Topping out
{{Short description|Builders' rite when the last beam (or equivalent) is placed}}
In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlayed into a media event for public relations purposes.[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/21/realestate/the-hoary-tradition-of-topping-out.html The Hoary Tradition of Topping Out] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184143/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/21/realestate/the-hoary-tradition-of-topping-out.html |date=2017-01-09 }}. The New York Times, 21 October 1984. It has since come to mean more generally finishing the structure of the building, whether there is a ceremony or not. It is also commonly used to determine the amount of wind on the top of the structure.
A Scandinavian tradition of hoisting a pine tree to the top of framed out buildings had a more functional purpose: when the pine needles fell off, the builders knew the wood frame below had cured/dried out so they could enclose the building.Engineering News, early 1970s {{full citation needed|{{subst:DATE}}|date=March 2023}}
History
The practice of "topping out" a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction.{{cite web|title=CUSSW: News:: History of the 'Topping Out' Ceremony|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ssw/news/apr03/history.html|publisher=Columbia University School of Social Work|access-date=6 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611090101/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ssw/news/apr03/history.html |archive-date=11 June 2012}} The tradition also served a functional purpose: a pine tree was used, and after the needles had fallen off the tree, the builders knew the wood frame below had cured/dried out so they could enclose the building.Engineering News, early 1970s {{full citation needed|date=March 2023}} Long an important component of timber frame building,[http://holderbros.blogspot.com/2008/11/topping-off-frame.html Topping Off the Frame] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203331/http://holderbros.blogspot.com/2008/11/topping-off-frame.html |date=2016-03-03 }}, 26 November 2008. it migrated initially to England and Northern Europe, then to the Americas.
A tree or leafy branch is placed on the topmost wood or iron beam, often with flags and streamers tied to it. A toast is usually drunk and sometimes workers are treated to a meal. In masonry construction the rite celebrates the bedding of the last block or brick.{{fact|date=November 2023}}
In some cases a topping out event is held at an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried-in, which means the roof can provide at least semi-permanent protection from the elements.[http://blog.miraverse.com/?p=984 Drying In, Part 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109082939/http://blog.miraverse.com/?p=984 |date=2009-11-09 }}, 6 November 2009.
The practice remains common in the United Kingdom and assorted Commonwealth countries such as Australia{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2013/12/19/why_do_construction_workers_top_building_sites_with_undecorated_christmas.html|title=What Is a Tree Doing on Top of That Construction Site?|date=19 December 2013|journal=Slate|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916053121/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2013/12/19/why_do_construction_workers_top_building_sites_with_undecorated_christmas.html|archive-date=16 September 2017|last1=Vanhoenacker |first1=Mark }} and Canada,{{cite web|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/Business/2013-05-16/article-3249598/Builders-top-off-new-downtown-office-tower/1|title=The Telegram|website=www.thetelegram.com}} as well as Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Iceland, Chile, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Baltic States. In the United States the last beam of a skyscraper is often painted white and signed by all the workers involved. In New Zealand, completion of the roof to a water-proof state is celebrated through a "roof shout", where workers are treated to cake and beer.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/67897103/building-a-house-where-does-a-roof-shout-come-from|title=Putting the cherry on top|website=Stuff|date=20 April 2015|access-date=2016-08-10}}
The tradition of "pannenbier" (literally "(roof) tile beer" in Dutch) is popular in the Netherlands and Flanders, where a national, regional or city flag is hung once the highest point of a building is reached. It stays in place until the building's owner provides free beer to the workers, after which it is lowered.{{cite web|url=http://www.vermonttimberworks.com/blog/whats-a-tree-doing-up-there/|title=Topping Out - A Timber Frame Tradition|website=www.vermonttimberworks.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805181609/http://www.vermonttimberworks.com/blog/whats-a-tree-doing-up-there/|archive-date=2017-08-05}} Since the workers are treated to free beer as long as the flag is raised, the workers are considered greedy if they fly the flag for more than a few days.{{fact|date=November 2023}}
Gallery
File:Wiecha.jpg|Topping out (wiecha) in Poland
File:Maszt radiowy w Konstantynowie.jpg|The final section of the Warsaw radio mast (in foreground) is decorated and ready to raise
File:Kranselag1959.jpg|Topping out in Norway (1959)
File:3WTC__Wide_Exterior.jpg Topping out of 3 World Trade Center (2018)
File:Construction site of Xibeiwang MIXC with top out banners (20210916165304).jpg|Topping out of Xibeiwang MIXC in Beijing, China with celebration banners (2021)
File:Ministru prezidents Valdis Dombrovskis piedalās LNB jaunās ēkas spāru svētkos (5683705288).jpg|Topping out of the National Library of Latvia
See also
Notes
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References
- John V. Robinson (2001). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1500407 "The 'topping out' traditions of the high-steel ironworkers"]. Western Folklore, Fall 2001.
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.carpenters.org/carpentermag/Topping910_01.pdf |title=Topping Off! |access-date=9 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060602153943/http://www.carpenters.org/carpentermag/Topping910_01.pdf |archive-date=2 June 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |work=Carpenter Magazine |date=Sep–Oct 2001 }}
- "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032321/http://www.stp.uh.edu/vol68/160/news/news4.html Tree symbolizes campus' growth]"; The Daily Cougar; Volume 68, Issue 160, Monday, 28 July 2003; accessed 11 February 2007.
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/wood200312230101.asp?category=all%20projects&id=23 |date=December 23, 2003 |first1=Peter |last1=Wood |title=Topping Off |website=National Review |access-date=August 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928203019/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/wood200312230101.asp?category=all%20projects&id=23 |archive-date=September 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170626052752/http://richtfest.info/ Richtfest.info] A German language site about the topping out ceremonies.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150216001911/http://cmc.edu/news/video_resource/topping-out-roberts-pavilion/ Topping out Roberts Pavilion] Topping out the new athletic building at Claremont McKenna College.
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