The Mullan Contracting Co. completed a unique task last week.
The Lutherville-based firm installed a five-ton, 40-foot-wide gold dome on the top of St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church as part of an expansion and renovation of the religious institution, located at 909 Shawan Road in Hunt Valley.
The dome, which was manufactured by Architectural Fiberglass in Cleveland, required a tower crane and special rigging to be installed because it needed to remain level during the entire process.
“In order to accomplish this, we needed to create a custom-designed rigging apparatus to accommodate the 40-foot-wide dome and prevent the fiberglass piece from becoming egg-shaped. It took approximately one full day to prepare for the install operation and another full day to execute the strategy,” Joseph Rode, president of The Mullan Contracting Co., said in a news release.
Work on the 5,800-foot expansion is expected to be complete this fall. The expansion, which is being manufactured with stone features spires and stained glass windows, is designed by Sanders Design to look like ancient Byzantine architecture.
