American Constructors recently coordinated and installed a striking, intricate system of cross-hatched glulam beams and trusses for The Lakeway Church's new 10,000-square-foot sanctuary.
Installation of the beams was part of a larger 25,000-square-foot campus expansion for the Lake Travis community church. As a part of the expansion, American Constructors also built a grand covered walkway to tie together the existing campus with the new additions. Other features include: a media suite, a spacious nursery, an inviting lobby and gathering spaces and a central outdoor courtyard with an extended porch.
Installing the Glulam Beams
Glulam beams-short for glued laminated timber-are huge pieces of dimensional lumber layered and laminated together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives.
Erected overhead the main worship seating area, this specialty lumber design generates a rustic, old-world feel to the large gathering space.
While the beams, which measure up to 103-feet-long, create a signature atmosphere for worshipers, they also presented a challenge for the American Constructors' team.
Before on-site work could begin, the beams had to make it to the job site. Since work on the project took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a standard delivery became anything but routine.
The beams started in Alabama and had to race the clock across the nation as many states closed their borders.
Once on site, the material scale and complexity of connecting the beams and trusses required considerable coordination and planning.
Our team mastered the sequencing of installing the structural steel necessary to support the beams and trusses. Then, American Constructors laid out the entire beam and truss matrix on a slab.
Our team also determined which steel pieces to delay installing so an 80k crane could maneuver into the sanctuary for erection of the structure. Finally, the team assembled the pieces into a cohesive end product and erected the structure in place.
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