The Week of April 09, 2018 — The Disappearing Pit and a Little More of This N That

This is a week where it appears the mat floor, yes, the concrete floor that we have traversed north and south, east and west, these many months, will finally be swallowed by the steel and metal decking. The pit as we have affectionally called the big hole in the ground will be filled with steel.  Section four (the southeast section) by all accounts should have all the support spline beam nodes set on the remaining isolators. The remaining dampers should also be placed. Perhaps the decking will be scattered over the beams. In section three (the northeast side) should have all of the columns set along with the trusses and the infill beams. The metal decking should be scattered and installed. The remaining BRBs should also be set. I had to revisit “B” level in that there were a few things I had missed in my wandering about down under on April 5.

After having completed a round of shaking out the iron (ironworker lingo for arranging the steel) by mid-afternoon, the ironworkers began setting trusses and infill beams for the second floor on the northeast section. In this photo the lighting was just right so that a large column obscured the sun just enough to allow the camera lens to silhouette Kenny (walking the beam) and Jason (holding the truss in place).

Where is the Pit? I began the day on the top deck (sixth floor) of parking structure (PS4). From this angle, I was able to take a photo of the steel skeleton and the decking as it is about to envelope the pit: north to south and east to west. Once all of the decking is level with the decking to the left of the cranes, the steel skeleton will go up another three-stories before the buildings podium is complete. Once the podium is complete, the steel for the towers will begin to rise. The tallest crane on the north side will be dismantled sometime in June and will be shipped to Inglewood, CA where it will be put to use lifting steel for the new Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park. The current crane (a Liebherr 1750 crawler crane) will be replaced with a Liebherr 13000 series crawler crane with a taller boom, which will be needed as the steel skeleton rises off of the podium.

The Open Pit: For comparative purposes, this photo taken from the same parking structure (PS4), some eight-months ago, on August 8, 2017, must be included.

Another Visit Down Under — A walkabout on “B” Level

It is only fitting that if one of the previous photos featured the two iron workers on a steel beam some fifty-five feet above the mat floor, a welder bent over a welding cart, on the mat floor down on “B” level should follow. In this photo, the welder is adjusting a bracket that will secure some mechanical pipes along the foundation walls. There are three things that I immediately notice when I descend the stairs to “B” level: The first two has to do with smell. The first smell is of something akin to metallic rotten eggs. This smell comes from the welder’s torches. There are approximately 65 welders on site and they can be found on every floor. Thus, the stench permeates every corner of the pit area. The smoke wafting up toward and beyond the welder’s helmet illustrates how the miasma travels through the air.  The second pungent smell blends, depending where one stands, with the other obnoxious smell. This odor might be described as musty, dry, and tinged with a hint of hot or burnt metal. This smell comes from the grinding wheels of the welders. The third thing I notice, which is most pleasant to ones senses. It is cool. “B” level is much, much cooler because the floor gets no sunlight. Four months ago the concrete floor was like a furnace in that the heat radiated off of the foundation walls and the concrete floor and if there was no breeze, the heat hovered over the pit like an electric blanket cranked up to 10.

How does an ironworker know when the bolts have enough torque as specified by the structural engineers? The DTI (Direct Tension Indicator) washers secrete a silicone type substance out of eight (8) narrow channels on the steel plate side of the washer as the bolts are tightened. This procedure . must be approved by an inspector as illustrated in the above photo. Note right center next to the bolted steel plate the sign off with the initials of the inspector and the date: DTI VT OK (initials) and the date 12/22. While on “B” level I walked under a spline beam and noticed a good sample of the DTI silicone excretion.

I ran into Jesse pulling a cart chalk full of wood pieces, when I asked why he was wearing a headlamp he remarked: “Down here it is dark, you need a headlamp.” Fortunately, he was where there was a little more ambient light otherwise, the lens would have captured Jesse as a silhouette with a white period in the center of his forehead.

The node end of the seismic damper (center) called a clevis, which includes a spherical bearing, is held in place by a stainless steel pin in the steel bracket welded to the node. The blue plastic-wrap protects the seismic damper while construction continues.

Sparks Fly as a welder grinds away on a mechanical pipe support bracket.

Behind the Scene

What’s It Like Inside a Liebherr LR 1750s Plush Cab?

This is the High-Tech Nerve Center of  the Crawler Crane That is Positioned on the North Side of the Construction Site.

Setting at the crane’s controls when this photo was taken is crane operator Don. He has just lowered the crane’s cable for the iron pickers to hook on five (5) pieces of steel; two girders and three (3) infill beams. The crane operator has all the comforts of home: a stereo system, a climate controled A/C system, leather seats, and plush side panels.

A closer view of the crane’s in-dash console.

From inside the crane’s cab, a view out the front window. Tommy, the other crane operator strolls across the
wooden decking to take a look at the upcoming steel placement.