going up in the world
Well, I think I've moved up a peg in the world of steel fabrication.
I was allowed out on site today, so was presented with my own hi-viz vest and given a chitty to take to the local tool store to pick up a hard-hat.
Then I went up the scaffs at the job I'm currently working on. It's a 5 floor spiral staircase and landings. It's scary to see what sort of a state it's in. These people were relying on a staircase that's so rusted and rotten that you can pull chunks off it with your bare hands. Almost all the treads were so bad that if you stood on them they collapsed. Apparently it's been like that for 6 years. Everyone in that building would die if there were a fire and that was their only means of escape.
I only walked up four treads to grab the end of a tape and one of them promptly gave way.
Even our boys who are cutting it down have to wear harnesses, and their on the scaffold.
So now we're trying not only to replace the entire structure, but also keep it as a working fire escape. And we have to make allowances for the fact some residents are elderly and infirm, so we have to give them handrails etc. (no-one seems to care that their fire-escape windows are painted shut, only that we fabricate nice ladders for them)
It's all very odd, but was interesting. We used the laser to mark up all the levels for the new landings etc to go back on, although it's amonster job, as once the fire escape is removed then the outer skin of the wall needs to be removed too, as the brickwork is rotten and there are huge cracks. hrm.
I will be making spirals for a long time...
I was allowed out on site today, so was presented with my own hi-viz vest and given a chitty to take to the local tool store to pick up a hard-hat.
Then I went up the scaffs at the job I'm currently working on. It's a 5 floor spiral staircase and landings. It's scary to see what sort of a state it's in. These people were relying on a staircase that's so rusted and rotten that you can pull chunks off it with your bare hands. Almost all the treads were so bad that if you stood on them they collapsed. Apparently it's been like that for 6 years. Everyone in that building would die if there were a fire and that was their only means of escape.
I only walked up four treads to grab the end of a tape and one of them promptly gave way.
Even our boys who are cutting it down have to wear harnesses, and their on the scaffold.
So now we're trying not only to replace the entire structure, but also keep it as a working fire escape. And we have to make allowances for the fact some residents are elderly and infirm, so we have to give them handrails etc. (no-one seems to care that their fire-escape windows are painted shut, only that we fabricate nice ladders for them)
It's all very odd, but was interesting. We used the laser to mark up all the levels for the new landings etc to go back on, although it's amonster job, as once the fire escape is removed then the outer skin of the wall needs to be removed too, as the brickwork is rotten and there are huge cracks. hrm.
I will be making spirals for a long time...