Ahhhhh, so here we are, 33 stories above the famed beach at Atlantic City. On top of the world-famous Tropicana Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hotel & Casino. Did I say on top? I believe I did. And not metaphorically either, but physically. Why, you ask? Well, today we are showing you one of those insanely crazy suspended scaffold designs that Superior Scaffold’s, Bob Sarkisian, came up with to solve a problem.
And let me be the first to say, “this job looks much easier than it really is.”
If my boss would let me fly a drone or pilot a small helicopter-like little Timmy Cruise in the Mission Impossible films, I would have the most exquisite photographs to show you so you could really see just how complicated this job was to set up.
But no. You’ll just have to live with my “stand on the deck beneath and point up and shoot” photographs. Geez. (please sign the petition below to get my helicopter license. Thanks) But that in no way diminishes the cool-nes of this job. Check it out.
The guys at Mara Restoration needed a way to get crews up and around the dome at the very top of the Tropicana to caulk and repaint. At first glance, it seemed almost impossible. The ledge on the outside of the dome was way too narrow and you couldn’t get any type of reach up there. But then Bob (the king of swing) came up with one of his crazy ideas.
What if we utilized the catwalk steel “up air” for an anchor point for our rigging?
It’s a shame you really can’t see the beams in the dome because we did just that! If you look carefully, you can see where they were placed for optimal support and access. Somehow what others couldn’t see, Bob spotted. He figured if his crew could get the necessary steel support beams into the rigging and mount them to the catwalk steel, they would jut out at just the correct angles to attach a swing stage onto. Ha. Okay. Well, I’ll be. It worked.
Placing that rigging was the biggest challenge on this job. Each aluminum outrigger beam that supports a suspended scaffold rig had to be strategically lifted and positioned all around the dome and then bolted to the structural steel to peek out enough to allow access to the rigging lines. Our crew lifted equipment and rigged around the entire dome at one time and then Mara bumped the swing around to each position as needed.
The beams are tucked in the pockets up at the top around the dome. Look carefully and you will see them. That’s your challenge for today. It’s like finding Waldo. But I guarantee, when you finally see them up there, a giant lightbulb will go off and BAM, it will be like the Matrix. All of your questions will be answered and you will reach nirvana.
The second part of this job was getting restoration crews to the exterior to refresh the facade of this popular resort hotel. Mara is performing EFIS sealant replacement, EFIS repairs, Elastomeric Coatings and wet glazing window glass perimeters to metal.
And in order to do that, they needed Superior Scaffold to rig the roof area to get give the suspended scaffold access to the complete exterior.
These photos show our outriggers and tiebacks mounted on the roof of the Tropicana Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hotel & Casino.
Here you can see Mara’s workers doing what they do best!
We’ve been on just about every casino in Atlantic City but this one did present some unique challenges. And thank goodness we have someone with the great mind to come up with creative solutions. Oh, and I forgot to mention the overhead protection system (canopy) we installed on the opposite side of the building.
Thanks to Mara and the Tropicana for trusting Superior Scaffold and bringing us along on this fun project. It’s going to look fantastic once it’s complete.
© 2024 Bee Access, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
