CoatingsPro Magazine

JAN 2017

CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.

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88 JANUARY 2017 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Steel Smoke Stacks — in their native Hungary. Now they do a great deal of work in the United States, as well as overseas," said Bennung. e Highclimbers team has completed repair and coating work on structures such as steeples, bell towers, cupolas, domes, and, of course, smoke stacks. "It's an opportunity to use our skills and do what we love," explained Zuberecz. Many of the company's projects also involve historic preservation and repair. Zuberecz is quick to point out that safety is the number one priority on every job that Highclimbers Company under- takes. A ll workers are highly trained, and compliance with all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regula- tions is a must. "We use Safety Services Company to make sure we understand all of the OSHA regulations. is company helps us to have all the training manuals and guides we need, as well as any other type of safety training," said Zuberecz. He added that finding the right qualified workers can be a challenge. "It is not easy to find people who can do this type of job. It is import- ant to find the right people and work together as a team. My brother and I double check everything. Nothing is more import- ant than safety," said Zuberecz. Highclimbers purchases all specialized equipment, including platforms, ropes, and full-body harnesses, through J. Racenstein, a company dedicated to manufacturing and distributing equipment for window cleaning and building maintenance. In addition to fall protection equipment, the crew wore hard hats, gloves, and safety goggles on this job. High Up How-To For this job, the six-member Highclimbers crew operated with two buckets attached to a platform: one bucket with the tools needed for the job and the other with the coating materials to be applied. "For this job, there was always one person on the roof for safety checks and with the other materials," said Zuberecz. Because the Inner Harbor is such a popular tourist attrac- tion and a high traffic area, spraying the coating material was never an option. Nor was pressure washing an option to clean the steel surface. A ll loose and peeling materials were taken off the smoke stacks by hand. Since spraying did not occur either in the surface preparation or coating application process, the crew did not put up containment. "However, we did have safety netting around the smoke stacks to prevent tools from acciden- tally falling to the ground if dropped," stated Zuberecz. e four steel smoke stacks are approximately 3,000 square feet (278.7 m²) each, making the project 12,000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) in total. "We coated from top to bottom. Each worker applied the material in four-foot [1.2 m] sections," It was up to a Highclimbers crew with knowledge of both rock climbing and coatings to recoat a total of 12,000 sq. ft. (1,114.8 m²) on four steel smoke stacks. Wearing gloves, safety goggles, and hard hats, the six-person crew removed any loose materials by hand and then brush or roller applied Acrymax's PC-535 to areas with corrosion.

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