As scaffolding jobs go, the contract for the 60-storey L Tower in downtown Toronto is both unique and challenging.
The condo building — which gets wider in the middle on one side and then tapers at the top — stands out for its striking shape but those curves have presented unusual challenges for the scaffolding contractor.
The sloping crown is a case in point.
“Building scaffolding on the roof of a 60-odd storey building at Yonge and Front streets is not something you do every day,” says Ian Morton, business development manager, Skyway Canada Limited, which is supplying and erecting the scaffolding and swing stages.
The system scaffolding (EIW Total System) was built onto the sloping side of the top 50 feet of the south face, to support swing stages and a monorail system provided and installed by the Skyway Canada Limited swing stage team, he says.
“It has been a particularly interesting job.”
The scaffolding was required to install the curtainwall on the north face. Normally, says Morton, curtainwall systems are installed from inside a building but in this case the scaffolding serves as the installation perch because the curtainwall is applied directly to a concrete wall at the mechanical rooms.
The scaffolding was anchored to the building and squared to allow for the attachment of a 100-foot-long monorail to move materials. The monorail consists of a track system from which a material hoist is attached to raise the glass curtain wall panels into place.
Curtainwall panels are also installed on the east and west sides of the building, using swing stages and a Beta-Max hoist with a wireless remote control system, says Jim Downey, national swing-stage manager of Skyway Canada.
The job wasn’t easy, adds Morton. “It was labour intensive and took close to six weeks to install. It takes a lot of nerve to work at that height so we used only the most experienced carpenters (from Carpenters Local 27).”
“Safety is the optimal challenge. We have to make sure everything is secured properly and we inspect it weekly.”
The scaffolding is anchored into the concrete structure and cables are tied into the floors to provide support for swing stages and lifelines, he says.
The scaffolding system was designed in AutoCAD with the assistance of two experienced engineering firms.
The final design was the result of several adaptations, says Morton.
“They had to consider all the loads applied onto the equipment and then transferred to the structure.”
Downey says a big factor from day one has been the weather — high winds and cold, in particular. For safety reasons, the construction elevator is not permitted up to the higher floors because of winds off Lake Ontario.
“Even the crane has been shut down because of wind.”
It is not just the tower’s crown that presented challenges for Skyway. The tower is narrower at the base than the middle and tapers at the top on the north side.
“We had to stagger our outrigger beams to accommodate the shape,” says Downey.
The L Tower could be the tip of iceberg in complex tower jobs.
“In a lot of cases architects come up with great designs but the practical side of building and in some cases servicing them create whole new challenges,” says Morton.
“A project of this nature requires considerable cooperation from the general contractor and in this case we have had a seamless project execution with Dominus Construction.”
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