Scariest job in Houston?
If it's not, it's in the top two or three. The Chron's Dane Schiller visits with the men cleaning the windows and granite of the Chase Tower:
When cleaning granite and washing windows on the 1,049-foot-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, one wrong move can make for a very bad day.
"It is in the hands of God ... destiny," Jose-Luis Riquelme, who specializes in working at extreme heights, said Tuesday. "If I die doing this, I'll die doing what I enjoy."
That's not to say they are daredevils. They take plenty of precautions as they attack a three-month project to bathe the five-sided building, which has about 3,100 windows and more than two acres of glass.
Before a day's work can begin, safety harnesses are double-checked, and everything from squeegees to cell phones are tied or fastened with straps to ensure that if they're dropped, they won't plunge to the ground.
A falling phone could hit 120 mph before reaching the sidewalk.
The weather is closely monitored as it can quickly bring thunderstorms and high winds. If gusts hit 25 mph, work is halted.
The key to success for the job, which pays as much as $22 an hour, is not working scared, but staying aware that working on the sides of a 75-level building is a uniquely perilous situation.
Among the guidelines: No quick movements, leave stresses at home, equally distribute weight across the scaffolding.
They earn every bit of their salaries.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/07/08 04:54 AM | Houston Miscellany | Print | Comments (4)
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