Topping Out Celebration

September 11, 2008

A "topping out" event is held as the last piece of structural steel is put in place, normally at the highest point of the building in a "sky scraper." In a larger, lower building like our school, the beam could be in any location along the top of the building. Our final steel beam was installed in the roof line of the auxiliary gymnasium on the east side of the building. Our highest point of the building is actually the peak of the roof line of our main gymnasium. A United States Flag flew at that actual highest point throughout the day on September 11th, until we actually installed the final beam at the auxiliary gymnasium at 3:00 p.m. At that point the flag joined a tree on that final beam as it was hoisted into place.

The history of the tree being hoisted on the final steel beam stems from Scandinavia. It came to the United States with immigrants who began building our tall steel structures. While many reasons for the tree placement exist, the basic spirit of the tradition is to honor the tree and its wood as our first means of shelter. We honor these ancient traditions with the symbolic tree on the beam and we honor our country with the United States flag. We honor the trades people who build the facility for their quality construction by holding the entire topping out celebration. The event was held on September 11th to also honor those who lost their lives on that day in 2001; A moment of silence was observed.

Barton-Malow Construction Company hosted the event in the actual cafeteria which is under construction at our new North Fulton High School in Johns Creek, Georgia. The event consisted of a morning flag-raising ceremony at the highest point of the building, a celebratory luau lunch for all ladies and gentlemen working on the building, an acknowledgement of vendors who support us, an invitation for all participants to sign their name on the final beam and become a permanent part of the new building, and then a ceremony as the actual final beam was hoisted to the top of the auxiliary gymnasium. At the lunch, selected employees were recognized for exemplary efforts in safety, quality, and professionalism. The event was attended by more than 350!

The flag that was hoisted to the highest point and atop the final beam will fly on that beam for a couple of weeks. It will then be preserved and displayed in a place of honor in the building after the school opens in the fall of 2009. The tree that was hoisted with the final beam will live on that beam until roofing must be installed. At that point, the tree will be brought down and planted in a prominent place on the school campus with an accompanying plaque explaining its significance. We will hold a special ceremony for that tree planting.

The following links will take you to pages displaying photographs from this day-long topping out celebration: