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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Raptors, Puddles and Holes in the Walls

Raptors found an updraft this morning and were soaring near Mr. Crane.
They might be able to fly as high, but they can't do the heavy lifting.
Now that the new annex slab has been poured, everyone, including Mr. Crane, was working on the next stage.
The north half of the annex has columns.  Now it's time for the south half to get them.
These were placed while I was at the site this morning.
By noon today the cam showed they were assembling the forms.  You can see the decking inside on the ground level.  Also notice the base of the northeast tower.
Rebar is in place in preparation for the tower foundation.  When that goes up, our view of the interior ends.  But while it lasts, it's fun to see the decking go in on Lower Level 1.
While raptors like to fly high, the pigeons like to watch the action below.
My camera did its best to peek inside.  I'm a little concerned about the underground entrance.
I might have to go back to the City and revisit the plans for this entrance.
The Jacobsen workmen are moving ahead with the internal floors.
And on the outside, gravel was being spread this morning.
Mr. Dashing Track Hoe decided to lend a hand there.
I love the tabernacle in the morning light.  Notice the concrete under the southeast tower.  It will soon be time for a foundation there, too.  The opening on the west side will not be used by patrons, but will connect the temple to the mechanical tunnel.  You can also see where exterior stairs will go from the very lowest level to lower level 1.  Those won't be for patrons, either.
Perhaps you have noticed this puddle from the cam.  Despite living in a desert, we've had an unusual amount of rain over the last week.  But, help arrived to drain the area.  A new green drain is visible in this picture, on the left in the back by the new concrete sump.  The tower cap was being ignored this morning.
Decking is now going in at what will be ground level.  I have been told that all five sealing rooms will have exterior light through art glass.  One of the three larger sealing rooms will be in the area above the workman's head, on the upper level.  I am going to venture a guess that the reason there isn't shotcrete over those window openings is because at some point the bricks will be removed for the art glass.
Preparations are underway for stairs in each tower.  The first step will be to place horizontal beams at the base of each tower.  You can see the holes which were recently drilled for this purpose.
Holes have been drilled at the base of the two west towers, also. 
I tried to get a good look at the roundabout which will be at the intersection of First South and First West.  Initial plans were for a fountain, but this circle will now have only landscaping.  The building you are seeing under construction will be part of the Nu Skin campus.  Gardens will fill the area between that building and the new temple. 
The roundabout is behind the white styrofoam blocks above the entrance to underground parking for Nu Skin and eventually the temple.
The west lot is changing dramatically.  The black crane assists with this effort.
These columns will support the ceiling for this portion of the underground garage.  You can see the forms in place for the east-west section of the mechanical tunnel.
My camera took the previous two photos from underneath the green construction shield.  Mr. Red Ladder is helping out with the waterproofing of this portion of the west barrier wall.
Some days, but especially on a beautiful morning, I feel like I'm watching a miracle unfold.

6 comments:

JayBingham said...

You identify the soaring birds in your first photo as raptors, are you sure that is what they are? To me they look like turkey vultures. How can I tell? When Raptors soar they have wings that are generally flat, while the wings of soaring turkey vultures form a shallow V. The three birds that are highest in the photo have definite turkey vulture characteristics. The one that is lower and nearer to the crane's tower in the picture appears to be further away than the others, making it hard to distinguish its features or even its direction of travel. Never-the-less I am going to bet that if you zoomed in on these birds you would find that they are all turkey vultures.

Julie Markham said...

There have been a lot of discussions around here about what the birds are. An onlooker at the site, a helpful man I have met before, pointed out the birds while I was taking pictures of the track hoe. He called them raptors. I zoomed in as far as I could, and you are seeing all I could see. My husband thought they might be red-tailed hawks which are common around here. A friend of mine said that raptors made her think of dinosaurs. Thanks for your input. I'll try to look up on my next visit and look for them again.

David said...

The forms are starting go up on the northeast corner. Looks like your assumption was correct, yet again, Julie! Say sayonara to the basement and Hello to a firm foundation!

BTW: it looks like they must have made a mistake on the west lot where they've had to dig up the cement and are now putting the black sealant down in two or three of the sloped indentions. It was indented initially, but I don't think it was deep enough. Am I correct?

Julie Markham said...

I have watched the forms under the tower go up today -- this was sooner than I expected. Have you seen the rebar along the east side? They'll build forms there soon, too, but I don't think the wall will block my view of the annex until they put a lid on it.

I asked about the slumps on the west lot. The answer I got was brief: modification was necessary due to changed conditions. I opened 3 browser windows and looked at July 3rd, August 21st, and today. I'm not sure what has changed.

Esperanza said...

The sumps are really interesting to me. Is there really so much oil in parking lots? Are they going to clean them out periodically? Will they have metal grates over them? Will the floors tilt toward the sumps?

Julie Markham said...

I feel validated by having the same questions you do. I have been told that there is a vast drainage system being put in place and these sumps are part of it. Let me see if I can learn more about these, like where the oil ultimately goes once it drips off the cars.