into the brick to stick out the aluminum beams. And then, they would deck them and add scaffolding.
Then, the crews deck it and put any scaffolding onto it to get up the next level. I don’t know the weight ratio of what it can hold (I’ll have to ask the engineers and get back to you) but it’s a tremendous amount.
Superior then erected a 45′ high systems scaffold to allow worker access to each of the floors as they were constructed. They also added several man material hoists to get building materials and equipment up to the top. There are suspended scaffolds on the job too helping install the new balconies.
Superior also had to install overhead protection all of the way around the building. This was quite an extensive job.
The building exterior also underwent a makeover bringing it back to its former glory of almost ¾ a century ago.
Here are a few (never before seen) shots of what the additional floors and subsequent penthouses looked like in their finishing stage. If you look carefully, you can still see some of the cantilever beams sticking out through the brick.
All in all, this is a very cool way to add additional floors to an already existing structure. Superior scaffold has done this many times and are experts at it – so don’t try this at home. Give them a call at (215) 743-2200 or visit them at www.superiorscaffold.com today.
So say it with me, 3 times really fast.
High exposure cantilever scaffold system
High exposure cantilever scaffold system
High exposure cantilever scaffold system
The Parc Rittenhouse is at 225 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA
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.
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:
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.
Superior Scaffold and Mission Impossible at Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY
They said it couldn’t be done. They said it was too far away. They said it was too costly.
But they were wrong. Only the awesome staff at Seneca Niagara Casino and one lone salesman at Superior Scaffold had the vision for this $26 Million dollar remodel of their main casino floor. And as part of the massive redesign the Casino is investing $6 Million toward a new HVAC system to greatly improve the air quality throughout the entire casino. This will be the first major renovation of the original casino since it turned the old Niagara Falls Convention Center into the Seneca Niagara Casino back in 2002.
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Think of Anthony Pini as the Tom Cruise of this corporation, a rogue, a rebel, determined saboteur of the nay sayers… It was his lone persistence to make the 8 hour drive many times through many negotiations that led to Superior Scaffold’s participation of this very unique project. I mean, look at the similarities.
And what a project this has turned out to be. Gigantic doesn’t begin to describe the size of this job inside the main gaming floor. The interior is the size of 2 full length football fields.
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. Look at the photos… Not only is the expanse vast, but it’s over 40 feet off of the ground and has to be self contained so people can come and go as usual below. How will they do it? How could they do it?
Leave that up to Tom Cruise, I mean Anthony Pini, to devise a Multi-Point Suspended Scaffold System to do the job. Yes, it is like something out of the movies… 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 for crews to get their HVAC ducting and all necessary pieces parts onto it.
A Multi-point suspended scaffold system. Yes, it’s a mouthful but it’s also something quite incredible to see. We’ve done these before (see blog on Hanging bridge platform) but never at this scale. It’s 300 feet long by over 300 feet wide! That’s a massive undertaking. Check out the E shaped design drawings.
And look at the rendering. If you think it was easy – you’d be wrong. The ceiling has giant arches which of course curve and give different elevations along that curve. So the monster challenge for our crews was to get the lengths of chains correct over the entire spans of this platform. 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.
We will be getting much more detailed photos – but you can see that this is something quite impressive and something that doesn’t happen very often.
Truly a mission impossible of a job. We are just proud to be a part of this prestigious job in Niagara Falls.
Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel is home to the largest hotel in Western New York and received the impressive AAA Four Diamond certification every year since 2005. The casino floor has an area of 147,000 sq ft (13,700 m2) with 99 gaming tables and 4,200 slot machines. It is the largest hotel in New York outside of Manhattan.
Performers from Nelly Furtado, Lynyrd Skynyrd to Smokey Robinson and Johnny Mathis are regulars at the Seneca Niagara Casino.
http://www.senecaniagaracasino.com/
http://issuu.com/senecacasinos/docs/seneca_niagara_casino_2013_construc/1
This is brilliant. Great job Carhartt.
A carefully crafted blog about women getting things done, carving, building, scaffolding, painting, etc – but the kicker is that they are all wearing Carhartt clothing.
Well done. A very smart campaign.
‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky – Scaffolding the New Dover High School Auditorium
Jimi Hendrix might have been thinking of other things when he wrote those lyrics but if he was around today in the new Dover High School auditorium (Dover, DE) he’d be singing about Superior Scaffold’s ability to get crews up to the ceilings of very tall structures, just like this state-of-the-art hall.
And that’s just what we did on this very cool job. Crews needed a way to get to very top of the new auditorium so Superior devised a system scaffold platform that was able to span the entire length and width of the space from the stage across the sloping floor all the way to the back.
System towers were built and then spanned with 14 foot horizontal trusses. The entire surface was covered in plywood making a dance floor-like surface for crews and their equipment to gain easy access to those hard to reach spaces. What’s great about these photos is that they are 30′ in the air – but the super steady platform makes it look like they are sitting on the ground.
It’s a 2 phase process. The first phase was designed to get crews to the ceiling for mechanicals, electric, etc. Then phase 2 will drop the entire platform down 16 feet so they can install a special suspended material.
You can see the sheer size of the area to “kiss the sky” so to speak. Who knows, maybe Jimi Hendrix would have even played here…
(rendering courtesy of http://www.ediscompany.com)
This is all part of the $114 million new high school being built on a 100 acre site just west of Dover along Rt. 8. The school will be home to 1,800 students. It’s slated to open in September 2014.
See these sites for additional information:
http://www.doverpost.com/article/20130531/NEWS/130539988/1001/NEWS
http://www.ediscompany.com/Current-Projects/New-Dover-High-School
When you have a very special building that requires some high flying expertise – call Superior Scaffold – “We’ll get you – up aire,” says Superior estimator, Pat McAndrew.
Call (215) 743-2200 today.
Superior Scaffold to provide scaffolding support for Philadelphia Energy Solutions turnaround at old Sunoco refinery.
Superior Scaffold has entered into a deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), to provide scaffolding support for a turnaround at their large Philadelphia plant. This is the Point Breeze refining complex – which is the old Sunoco plant in South Philly.
Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) is the longest continuously operating refinery on the East Coast, processing 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day into various refined products.
Superior will provide all of the necessary scaffolding support during this shutdown. “Our guys are currently working with PES planning and organizing the massive turnaround so everything goes smoothly,” said Lou Collins, Superior Scaffold estimator. “We anticipate about a 12 week pre-to-post timeframe to complete this job.”
For those who don’t know, a turnaround at a refinery is a planned, periodic shut down (total or partial) of a refinery plant or unit to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul operations and to inspect, test and replace process materials and equipment.
Superior will be working with the exchangers, drums, towers, internal reactors and Re-gen and much more all around the complex.
We are proud to bring our 50 years plus of refinery experience to one of Philadelphia’s finest companies. And will keep you posted as we move through this turnaround process.
For all of your industrial scaffolding needs call Lou Collins @ 215 279-8123 or lou@superiorscaffold.com.
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