The steel is going up!
The interest in our building site has been amazing. There have been so many people stopping to ask if this is a warehouse being erected, or just asking questions; and the monstrosity against the skyline is only the ground floor so far.
By 10 am on day one, the garage had almost been completely erected. By day three, most of the ground floor was up. Day four saw the joists going on, and by day five the workers were tensioning and bracing the frame. Against all expectation, the structure looks huge! Not only from the outside, but the interior rooms look far bigger than anticipated.
The process has been fascinating. The workers started by drilling holes in the concrete to bolt the steel into place. Once the hole is drilled, a glass ampoule of a vinyl ester resin is dropped into the hole, and the bolt is screwed into place. As the bolt breaks the ampoule, a chemical reaction occurs, enhancing anchorage of the bolt into the concrete. Each pre-assembled section is lifted into place, and then simply bolted to the floor, and screwed into its neighbour. Having the steel pre-assembled cost a bit extra, but the saving on labour and erection time has been worth it. The structure looks neat and precise. Each corner is exactly 90°, and the tolerance at present is 0,8mm.
I can now expand a bit on the puzzle I mentioned last week: all the interior walls are coded beginning with “IN” and the outside walls with “EX”. The puzzle always begins in the most South-Easterly corner (the garage pillar), and all construction runs clockwise to join up again at the starting point. I still think that our foreman (Heveness) must have taken an extended course in hieroglyphics and code deciphering skills because he seems to get it right every time.
The steel has holes already drilled for future electrical cables, and plumbing works, so that all pipes and such will be inside the walls. Another interesting observation is all the damp course that has been laid between the concrete slab and each section of steel lying on the slab.
I had given up all hope of moving in before Christmas, but I am now guardedly optimistic that it might still happen. The pace has been phenomenal. I can’t wait to see what next week brings!
Leave a Comment