Back to Moose

This week at the visitor center was an adventure. On Wednesday we had strong winds and the tenting started to come down. We were trying to brace it from the inside but the wind was too strong, and the braces that were in were 'exploding.' No, I mean it, they just exploded in the middle. So we took the two gradall lifts out and tied the tent to them and pulled it out a bit while we re-braced the inside. It was kind of scary. This picture shows one lift still tied there the next day.

I have said before that this will be a beautiful building. Even the ceiling is beautiful.

The most exciting thing is that we finally set the first bit of glass in the big curtain wall. The glass is also big. The typical size (the glass that is not in corners or on the top row) glass is 64" x 109". In other words BIG. This is the first one we set. Next week we should have a lot more set. It will be really cool when it is done.

Two Thumbs Up!

So here's the damage, 10 Stitches in one inch. It looks pretty bad 'eh? It has been quite painfull the last two days. I am getting a bit more movement now that the swelling is going down some. I hope that It is more usefull on monday. There is just way too much work to be done to be taking time off right now.

Careful for what you wish for

This week in Jackson was rough. We worked 12 hr days, which isn’t too bad, but a day and a half of that Steve and I were having a hard time making this one particular elevation work. After getting all the aluminum in, set and started bolted into plane, we realized that the plane was determined (for us ) just a little off…3/4 of an inch in 40 feet. It will work…but it will still work.

This is the elevation Steve and I fought for so long

The week was really hard for Jessica here in IF too. The kids were difficult, and that got her to the end of her rope. We were both thinking that I could be home Thursday night (with me working 12 hour days), but with what needs to be done on the Visitor’s Center and by when, I would need to work Friday too (I think Cory and Gary will be staying through Saturday too).

Our glass will set on these stones...and will have to be cut to follow them too (see the jump?)

I did still come home on Thursday. However because of why I had to come home…I would have rather stayed. Around 4:00 Steve and I were cutting a few custom pieces to go on the north elevation. I was cutting a piece on the table saw, and it got away from me, the blade caught my thumb and just made hamburger out of it! OUCH!!! After 15 minutes I finally got it to stop bleeding through paper towels, and at that point I had to decide if I would be any help the rest of the day…let alone another day.

Cory suggested I go into Jackson and get some gauze and super glue and make a “cast.” I didn’t like that idea too much. It didn’t hurt too much yet, and I thought maybe I could help the rest of the day a little. But as I thought about it more, I realized I wouldn’t be much assistance…plus I needed to get it cleaned out and looked at—what if I got the tendon?

So Gary had Steve drive me home, and I went to the family emergency center. They cleaned it up (that hurt so bad I was levitating off the bed) and numbed it (that hurt far more than cutting it did!). I didn’t get the tendon, thankfully, but it did make a mess. The doctor cleaned it out (there was a lot of aluminum shavings in it) and sewed it up. I should be OK, I am hurting quite a bit now, but should be able to work next week. It obviously didn’t effect my typing ability…how much do you use your thumb when typing??? OK so both your thumbs?

I did take a few pictures before going to the doctor...but I'm not posting those. They are far nastier than the ones I posted in november, the last time I got cut bad.

Busy Week

I tried to publish this post Sunday, but Blogger wasn't working quite right...so here it is a few days late:

So I was lucky enough to work closer to home this week. I worked on the Rexburg Temple Tuesday & Wednesday and got a whole 9 windows installed on the 3rd floor (This is a stitched photo of our progress). They take a bit of time, and I don't want to rush it anyway...It's got to be done perfect. I did mess up on one piece of glass...I installed it upside down! But as soon as I get a suction cup up there we can re-set it...oops! This picture shows it. Can you find the oops?

It was great to work on the Temple, and it was also really nice to be so close to home so I could be home each night.

Thursday Jess and I went down to Salt Lake with TJ for a clinic at Shriner's Hospital. We had a some more questions before his surgery in May, and wanted a few more x-rays of his foot. The x-rays showed a lot more and just what we wanted to see than those before and helped out a lot...they look really cool, I want to make some images of them...Cyanotypes or POP prints would be interesting.

We also did a little shopping and walked around Temple Square. I got some new photo paper to print some images on…I tried it out on Saturday…looks like a silver print!
On the drive home, TJ slept for some of the trip. But as those with children know, that never lasts. We were able to keep him entertained with licorice. Yes he was a mess when we got home...but that way we got home without exploding!

We also spent much of this weekend looking into a home loan and looking for a home. That has been a bit overwhelming for me. It is hard to find a home that will meet our needs...that won't completely break us.

We've set glass!

Work on the Rexburg Temple started Monday! Jason and I set the first window in the Temple! That was pretty cool. But then on Tuesday I had to go to Jackson to work on the park visitor center. That is where I spent the rest of the week. progress went quite slow, but we do have a bunch of glass set. Each frame has to have end dams put in, be caulked and vinyled (rubber gasket) before glass can be set, so it is a slow process. These frames were set before I started working with Jenkins...They are big, but not as wierd as the big stuff we have been installing will be to set glass. The glass we set this week is all plumb.

It has been a very long week. I am very happy to be home for the weekend...and I think I may be working on the Temple next week. Jess and I are going to Salt Lake on Thursday with TJ, so It would be silly to go to Jackson for just two days (everyone is staying here on Monday). Or at least that was the plan the last I heard.

This is the material that we are using for the big sloped curtain wall...I have never used such an odd curtain wall system...lots of different pieces! The whole system seems to be over-engineered...but who am I? I'm a photographer and a glazier...not an engineer.

This space will be a gallery. The room strait back will be a classroom. It will be a beautiful exhibit space...but I don't think that they will really use it as an art gallery...probibly more for perminant pieces??? Who knows.

This is looking into the Gallery. I don't quite understand what the holes into the crawl-space are for. There are a lot of them. Something to do with diaramas and exhibits on hydraulic lifts??? Don't step in! They are normally covered, but they just got done pouring concrete (a second layer).

So that has been my week.

Another week in Teton Park

© Tyler Hopkins 2007

Another week of working at the Visitor's Center at Moose, WY has ended. We wroked 3-12's and a 'half-day.' The half-day became 10 hours. But the long hours were not too bad, we started earlier and we were able to keep busy and get a lot accomplished. One day the clouds even broke up and I got this shot of the Tetons from just outside the building. This will be the view from inside the building.

This shows our curtain wall in place, almost ready for glass...I stitched this from 3 photos (I need a much shorter lens!)

It felt so good to get so much done on it. We even started setting glass on some of the frames that were set before I started at Jenkins Glass. But Mostly I felt good about getting so much of the big curtain wall done. We are almost ready for glass on a lot of it. I don't know if I will be up there all of next week. I think that there could be about half of us up there setting the base for the next run of curtain wall. Our material is the smaller black stuff that sticks out from the bigger black stuff. We are now waiting for some stone boulders to be set so we can build off of them...again this is a really wierd design for a building. When it is done everyone that gets a chance must go see it. It will be beautifull!

This shows the only 90° corner on the system...it still leans into the building at 9° though...I stitched this from about 10 images...kinda messes with your eyes 'eh?