What Comes Down Must Go Up…………WAY up! (Part 6 – August 2025)
This post of the third floor work might be the most thorough post of all, photo-wise (I originally selected over 200 pictures for this one). From my perspective, the third floor offered a view of most everything that went on there. Future (higher) floors will probably offer slightly less visibility……………stay tuned.
Everywhere on the floor I saw rebar structures which got covered on four sides by large wooden planks whose visible side looked like a ladder on top of a board. Together, they made the formwork for reinforced columns. At some point, cement pumpers that are hooked up to cement-mixing trucks fill these frameworks via thick hoses that seem to be a block or two long.
AUGUST 1
At some point, the framework is removed, revealing VERY strong columns. For more information: https://deslinc.com/blog/choosing-the-right-materials-for-column-formwork (click image to enlarge):
In the absence of cement pumpers, the bucket’ll do……….
Yellow #2 pencil flooring (first impression):
That almost looks like he’s carrying the plastic piece that goes under a desk chair to protect the carpet:
The State St entrance (click to enlarge):
The much more interesting, multi-reinforced columned Passaic St entrance (click to enlarge):
AUGUST 2
More columnal photography (interesting ladder embracing the reinforced column)
My two biggest photographic construction projects are next door neighbors:
AUGUST 4
This looks like 3 or 4 pictures jammed together, but it’s just one………….
Short video showing bucket-fed cement going into a framework:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO3N8z0V75c
AUGUST 5
BIG rebar delivery:
Nice one-handed grab………..
AUGUST 6
Rebar EVERYWHERE!
AUGUST 7
Dust-free rebar floor……..
“Where the roads are made of iron and the curbs are made of wood……..”
Hey! Got my own drawing table!
Empty cranes V-frame Main St buildings and a bit of Foschini Park:
Rebar inspector?
Dust-Buster springs into action!
AUGUST 8
Waiting for the starting gun……….
BANG!
Knee- (and wrist-) deep in rebar:
When I first saw this in my camera’s viewfinder, I thought he was trying to attach the blue metal to the silver metal………….and then I realized that the silver metal was a street light…………..duh!
AUGUST 9
DUAL PUMPERS! I’VE GOTTA GET ME SOME SHOTS OF PUMPED CEMENT COMING OUTTA THEM THANGS!
Well, not quite cement, but getting closer!
They’re getting closer to each other……….SOMETHING’s gotta happen soon!
BINGO! JACKPOT!
And, for good measure, I shot some video as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7yeiq8wIoY
Time to smooth all that stuff out………
Then it dawned on me that I’ve gotta get over to Passaic St, where all the pumpers and mixers were happening!
That turned out to be an excellent idea! (click to enlarge everything from this point on):
But I wasn’t done yet – I saw an opportunity to get a shot that I could never get before: the point where mixer cement entered pumper receptacle.
I walked down Passaic St to just such a point. I saw it! I wanted it! A worker was handling things on the street. I asked him if I could take two steps closer and take just ONE shot with my phone.
“OK”
I didn’t have time to calculate all the angles.
I saw the flow and its entry (and the face of another worker…..and a STOP sign!). I ignored both.
BANG!
I nailed it!
I didn’t even check the phone to make sure it was OK. Sometimes, you just feel/KNOW that you got it.
I thanked the OK’er and moved on to other scenes:
A few feet east to get this – another phone shot that I love:
Now down at the corner of Main and Passaic (and shooting through the (semi-) covered fence:
Not sure why I took this one (yellow’s my favorite color?):
But there was ONE more shot I wanted, so I doubled back to the midpoint on Passaic St between State St and Main St to get this all-inclusive PANO phone shot that showed FIVE cement mixer trucks servicing the two dueling cement pumpers (see their crossed swords?)
I’m not gonna top any of this, so I am DONE for the day! (Best shooting day of the month!)
AUGUST 11
Small delivery:
Larger delivery:
The shiny, cement third floor (with orange trimming):
AUGUST 13
Cinder block delivery:
I can’t read the packaging, but since it showed up at around the same time as the cinder blocks, I’m guessing it’s anhydrous mortar (pre-water mortar!):
Many of both items are neatly-placed just south of where they are most likely to be used: the elevator shaft (though they might be used elsewhere):
AUGUST 14
Rebar fishing (must be for steelhead trout):
They’re not having much luck, so his friend decides to cut off his toes – including shoe leather – to be used as bait:
I didn’t stick around to see how this ended.
AUGUST 18
The first bright red cement pumper – GOTTA get a shot of that!
FOUR cement mixer trucks wait to service the redhead:
I have no idea what caused this, but you know the old rule…….”Shoot first and ask (unanswered) questions later”.
AUGUST 19
Some of the aforementioned cinder blocks and mortar positioned near the elevator shaft (it was all the cars that got my attention):
More #2 Yellow-luggin’:
“That’s a wrap!”, as orange fencing gets rolled-up for its next destination:
AUGUST 20
This is where the mortar gets mixed:
The mortar receptacle gets put in place:
Poured mortar (not an easy shot from 2 blocks away):
Cinder blocks and mortar – before and after:
AUGUST 21
More column formwork:
I wasn’t sure from where these sparks were emitting:
More work being done close to the next-door neighbor’s parking area:
Knock, Knock!
“Any day now………….”
“Finally……..”
The work gets done……….
Other 8-21-25 shots:
After everyone’s left:
AUGUST 22
Lunch!
Wood through iron:
How the site looks to me just before 9pm:
AUGUST 23
Ladies’ dressing room? (just a guess):
Initially, I thought this guy was giving me the finger (I still don’t know what he’s doing):
Rebar on two floors:
August 25
Another Yellow #2 pencil delivery:
AUGUST 26
Another cement pour and water squirt:
Smoothing it out:
Super-long handle:
Meanwhile, over by the stairwell…………
AUGUST 27
Drop something?
That looks kinda heavy:
I’ve never photographed that kind of guitar before – ESPECIALLY with the guitarist in that position:
I haven’t see any yellow cement pumpers, so when I saw this one waiting to get into position……….CLICK!
The name on it was kind of obscured, so when the pumper moved up a bit, I shot this:
PUTZMEISTER?
Accordng to Google, the word meister “denotes a person regarded as skilled or prominent in a specified area of activity”. I wouldn’t feel comfortable printing what it says about “putz”, so I’ll only ask: This guy is a prominent putz?
Passing around cinder blocks:
More column form work:
The stairwell progresses:
From my angle, the cement pumper appears to be operating out of someone’s apartment.
Did you notice that it was filling a column form?
Here’s a closeup of it:
AUGUST 28
Shoveling a column? (It probably does the job just as well as anything else.)
Speaking of column forms……….
The stairwell gets a little taller while the elevator shaft pops through on the left:
The shaft’s and stairs’ lifeblood gets delivered:
AUGUST 29
The mortar bucket brigade:
Three more column form shots:
Stairwell shots:
Hammering away………
Two more stairwell shots:
Rain’s coming……….
August 30
Dancing? Stomping bugs?
Oops! Not a bug – sorry!
The cinder block brigade (one just reached the top and the next one was just placed on the first level:
It looks a lot better in a video:
“Hmmm………I wonder what I could smack with this” (as he looks down to the right):
These two stairwell shots were taken 3hr and 45 minutes apart (to show the growth in that period):
Here’s how the project looked at the end of August (the 31st was a Sunday):
Third-floor work continues into September.
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