Have you ever passed a construction site You may have seen many men and women with hard hats and tool belts on Maybe they were moving things around pouring concrete or looking over blueprints You may think that there’s no way this new building will ever be completed Yet day by day week by week the building goes up It’s amazing For some people watching from afar is fun For others getting up close is a must And so it is with the curious and clumsy Jeremiah Oliver Baumgartner The kid’s initials are J O B so his friends call him Job for short His parents like his nickname because sometimes it is hard work parenting a kid like Job As much as he enjoys watching the construction of his new school from his math classroom window he wants to be closer a lot closer So with his math teacher’s help he forms a club called the Construction Crew Each month a few kids and Mr Tony are allowed to tour the site and watch the construction people build their school Read on and you’ll learn a lot about many of the fun and challenging jobs at a construction site Unlike Job you can leave your hard hat at home for now Builder Bits More than 6 million people work in construction in the United States 4
Chapter 1 Job Joins the Construction Crew Neat That outfit makes him look like a superhero 5
But why do we need a bus Job asked as the Construction Crew left the school and headed downtown We could easily walk to the site Yes Mr Tony said but we’re not going to the site Job was confused But I want to wear my new hard hat safety goggles and reflective vest Mr Tony then told the group that there were many people who worked behind the scenes planning how to build the new school Okay but can I still wear my safety gear Job asked Job you’re so clumsy that you should always wear safety gear Mr Tony laughed Just then the bus stopped short and Job bumped his head on the seat in front of him I see what you mean Job said The Crew got to sit in on a meeting that included many of the planners of the new school The construction manager sat at the head of the table and is in charge of the entire process of constructing a building The construction manager works closely with the building owner and architect to make sure the building that is built is the building they want I feel ready for anything except for maybe hide-and-go-seek 6
Architects plan every detail of a building Computer-aided design can be used to make 3-D images The architect designs spaces where people live work and play and creates detailed plans that guide the construction process The architect designs the outside of the building and all the inside rooms even showing where doors windows and other features are to be located The interior designer is in charge of designing the inside spaces of buildings including lighting fixtures color schemes furniture and appliances It is the designer’s job to make sure the inside space of a building works well and looks good too The interior designer consults with clients to get a sense of their needs and design preferences creates concept drawings and makes sure that the end result is exactly what the client requested Drafters use special computer software called computer-aided designer or CAD to turn the architect’s designs into technical drawings or blueprints Workers at the construction site use these drawings to build the intended structure 7
