Started today helping my old buddy build his new hangar. 60×60 steel arch type building.
The bolting of the arch pieces went fine, but we’re all a little uncertain about actually getting the arches, especially the first arch, up in the air. We have scaffolding, but no power lift.
Any experienced hands who’d share a helpful tip?
Thanks!
Life and suffering are inseparable.
Replies
Yes, years ago with a 35 X 50. Good idea but very labor intensive! After getting the correct arch to start...., it went together pretty well. We had the concrete foundation set up to have strapping on every other ridge to keep it hooked to the foundation while the days passed.... and it'll help to keep it where it belongs till you concrete it in. Wind will play havoc with it. Like most pre-punched sheeting, make sure the measurements are right on. It'll screw up the end wall assembly.
We also had the scaffolding. Life saver. We put up the starting arch with two or three sections bolted together then joined it at the top, kept it from "walking" while we assembled the rest of the building. A little difficult with a 60 footer I'd think.
When bolting the structure together we had to have a special "Square" socket which made life a lot easier. We tightened everything to spec's after the whole building was assembled. Otherwise you'd fight trying to get the pre-punched holes to line up for the rest of the arches as you moves down the line. And when tightening the bolts do it from the inside. If not you'll twist the rubber washer on the bolt head and it'll leak. Watch the edges, sharper than a razor.
Best of luck, have fun!
Wiredodger
Thanks! We hadn't heard the tip about tightening from the inside.Life and suffering are inseparable.
Use ya tapered drifts to align the holes, leave most all of the bolts "finger tite"..and and the alignment probs go away..somewhat.
Or..is your question about plumbing up the first section?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Mostly just looking in vain for some tip that could make steel float into the air and bolt itself together.
Glad to see you back! Ooooo, bad boy!Life and suffering are inseparable.
Joe
Think about how they built the arch in St. Louis!
Doug
I remember being there when it was under construction... that was just a few years ago, right?Life and suffering are inseparable.
I wonder if you could bolt 2 or 3 of the arch sections together on the ground, then lift that to start with. Might give you something a bit beefier to start with.
T-shirt: The villagers are coming with torches and pitchforks. Please hide me.
That's m.o.l. what we did. We bolted four pieces together and stood them with the high end sitting on scaffolding. Then we raised another four and managed to bolt them together a mere twenty feet in the air. We got five full arches up today - only 24 to go. Uhg. That's with four experienced construction hands plus four helpers who are all partially impaired due to age and various health issues. I guess I fit into both categories.Life and suffering are inseparable.