Monday will be a big day.  The two bridges and the stairs are loaded on Larson Steel’s truck in Gilroy and will be delivered to the project site by 8:00 am on Monday morning.  Our friends from Summit Crane will have a 45 ton crane at the project site to put the stairs and bridges in place.  And, HP Inspections will be verifying the welding at 1:00 pm on Monday afternoon.

It’s good.  All good.

Completed Bridges

Hector showed me the bridges are loaded on their truck.  Very cool.

Larson Steel's truck, with the two bridges and stairs loaded and ready for delivery and installation on Monday morning.

Bryan climbed on the truck for some close up photos. Here is the landing on the stairs.

Hector waiting patiently as Bryan reviews the stairs and bridges.

Everything looks good. Note the HSS 4x4x 3/8 column tucked in the bridge. This is one of two structural columns that will be visible in th house.

Monday will be a big day.

We were very excited to see the bridges and stairs being fabricated at Larson Steel in Gilroy.  These will be extremely important features of our home so they need to be designed, engineered, fabricated and installed carefully.

HSS 5×5 with 1/2 inch Wall

Although we had some initial ideas regarding the bridge design, Hector Guerra of Larson Steel designed the structural steel components.  He recommended that we use two pieces of tube steel, 5 inches wide by 5 inches deep, with 1/2 walls.  Knowing we didn’t want any ‘bounce’ or movement in the bridges, he thought this basic structural design would work.

End of HSS 5x5, notched to sit on the W6x16 I-beam. Do you think it will be solid? Rock solid?

Bridge Foyer

This is the main bridge that goes from the foyer across the atrium to the living room.  It will be covered with Madrone hardwood flooring from the Santa Cruz Mountains.  We want this to be solid.  Rock solid.

Pete Larson inspecting the Bridge Foyer. Note the cross-pieces that will then support two layers of 3/4 inch plywood and then the 3/4 inch Madrone hardwood.

Bridge Hall

This bridge goes from the Living Room to the Master Suite.  The bridge decking will be made of glass, fritted for safety and frosted for privacy.  Importantly, using glass will allow light from the clerestory windows to go into the lower level, which will reduce the electricity required over the building’s life.

The Bridge Hall will have a separate aluminum frame in it that will hold the six pieces of 1-inch thck glass decking.

Stairs

Due to the narrow 38-1/2 inch opening between the steel column and the feature concrete wall, the stairs were a challenge to design.  We used HSS 2×8 with 3/16 wall for one stringer and, by the concrete wall, 3/8 inch plate. 

It was very rewarding to see the design coming together.

HSS 2x8 stringer components, ready for inspection prior to welding.

This is the bottom of the stairs, where the stringers will be attached together with a 3/8 inch plate. Yes, that plate will be attached securely to the concrete and then covered with 3 inches of concrete.

This is the stair stringer that goes against the feature concrete wall. The lower part (left hand side) is HSS 2x8 tube steel as we are not constrained for space at that location.

Hector Guerra from Larson Steel came by this morning to show Bryan the HSS 5×5 by 1/2 inch tube steel.

Designing the Bridges

Hector and Pete Larson wanted to ensure that we knew exactly what the tube steel would look like and set our expectations accordingly.

Hector had a couple feet of the tube steel with him and showed Bryan how the corners have ~ 1 inch radius curve.  Hector explained that the thicker the wall of the tube steel, the larger the radius.  This is the same with, say, HSS 2×8 by 3/16 tube steel.  The corners are rounded, not square.

We thought the steel looked great.

HSS 5x5 by 1/2 inch wall tube steel. Note how the corners have a 1 inch radius curve.

Hanson Structural Precast confirmed our three truckloads of hollowcore concrete panels will arrive on Tuesday morning so we can start unloading (working) at 8:00 am. 

Bill Brown and his team are ready, and the weather looks perfect.

Completing the Steel

Larson Steel finished installing our steel columns and beams today.  Of course, this is a prerequisite to putting in the hollowcore concrete panels tomorrow.

We had to ensure there was always a three inch bearing surface on top of each beam.  This required moving some Nelson studs and trimming the ends of some beams.  We confirmed that our structural engineer, Innovative Structural Engineering, had verfied the conditions in each location where the steel beams were connected to either the concrete retaining walls, other steel beams, or steel columns.  Shane Lothrop confirmed each connection was acceptable.

Require 3 Inch Bearing Surface

The following photos show the conditions where we had to ensure there was a 3 inch bearing surface on the steel beams for the hollowocore concrete panels.

Nelson studs and W6x16 beam projecting into the 3 inch bearing surface for the hollowcore concrete panels.

W6x16 flush beam projecting into the bearing surface.

This W10x12 drop beam needs to be moved so our stairs can be at least 36 inches wide.

Making the Final Changes

Both Pete Larson’s team and Bill Brown’s team worked to ensure that we were prepared to place the 50 hollowcore concrete panels tomorrow morning. (more…)

Today was a huge milestone for our project.  Our structural steel is now in place, ready for the hollow core concrete panels.

Preparing for the Day

It was a perfect blue-sky, California day to place our steel columns and beams.  Not a cloud in the sky and a faint breeze to keep everything cool and comfortable.  Our 35-ton crane, from West Coast Cranes, arrived on time with the truck carrying our steel columns and beams.

Our crane, from West Coast Cranes, arrived on site promptly this morning to get set up.

The team from Larson Steel setting the bolt heights in the pockets for the steel beams.

The truck with our steel columns and beams arrived and is waiting on Winchester Boulevard.

35 ton crane from West Coast Cranes starting to extend its boom.

Note how the five outriggers are extended to level and stabilize the crane.

Having a large crane in place on a beautiful day appeared to be a trigger for visitors.  For example, Wes Wenger (Wenger Plumbing) came by as did Doug Ferannte (Los Gatos Glass).  Both had positive comments on our project as it continues to move forward.

Setting the Steel Columns in Place

The eight steel columns were set in place first, on the bolts that Bill Brown’s team embedded in the structural concrete on March 6, 2009.  These steel columns will support the steel beams.

First steel column coming from the truck.

Our first steel column being set in place by the crane, with Hector Guerra guiding it.

The last steel column is in place and the bolts are being adjusted and tightened.

Placing the Steel Beams

We have five steel drop beams that are supported by the steel columns and foundation wall.  These drop beams support two steel flush beams.

Moving the first steel beam from the truck to the site.

Hector Guerra directing the first steel beam placement over the window well.

Our 54 ft steel beam coming from the truck on Via Sereno.

Pete Larson's team putting our longest steel beam into place.

Hector guides the steel beam over the Wine Cellar into position, taking extreme care not to touch the feature concrete wall in the Atrium.

Moving the first flush beam from Via Sereno into the site.

Flush beam being lowered into place.

Our crane operator worked well with the Pete Larson's team, ensuring that the beams were placed in position gently and safely, exactly as directed. The owner of West Coast Cranes, Lowell Tucker came to our job site for a few minutes to observe the steel placement and ensure the work was going well (it was)..

First flush beam being positioned from the Atrium to the west foundation wall.

Placing the drop beam under the Dining Room and Kitchen. Note the crane operator is somewhat 'blind' as this beam is behind the Kitchen/Garage concrete feature wall.

Hector Guerra directing Pete Larson's on-site team.

John Rider Reviews the Steel Placement

John Rider (Jrider + Design), his wife Jenny, and Joel Lemons came to the site to see the steel beams being placed.  John was the focal point on our integrated design team as he ran the ArchiCAD model that was used to export and import DWG files from our design engineers to ensure all the components would ‘fit’ in our design.

John’s offices are located only minutes away on Hamilton Avenue in Campbell, California so they came just before going for lunch today.

We reflected on John’s site visit when the structural slab was poured using the boom pump truck, and smiled.

We had a several visitors come to see the steel columns and beams today.

John Rider (left), Jenny Rider and Joel Lemons watching from the observation deck as the steel beams being placed.

Our Structural Steel is in Place

With all the structural steel in place, the crane operator retracted the outriggers and secured the boom.  Then, he left the site.  Definitely a milestone event for us! 

Securing the boom and shutting down the crane.

Visits by Our Neighbors

After Pete Larson’s team and the crane left the site, we received a couple visitors.

First, Phil Knopf and his wife, Bonnie, came to the site.  They have lived in Monte Sereno, on the other side of Winchester, for more than 30 years and have seen significant changes in our community during that time.  We know Phil through his continuing leadership with Los Gatos Little League, where both our son, Nik, and daughter, Kate, play AAA and T-ball, respectively.

Although Phil had visited our site before, it had been some time and Bonnie had not seen the plans.  They were most interested in our project so Bryan gave them a thorough tour and explained the design features and energy-saving elements.  Phil and Bonnie were the first people to walk down the exterior concrete steps into the lower level.

John McLaren, a neighbor that lives four houses away on Daves Avenue, came to the site and walked the property, noting the changes since his last visit.  He used our new exterior concrete stair and avoided the water that was soaking our feature concrete walls.  Since inception, John has followed and supported our project.  He seems particularly interested in our Wine Cellar.

Another neighbor, Kel Marchbank (Marcal Construction), was on his Harley and visited the site.  Kel was over yesterday and saw the site before the steel was placed today.  He was impressed with the progress today and is looking forward to seeing the hollow core concrete panels being placed on Tuesday.

Our neighbors, Phil and Bonnie Knopf, visiting our site.

Bonnie Knopf liked the steel beams that we placed today.

Kel Marchbank stopped by to see the progress since his review yesterday.

 Bryan was smiling from ear-to-ear as he locked the gate.  It was a huge milestone today.