Tower One 1

[unclesyd]

This purely academic.

I watched the Discovery Channel Program on building Tower One at the WTC site where it showed the Iron Working Connector Crews hanging iron for the new building when the question came up about the bolting in specific. The crew on television apparently only sets the steel.

Does other crews come along to do all the bolting as I saw only one connection where there were more that one or two bolts?

What would be the classification of these connection?

 

[msquared48]

Erection bolts?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[rb1957]

they have pills for that these days ...

 

[msquared48]

Well... Somebody had to be the set-up man...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[bridgebuster]

unclesyd - first there's the rasing gang. They set the pieces. Then comes the bolt up gang, which finishes the connections. Then there are the detail gangs for the decking and the facade pieces.

 

[paddingtongreen]

On large jobs, I usually saw the raisers put the steel in place with minimum bolts, then the bolt stuffing crew, then the torquing crew, then the inspector(s).

Michael.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Agree with paddin.....

Sometimes stuffers and torquers are the same...

 

[Teguci]

Erectors have gotten into trouble in the past because of their focus on speed. So much so that OSHA has to tell them the minimum number of tightened bolt required before they can release the crane.

 

[a2mfk]

Holy crap! They are building the new tower out of IRON?!! Somebody get me the head engineer on the phone!

FWIW on smaller/normal jobs I think its all part of the erection contractor's duties. Man I would hate to be on constant bolt tightening duty. What? AGAIN?? Dangittt....

 

[SteelPE]

a2mfk,

What, you get sick of doing the same thing over and over and over. Some people like that sort of work. I bet a union bolting crew gets paid more than the staff engineer who designed the floor system.

 

[a2mfk]

I prefer to be the guy putting the bolt in and ALSO getting to tighten it. That is just me. Variety is the spice of life. Maybe even occasionally pick up another tool, if allowed by unions. Worse than that, what if all you did all day was design bolts. Not even the whole connection, just the bolts. If I see one more $*%# 3/4" dia A325N I will go ballistic!

 

[Teguci]

if you're really lucky, we'll let you install bolts slip critical with the turn of nut method. First, tighten the bolt to the full force of man (that's the technical term). Then mark the top of bolt and nut. Finally, turn the nut another third of a turn (I guess using the full force of woman?)

 

[bridgebuster]

In NYC, ironworkers get $101.10/per hr, which icludes $57.05 in benefits.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

That' like $200,000 per year - I am moving to NYC. Do you have to work up high?? It get a bit nervous...

 

[SteelPE]

Mike they have a job for you.... it's called fire watch. Make sure nothing catches on fire. If it does tell the union guy allowed to touch the hose to put it out.

That's more money than I would have thought for round peg goes in round hole. If peg is to big get smaller peg. If peg is to small get larger peg.

Interestingly enough, if you watched the program 1/2 of the building is being put up by local iron workers and the other half is being put up by Mohawk Indians from Canada. You don't even have to live in the city!

 

[connectegr]

Those Mohawk Indians are highly skilled. They work at incredible heights and in high wind. They work in all types of weather. It is like watching LeCirque de Soleil. On the reservation, the children's playground are constructed on wide-flange shares. The little kids playing and climbing on the steel, like our suburban kids go to gymnastics and ballet. For this type of work $110/hour sounds like a good deal. We do a lot of highrise work and the steel erection is always amazing to watch. We worked on several of the WTC buildings and other New York high-rises, and for complex connections we have consulted with the erectors. They are always capable of far more than we anticipated.

Regretfully for the US economy, the entire WTC project (all towers and the memorial) was awarded to a Canadian steel erector. The intent was that uniformity in the erection and scheduling was most critical. The erector then selected the contractor and fabricator subs. The only exception I am aware of is Building 7 which was replaced rather quickly. It was the building that was allowed to burn until collapse.

http://www.FerrellEngineering.com

 

[a2mfk]

I have nothing against our northern neighbors, and I realize that we live in a global economy and there is no turning back, but out of all structures that should be built by Americans.........

 

[bridgebuster]

I worked with a number of Mohawk ironworkers. I don't know if they consider themselves American or Canadian. Interestingly, quite a few of them are USMC veterans.

BTW - if they use the reservation as their permanent residence, they're exempt from all Federal tax.

 

[a2mfk]

For the record- I was referring to the Canadian erector being selected. I would imagine that the actual workers would still have to be US residents, they don't normally issue work visas for construction workers to enter the US. But I digress...

But connectengr's post was very interesting, that would make a great History/Discovery channel special. What makes one specific tribe/culture excel at a specific and dangerous occupation?

 

[Hacksaw82]

In case anyone needed further info, aboriginal Canadians / Americans are free to work in either country without any visa, as long as they have official indian status in one country. In fact on group on the Ontario / new york border started issuing their own passports, which were freely accepted at the crossings, until the bureaucrats in Washington and Ottawa found out....

The Mohawks of Quebec basically built the majority of the high steel of manhattan over the past 100 years. They are closely located, highly skilled, and probably cheaper than most other erectors. And yes they are crazy, I've heard of kids on the reservations scaling 50 foot trees like you climb into bed.