Building it Right :
Materials ensure Eagle Tower integrity
The beams and columns that support the new Eagle Tower and its ramp are made of structural glued laminated timber ( commonly abbreviated as “ glulam ”). Glulam is fabricated by bonding relatively thin layers of wood together with an adhesive . Using glulam is advantageous in that a number of smaller pieces of wood can be used to create a single larger wood member . Also , for larger beams and columns such as those used to construct Eagle Tower , it is typically more cost-effective to use glulam than beams or columns that are each made of a solid piece of wood cut from a singular tree .
The primary materials used to construct Eagle Tower and its ramp include the following :
• Deck boards of solid sawn cedar
• Glulam beams and columns fabricated from southern pine wood and an adhesive rated for outdoor exposure
• Steel plate connectors fastened with various bolts , nails , and screws to connect the glulam beams and columns
• Steel tie rods ( large X-shaped rods on the sides of each tower used to resist wind loads )
• Reinforced concrete foundations that are anchored to shallow bedrock with rock anchors
– Juliana Poquette www . AyresAssociates . com 35