Stetson’s newest structure: Heavy metal “tops out” in just weeks

 

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Orchestrated with the precise timing of a symphony orchestra, a 150-foot construction crane places vertical steel columns and heavy horizontal beams as high as 52 feet in the air to form the intricate skeleton of Stetson’s new Marshall & Vera Lea Rinker Welcome Center.

This crescendo of steel blends columns and beams fabricated and cut to specifications according to the plans drawn up by the architects and engineers. While the Williams Construction manager blends the deliveries to an exact order and timing, trucks large enough to carry the imposing lengths of the columns and beams entered campus at the construction zone entrance near Elizabeth and DeLand halls at East Minnesota Avenue.

After the crane raised the steel, trucks, with their loads lightened, exited the construction zone to the north, past the Carlton Union Building and Chaudoin Hall and fade out down Pennsylvania Avenue.

The crane elevated each column to its location with precision where steel workers fastened the columns to the metal bolts that are imbedded in the building’s foundation.

The first column was set and bolted at 1:30 p.m., Jan. 25. The tallest columns are 41 feet high. Eventually metal trusses will be set on the columns, along with beams and concrete structures that form the stairwells and the elevator shaft.

The standing seam metal roof will be attached to the trusses at the stunning ultimate height of 52 feet, eight inches. The concrete and block stairwells and elevator shaft are on schedule to be completed Feb. 26, and the structural steel columns and beam frame are scheduled for completion on March 28. The ironworkers have a tradition referred to as “Topping Out” which is held when the final beam is affixed. Look for announcements regarding Stetson’s “Topping Out” celebration.

For more information on all the updates on Stetson’s new Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Welcome Center, as well as changes to the Carlton Union Building, visit Stetson’s construction website, and stay up to date through Stetson Today stories and announcements.