Superior Scaffold Services

reading terminal market, superior scaffold, system scaffold, work deck, canopy, philadelphia, pa, nj, platform,renovation, masonry

Reading Terminal Market (East Side) An intricate maze of scaffold

This is one of those jobs that blows my mind. It’s not huge, but it took a lot of ingenuity to get it done.  Premier Building Restoration is renovating the entire exterior of the Reading Terminal Market and this side has been challenging, to say the least.  We won the prestigious GBCA Scaffold Project of the Year award for our work a little to the left of this job.  You can read all about it here.  In that job, we had to create a suspended scaffold rig that sat on the parking garage next door.  On this job, we had to erect...

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scaffolding, scaffold, lucy the elephant, margate, nj, new jersey, superior scaffold, work deck, historic, restoration

Scaffolding a legend. Lucy the elephant, Margate NJ

You can’t miss her. They say you can see her from eight miles away. She’s big, bold, beautiful and a survivor!  Lucy the Elephant, the six-story tall piece of zoomorphic architecture located in Margate, NJ, is a national landmark constructed of wood and tin sheeting featuring several rooms accessed through staircases in her legs. She was built in 1881 by James V. Lafferty to promote real estate sales and attract tourists to Margate and the Jersey Shore. And boy has she delivered. As the world’s oldest surviving example of zoomorphic architecture, she is getting a major facelift. Lucy the Elephant is having...

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superior scaffold, scaffolding, suspended scaffold, swing stage, access, new construction, philadelphia, pa, nj, de, philly

Suspended scaffold, canopy and more at 510 N. Broad

From a hole in the ground to a new mixed use apartment complex.  LVL North, at 510 N Broad, offers an artful blend of stylish apartments and luxury living.  At least that’s what their website says. No matter how you say it, this complex situated in Philadelphia’s “avenue of the arts” neighborhood will certainly create some buzz when it’s completed. Superior Scaffold was called in early on this project by GC, Clemens Construction, to give access support along the way.  We started with a stair town in the hole when they broke ground and then erected a canopy/overhead protection system all the...

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superior scaffold, drexel university, work deck, painting, repair, philadelphia, pa, nj, de

Scaffolding Drexel University Main Building – The “Great Court”!

This building is a fantastic example of old world craftsmanship. Completed in 1891 it features some the coolest artwork on the 35 foot tall archway entrance to the main building on Chestnut Street – known as the “Great Portal”.  Just look up and you’ll see 12 relief medallion portraits of leaders in their various fields, from Galileo to Newton, forever emblazoned on the building’s Italian Renaissance stucco representing the wide of array of disciplines taught at the university.  Now, with that said, we are doing work on the inside of the main Drexel University building on the Great Court that still...

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superior scaffold, Philadelphia, hanging bridge scaffold, scaffolding, river, bridge, work deck, platform, electrical, steel, iron, pa, de, nj

Spring Garden Street bridge, hanging bridge platform

Here is a really cool and really long hanging bridge scaffold job on the Spring Garden Street bridge in Philadelphia, PA.  It’s a 690 foot-long highway bridge that crosses the Schuylkill river below Fairmont Dam.  It connects West Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Museum of art and Benjamin Franklin Parkway.  It is the fourth bridge at this location. I’m going to put a link to the history of the bridge because it’s fascinating how many different structures have been built there since 1812.   The Spring Garden Street Bridge and its sister bridge, The Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Bridge, opened in 1966 to...

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Scaffolding, cantilever, shoring, transport platform, netting, pa, philadelphia, nj, de

Scaffolding Four Falls – Cantilever, transport platform, work deck and more…

So, you’re sitting on the Schuylkill, just near the Conshohocken exit and what do you see?  Traffic, of course, but what else?  If you glance to the West you’ve probably seen the Four Falls office building shrouded in scaffolding and black netting.  If you took the GBCA Fall Protection Competent Person Training, you’ve been in the building. Just a normal day at the office for the Superior scaffold builders, right?  Well, from the highway it sure looks that way but in reality it’s an entirely different story.  One that starts in the bowels of the building and juts out over the stream...

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superior scaffold, gbca, award, suspended scaffold, scaffolding, pa, nj, de

Superior Scaffold wins 5th GBCA Best Specialty Contractor Award

Superior Scaffold is proud to win the GBCA Best Specialty Contractor Award for the Reading Terminal Market Swing Solution. Each year the GBCA (General Building Contractors Association) recognizes the highest quality of workmanship and building innovation by Philadelphia area companies and we are honored to be included. Judges reviewed each nomination for workmanship, project management details, originality, innovative elements, and special techniques or materials. The project in a nutshell - there was virtually no way to get restoration crews to the side of the Reading Terminal Market building safely.  So Superior Scaffold's Bob Sarkisian came up with a radical idea that...

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superior scaffold, scaffolding, suspended scaffold, tropicana, nj, pa, de

Mission Impossible: Scaffolding the Dome on top of the Tropicana Casino, Atlantic City

Ahhhhh, so here we are, 33 stories above the famed beach at Atlantic City.  On top of the world-famous Tropicana Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hotel & Casino.  Did I say on top?  I believe I did.  And not metaphorically either, but physically.  Why, you ask?  Well, today we are showing you one of those insanely crazy suspended scaffold designs that Superior Scaffold’s, Bob Sarkisian, came up with to solve a problem. And let me be the first to say, “this job looks much easier than it really is.”  If my boss would let me fly a drone or pilot a small helicopter like...

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Arthouse suspended scaffold, monorail system, glass installation, Philadelphia, pa

301 S. Broad Street – Arthaus monorail, hoist and swing system

This one is spectacular.  It really is something to see.  I’m just the guy who gets to climb around on things (like a kid on a jungle gym) and take photos but I was blown away.  Maybe it was the fact it was 47 stories up?  Maybe it was that I got to see our crew guys casually strolling on the edge of the world carrying giant aluminum beams on their shoulders with nothing protecting them except a harness?  I don’t know.  Maybe it was truly the scope of the job?  Or it might have been a combination of everything.  I’ve been...

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superior scaffold, scaffolding, scaffold, transport platform, elevator, lift, work deck, system scaffold, canopy, sidewalk shed, overhead protection, pa, de, nj, philly, philadelphia

There is no i in team

I’ve been watching a lot of Rick Beato videos lately.  He’s the guitar guru who breaks down the coolest songs on the planet lick by lick.  His enthusiasm is priceless.  Even if you don’t understand the music theory it’s just fun to watch his facial expressions. Like a great song, it’s the collective entirety of the band that collaborates to make one cohesive, emotional, awesome piece.  And our scaffold team is no different. I shot the photos of this job and thought about the different elements that came together to make it work. The first thing that came to mind is that...

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