The View from the Top

This picture explains a lot of why I went back into construction and why I transferred to Kiewit Building Group. It is all about the view from the top. It makes you forget all of the stresses of the day and appreciate all that you had to to to get to that point. If you click on the picture and look to the left, you can see downtown Denver.


This is how precast buildings go up. After the 4' tall grade beam is ready to go, the precast pieces, which weight 15,000+ lbs. each are trucked in, usually 2 at a time. Each piece is uniquely designed to fit in a specific location and arrive in order. The team that sets them can do about 9-12 pieces/day, depending on any unforseen problems. The pieces are welded into place and to each other, and then grout is put in the underside of them.

Look to the left of the picture above, those are the same 2 pieces from the picture above. After these 2 pieces were set a double-T floor piece was set and extended from the front piece to where the top of that man-lift basket is extended.

This is what the building looks like as of this morning. It is topped out at 15 feet and those panels on top are the roof at level 16. You can see the bottom-right where they are up to the 4th floor with precast on the front portion of the building.

With the setting of the precast pieces along the grade beam (above), we were rewarded with a surprise steak dinner tonight. It took a lot of hard work and good teamwork to get all 30 or so embeds put in exact place along the grade beam for the precast pieces to be welded to. Every single one was within the 1/4 inch tolerance.

No one else had the guts to order the 50 oz. (yes FIFTY), so I secretly ordered it to no one else's knowledge. The reaction was worth it all. I saw eyes bulging like Chevy Chase's. I did not plan on finishing it in one sitting, but I did put away a good portion and boxed up the rest along with the side of ribs.