Saint Mary's Redux

The pace was glacial, but we were building a hospital and it was to be expected. When you walk down the corridor of a hospital, you can’t see the enormous amount of work that is concealed by the ceilings and walls. Piping and ductwork so thick that it’s a wonder it could ever be built. But, slowly, it always is.

And at the same time we were building the hospital interior, we had other crews building the exterior walls at our panel factory up on the hill above the Washoe County fairgrounds. Once these wall sections were completed, they would be transported to the jobsite and lifted into place by our good friends at A&KW Crane Service. We would align these panels and then weld them to the steel framework of the building.

We decided to work a long weekend when it came time to set the panels and we were hoping to complete the two elevations that made up the sides of the patient room addition. The mechanical areas were more complicated and would be done at a later date.

We barricaded the street and set the crane where it could reach the building easily and then we brought the panels down to the jobsite. One after the other, the trailer loads of panels arrived and were quickly emptied. We were setting an average of one panel every 10 minutes; we were flying! And since the crane operator could see the work area, signaling was kept to a minimum. The ground crew would set the chokers and the tag lines and as soon as Lonnie saw he was clear, he would hoist and swing the panel up against the building, usually within a foot or so of where it belonged. Someone would use a pry bar to force the panel into place. A dozen Vise Grips would clamp the panel to the building. A welding hood was snapped down and the sparks would fly. Then, a hand signal to let Lonnie know to drop the ‘headache ball’ down a few inches. The chokers and tag lines were released and the crane swung away to get the next panel. I remember being up on the roof and marveling at how we were working together, as a team. Very few words were ever spoken; everyone knew what to do without being told. It was a long weekend, but oh, so satisfying!