The School!
Paulette Elementary
Week 14
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The Steel ArrivesI see the building process in for major parts. First we would have site preparation or the grading of the site. Next would come the footers and the block, which we saw a couple of weeks ago. Then we would have the steel for the structure. This arrived at the scene this week. I was told that the steel would arrive on Monday and Tuesday. I decided to go to the site on a Tuesday so I could see steel already on the ground as well as steel being unloaded. (Video of the unloading to the left.) I was quite surprised to not only see steel that had been delivered on Monday on the ground but a crew already hard at work erecting it. |
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 While one crew was unload the Tuesday steel another crew had already gone to work putting up what had been delivered Monday.Also on the site this Tuesday were Director Wayne Goforth, Brian Oaks and others having their weekly building meeting. At this meeting progress is monitored and all aspects of the building process of the previous week and the week upcoming are discussed. Meetings weekly ensure if any issue arises it is dealt with early before it becomes a much larger issue. Many of you may notice that Tuesday July 13th rings a bell. That is the morning that the call went out that there was a fire at Big Ridge Elementary. On my way to the site I drove by BRES to see Principal Roger Flatford and offer any help I might provide. Director Goforth was already on the scene and all was well. He left that site in the capable hands of Mister Flatford and made it to the Paulette meeting where I caught up with him later.  I guess this struck a chord with me if in nothing else, symbolism. One older school needing attention before the new one. This drove home to me the point that while yes we are getting a new school for the lower end, we still have four other elementary schools of the 1960's vintage. Mr Goforth has his hands full this year dealing with the new while still trying to keep the old safe and usable. At the site trucks were pulling up to both sides of the new school to offload steel. The large long-reach forklifts were busy at work. The operators of these machines carefully navigated the steel and concrete to stage the new steel inside the building. They crept the huge machines up to the sides and reached carefully through door openings in the wall to lift steel columns off the big trucks (figure 2). Once off the trucks these machines had to carefully work the steel inside the building. While the loads were carefully balanced a single individual could walk along beside two tons of steel and move it around obstacles as if it weighed nothing.  The
thicker columns had been delivered on Monday and were already in place
along the outer walls. You can see in the photos that these columns
will support the outer walls. Also notice the angle at the top of the
column (figure 3). This angle coincides with the slope of the roof. The
steel roof trusses will rest along this angle. Common physics says that
a single column standing alone has little strength. However the weight
of the rest of the steel pushing down on this column is a force
multiplier. Then consider that each column on the school will be
attached by steel to each other wall, column and roof support. This
will mean that any force that is exerted on a single beam will be
transferred to every piece of steel in the building. This further
multiplies the strength of the entire structure. Steel beam designs are
created to handle specific length-to-weight ratios over a span. Because
of the tensile strength of steel, it can support the increased weight
over the header without sagging. As I sat and watched more trucks arrive and await their chance to unload (figure 1) I began to wonder just how long metal had been used in construction. I fired up the laptop and began to research. I always figured metals in construction to be a recent invention. I always assumed that the buildings say in the 1700's were all wood. The fact is most were but iron had found a place on hinge works and even decorative materials. But while the iron was used in nails and hinges large pieces were not used in true construction of buildings until the early 1800's.  In textile mills of the early 1800's iron beams and columns made it possible to increase the useful floor area. Although the exterior walls of the building were constructed of masonry, the use of non-flammable iron in the interior also reduced the threat of fire. Iron made it possible to span large areas with less support and made more usable floor space for factories. In 1851 England built the first truly metal framed building called the Crystal Palace. It was built solely for the exhibition of using metal framework. This building demonstrated the rigidity of steel. It for the first time did not use stone or masonry for the walls. The walls of this building were made of glass! Later the entire building was taken apart and moved piece by piece. This further demonstrated the superior qualities of metal framing. Steel would replace iron because it is simply lighter and lasts longer. It wouldn't be long after the Crystal Palace that builders began to think...If steel can build wider I bet it can build straight up! This was the beginnings of the giant skyscrapers we find today. |
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