Workers install Franklin skylight glass
Under a flawless sky, a half-dozen construction workers from Reflections Glass and Mirror in Indianapolis attached six 8-inch suction cups to a large glass pane and hefted it carefully across the roof of Franklin Hall.
The pane measured 8 feet by 4 feet 6 inches by 1.5 inches thick, and weighed 520 pounds. Twenty panes of the same dimensions, plus another 20 panes measuring 8 feet by 4 feet and weighing 379 pounds each, will glaze the skylight above the central commons.
That’s close to 18,000 pounds, or 9 tons, of glass above the heads of students, faculty and staff who will occupy the new Media School building starting next fall.
Workers soon will remove the membrane from the flat roof below the skylight and cut through to the interior, exposing the existing second floor to sunlight. Then they’ll cut through the second floor, and daylight finally will flood the commons.
Elsewhere in the building, drywall is being installed and finished, external window frames are being cleaned and repainted, and ceiling tiles are being replaced, among multiple other tasks.
As of Friday, Oct. 16, 227 days remained for completion of the renovation of Franklin Hall, on target for a June 1 finish date.
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- Steel beams make up the skylight frame on top of Franklin Hall. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- The framework for the Franklin Hall skylight will hold more than 9 tons of glass. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- Eight-inch suction cups with handles allow workers to lift glass panes into the skylight frame on the top of Franklin Hall. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- This pane measures 8 feet by 4 feet 6 inches and weighs more than 500 pounds. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- It takes a half-dozen men to stand the pane on its end. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- Workers lift the pane onto the skylight frame on the roof of Franklin Hall. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- Two workers from Reflections Mirror and Glass in Indianapolis steady the pane before fitting it into the frame of the Franklin Hall skylight. (Anne Kibbler| The Media School)
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- It takes a combination of strength and care to slide the skylight pane into its frame. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)
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- Once the pane is in place, workers remove the suction cups. (Anne Kibbler | The Media School)