Vik Construction Eugene, Oregon July 1978 to November 1978

The only Union Laborer on a multi-trade crew of ten erecting five 20,000sf tilt-up concrete warehouse buildings at 5th and Conger in Eugene, Oregon in on a six month fast-track schedule.

Responsible for site grading, formwork, grading, setting rebar, pouring concrete, grouting columns, placing beams, fabricating roof panels and laying insulation. Improved job speed, safety, efficiency and quality by keeping site and materials clean and highly organized.

More specifically
  • Built formwork, wired rebar, set steel welding plates, and poured concrete footing pads.
  • Built formwork, installed welded wire mesh, placed steel joint bars, and poured concrete floor slabs.
  • Built formwork, wired rebar, placed steel pick-points and welding plates, and poured concrete wall panels in pancake-like stacks.
  • Framed, reinforced, and poured concrete columns between cured wall panels.
  • Bolted together the interior steel columns, glue-laminated beams, joists and purlins.
  • Pre-built plywood roofing panel sections in a jig on the ground, then set them in place with help from a crane.
  • Covered plywood roofing with foam insulating boards, a protective sheeting and cardboard sealer for hot tar roofing.

Learned how to do more with less from a couple career carpenters a few years older than me that drove rigs with vanity license plate names like "CRUMMY" and "JIMMY."