Window Cleaning The World’s Tallest Building

Daring window washers clean world's tallest building.

Window-cleaning the world’s tallest building: Dubai, United Arab Emirates — It’s hard work cleaning the windows of the world’s tallest building, but somebody has to do it. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is covered in 24,000 panes of glass. The workers who clean them start at the 160th floor and work their way down. That’s more than 2,700 feet. Before they start their work, they check and double-check their harnesses and ropes. They also measure wind speed because a gust of wind could be dangerous. It takes three months to clean every window, and then crews start all over again.

Meanwhile in China..

Climbing duo Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov scaled the 632 metre building without any ropes.

Shanghai Tower skywalkers climb second tallest building in world without safety equipment: Two Russian climbers filmed themselves defying gravity (and death) by climbing the world’s second tallest building without any ropes or climbing gear. Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov used head cameras to film themselves breaking into and climbing the still unfinished Shanghai Tower in China, as they scaled the 632m structure without any safety gear.

Their cameras show vertigo-inducing panoramas of Shanghai hundreds of metres below throughout their ascent. The pair even passed clouds on their journey to the top. The Tower will be one of the tallest buildings in the world upon its completion, second only to the 830 metre Burj Khalifa in the UAE, the tallest man-made structure in the world. When both climbers reach the top, their head-cams show them peering down into the abyss below. Makhorov told Yahoo! News: "We had to wait for hours for the clouds to part but it was well worth the wait, the view was like something from an aircraft window. "As soon as we saw a gap in the clouds were climbed right to the top of the crane and were able to get some great shots of the city below."

Don't look down! Vadim Makhorov sits in a cage above the Shanghai Tower, with the city sprawled more than 2,000 feet beneath him.

Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov captured these shots from a height that would make most people sick.

Squeegee Free - 99¢ Any Window

"Now I'm laughing to the bank. I'm good at what I do,'' Rob Feinberg says. "I don't like looking bad.''

Squeegee Free - 99¢ Any Window - You might walk away from Rob Feinberg thinking he's one of the neatest guys you've ever met or a wild dreamer. But he is interesting. Just about everything he does, or doesn't do, is interesting. And so you listen intently and wonder if he's going to virtually walk off the street into the promised land of the show jumping horse industry. Feinberg plans to turn his jumpers into some of the best in the country, the kind of horse that wins big money.

Feinberg admits that some within the industry's establishment have viewed him skeptically. But he ignores the naysayers. "When I charged $1 to wash a window of any size, they all laughed at me,'' he says of starting up Itsnotapain.com, which is Web site now calls "undoubtedly the fastest growing commercial, industrial and residential cleaning company anywhere in the "Now I'm laughing to the bank. I'm good at what I do,'' Feinberg says. "I don't like looking bad.''

Feinberg bought Day Tripper two years ago for $2,000. Day Tripper was a Western Pleasure horse, a discipline focused on a horse's manners and calmness and disposition, not jumping over fences. He has converted Day Tripper into a jumper, and says the horse recently finished second in his debut at a beginner event in Sussex, N.J. But how? Feinberg cites a summer program at SUNY Morrisville years ago as his only formal educational experience with horses. Feinberg learned the ins and outs of standardbreds, not jumpers, in the program. So how was he able to turn Day Tripper into a jumper in less than a year?

Feinberg says the key is to train the horse "from the ground up,'' meaning he first walks the animal toward and over fences without a rider. Feinberg cites the importance of a quality diet for the horse, which is why, he says, Day Tripper eats only the finest hay and alfalfa. He says the other secret is connecting with the horse. "I understand their language,'' he says. "It's like a kid. You have to work with them through their problems. I know how to make a connection. You give me a horse, I guarantee you that I can make it do anything.'' Sounds like some kind of horse whisperer. "I guess if you want to call it that,'' Feinberg says.

Day Tripper made it over just seven of a dozen or so jumps in a low-scale non-monetary event at HITS on Wednesday. He will give it another shot on Thursday and likely each Wednesday and Thursday through early June. Feinberg acknowledges that Day Tripper might not be the horse to compete for six- and seven-figure purses at such shows as HITS. That is why, Feinberg says, he recently purchased two horses from Europe, at $15,000 a pop, currently being quarantined. He claims they will be Olympic-caliber jumpers within two years. "You can spend $100,000 on horses, but it doesn't mean anything,'' he says. "It's working with the horse and understanding that horse and respecting one another.''

Robin McNellis, who rides Day Tripper through training exercises at a Bethel facility, vouches for Feinberg's skills. She says his ability to convert Day Tripper from a Western Pleasure horse to a jumper is "pretty rare.'' "It's his confidence and belief in the horse,'' McNellis says. "That's the secret. When people tell him he can't do it, it doesn't distract him at all.''

Photo Shoot From The Tallest Building In The World

Just an everyday job. Dangling from the spire of Burj Khalifa for a photo shoot.

Dangling from the spire of Burj Khalifa for a photo shoot (DUBAI) - A local window cleaning professional has spoken for the first time about how he took part in a National Geographic photo shoot at the top of the Burj Khalifa. By day, Johnny Salvador is the operations manager for Grako, the company contracted to clean the outside of the world’s tallest building. But on March 18, he and his colleague, Mike Flamson, helped famed National Geographic Society photographer Joe McNally scale the Burj and then posed for the camera while dangling from its spire.

“At the time of filming you’re quite blase about the whole thing as I am there doing my job the same way I would with anyone else,” Mr Salvador said. “It’s nice to show my mates at home so they see what I get up to. I’m just proud to go up the tallest building in the world and happy Grako gives me the opportunity to do it.”

In a behind-the-scenes video published on McNally’s YouTube channel last week, the National Geographic photographer explained he didn’t want to just climb to the top and shoot the view. “You want a person in that frame, you want to have a reference point – you want to sense some humanity in the midst of this giant structure,” said the 61-year-old American. “And also, you want to celebrate this very unique skill that these guys have. ” McNally and Mr Salvador were both suspended outside a bucket-like structure at the tip of the spire – 828 metres in the air.

“For a 60-year-old, hats off to him,” said Mr Salvador. “We called him afterwards Joe ‘the Iceman’ McNally. He didn’t grumble once and he held his own the whole way up,” Mr Salvador said. Mr Salvador also worked with Alain “Spider-Man” Robert, the French climber famed for scaling towers without any ropes or assistance.

24,000 Windows - Clean by Tonight!

Reach for the sky, how to clean all that glass: It is the world's tallest skyscraper but who is going to clean its 24,000 windows? The answer - an Australian company that has designed and built an $8 million window-washing system to burnish the reflective glass of the Burj Dubai tower that rises almost a kilometre above the Arabian desert. The rulers of Dubai last night tried to convince the world that their financial troubles had been overstated by holding a lavish launch of the 818-metre ''superscraper''. It dwarfs the world's previous tallest buildings, the 508-metre tower 101 in Taipei, and the 629-metre KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota. Among the 6000 guests were representatives from Melbourne company Cox Gomyl, which designed and built the machinery to take window cleaners, harnessed to metal cages, to the 160 storeys. Unmanned machines will clean the 27 extra tiers and the spire.



The general manager, Dale Harding, said the company had also tendered to provide the 36 cleaners needed to battle the hot desert sun, high winds and routine sand storms. ''It takes about three months to clean the entire building so the machines will be operating in cycles the vast majority of the year,'' he said. The machines cover about 40 storeys each and travel along tracks fixed to the facade. When not in use, they are hidden at various heights behind glass panels. While the technology is cutting edge, the window washers - most likely migrant workers - will use the traditional squeegee and soapy water. ''It's a challenging environment to work in. You're out on your own, the wind is howling by, the heat is bouncing off the glass and on the lower levels there is sand as well,'' Mr Harding said. The cleaners will carry electrolyte packs and wear specialised clothing resembling moon suits, while working only on parts of the building that are in shade.
Cox Gomyl is one of several Australian connections to the Burj Dubai. Melbourne and Sydney experts from Hyder Consulting reviewed and approved the tower's design on behalf of the Government of Dubai. The company also supervised construction. ''We are in fact responsible for the building,'' said property director Jim Forbes. ''To be involved with the tallest building in the world was a real thrill.'' Mr Forbes said Dubai's wind and frequent sand blasts presented a design challenge combated by changing the tower's shape as it ascended to ''confuse the wind and resist any vibrations.'' Setting aside fears that the emirate is on the brink of defaulting on its debt, last night Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was expected to make a triumphal ascent of the $1 billion tower which has swimming pools on floors 43 and 76 and plans for the world's highest mosque on the 158th floor.

Burj Dubai set to open as world's tallest building: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum expected to ascend the 800m Burj Dubai during lavish opening party. Crews of cleaners today rushed to finalise preparations for the grand inauguration of the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. With batteries of fireworks and an invited crowd of 6,000 guests, the rulers of the Gulf emirate will tonight attempt to convince the world that their financial troubles have been overstated with a lavish celebration of a glass and steel building that tapers almost a kilometre into the sky. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (pictured), is expected to make a triumphal ascent of the spire-shaped tower which rises over 800m from the Arabian desert. He will announce the exact height this evening in a move intended to draw a line under the country's financial crisis, which has left a trail of outstanding creditors. "Crises come and go, and cities move on," said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the state-owned developer of the building. "You have to move on. Because if you stop taking decisions, you stop growing."

With swimming pools on floors 43 and 76 and plans for the world's highest mosque on the 158th floor, the $1bn "superscraper" dwarfs both the world's previous tallest building, the 508m tall tower 101 in Taipei, and the 629m KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, the tallest man-made structure. It is so high, the temperature is said to be 10C cooler at the zenith than at the base. But with many investors in the building's 1,044 apartments already facing losses after property prices in Dubai slumped, the Burj's owners are struggling to present their architectural achievement as anything but a pyrrhic victory. The offices and most of the flats are still an estimated two months from completion and the emirate's neighbours in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, which provided Dubai with a £15bn bailout last year, are also understood to be unimpressed at the ostentation of the building.

The fountain outside cost a reported £133m and the 160 room hotel was designed by fashion designer Georgio Armani and boasts a nightclub, two restaurants and a spa. Meanwhile, labourers on the project, including many immigrants from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, earned low wages. Skilled carpenters took home just £4.34 a day and labourers, £2.84. Security is expected to be tight. Local newspapers quoted Major General Mohammed Eid al-Mansouri, head of the protective security and emergency unit for Dubai police, saying more than 1,000 security personnel, including plainclothes police and sharpshooters, will be deployed to secure the site for the opening.

But even by the standards of an emirate which has created miles more beach front by building vast islands from millions of tonnes of sand in the shapes of palms, the tower stands out as Dubai's most remarkable achievement. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower which is part of a 500-acre development known as "downtown" Burj Dubai. Alabbar said Burj Dubai was "another demonstration of Dubai's ability to achieve what few people thought possible". "The tower is a global icon," he said. "It represents the determination and optimism of Dubai as a truly world city. It is a powerful symbol for the entire Arab world."

Burj Dubai is the ultimate vantage point: After all the hype, we find out what it’s actually like to see the city from the ultimate vantage point. “They could have at least washed the windows!” moaned one journalist stood on the 124th-storey observation deck of the Burj Dubai. Apparently it can get dusty when you’re half a kilometre in the air. Only very slightly though – and you’d have to be an epic grinch to let this taint your experience of the world’s tallest building.
Ignoring this glass-half-empty simpleton, the rest of us took advantage of today’s press preview to get a sterling view of –and from – the Dhs 5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) superstructure. Even at 8.30 on a murky Monday morning, floor 124 offers a cornucopia of sights. The circular gallery offers a 360-degree panoramic view of the city, allowing visitors to take in landmarks such as the Burj Al Arab, Wafi and The World archipelago in under a minute if they so desire.
Tours depart from Dubai Mall at 30-minute intervals. Guests enter a ground floor lobby situated between More Café and a Burj souvenir store (so if you want to buy T-shirts, photo frames or a Dhs299 commemorative crystal bottle of water afterwards, you know where to go). “Get ready to enter the record books,” pronounces a sign at the entrance. The lobby itself contains a softly-lit replica of the tower, along with “a story in numbers” (12,000 people worked on the Burj at one time or another, and it’s visible from up to 95 kilometres away apparently).
The tour itself nudges into sci-fi territory at times, especially with the elevators (TV screens and the nightclub-esque décor aside).
The lifts are a speedy proposition indeed – racing up and down the tower at an astonishing 10 metres per second, although you may not even realise you’re moving until your ears begin to pop. Now if only I could get some installed in my Al Barsha tower block… For those of you wishing to be educated as well as wowed, moving diagrams and interactive displays explain the story of how the Burj was built, before you enter the iconic edifice itself. Upon reaching the viewing deck, visitors are free to wander around the floor, which comes equipped with high-tech digital telescopes. There is even an outside platform, which was unfortunately shut yesterday for the fireworks display but will be open to the public as of today. Going back to the view, I found the sheer scale of the Burj forced home by its monstrous shadow – slicing through Dubai and almost touching the coast.

Window Cleaning on Worlds Tallest Building Set to Start

A tall order - Burj Dubai all set to come clean: Cleaning of Burj Dubai exterior will begin soon to prepare for the expected September soft opening of the tallest building in the world, XPRESS has learnt. An Emaar spokesperson said on Sunday that “Burj Dubai will open this year as scheduled” but declined to confirm if the schedule still includes September or a later date. Cleaning an 818-plus metre tall icicle-shaped shard that seemingly reaches into the heavens is easier said than done, said Mick Atkins, Project Director of Cox Gomyl in Dubai.

The Australian design and fabrication company was subcontracted by cladding firm Arabian Aluminium to build on behalf of Emaar owners a custom cradle for window washers. The first of 18 tailor-made Cox Gomyl buckets is now being tested on the south side of the Burj Dubai at Level 40, Atkins said. “Normally you would drive around a track on the roof,” Atkins said.
However, with the Burj’s tri-floral petal exterior shape, he said that they have to drive “around the outside of the building”.

To wash most of the 160 floors of habitable space of the structure, a horizontal track has been installed on the exterior of Burj Dubai at three levels - 40, 73 and 109. Each track holds a 1,500 tonne bucket machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy cables, he said. “The cradle drops vertically and cleans that strip,” Atkins said. The very top of the spire, however, is reserved for specialist human window cleaners who brave super heights and high winds dangling by ropes to clean the top panels.



Daniel Hicks, Business Development Manager of Megarme Rope Access, is bidding for the contract to clean the spire using rope access technicians who abseil or rappel along the facade.
Despite 15 years of expert experience in Dubai hanging from some of the tallest buildings in the Gulf, Hicks said maintaining the top 111 metres of the Burj Dubai will be a first. Unlike climbing Mount Everest, for example, where there is secure landscape nearby for a climber to maintain his bearings at a super high altitude – on top of the Burj Dubai, there’s mostly air. “There’s no natural feature that you could relate this to,” Hicks said. “This is like a chopstick jutting out of the ground compared to a mountain.” Also see previous news.

Tallest Cherry Picker & Other Window Cleaning News

Bradford firm on the up: A specialist window-cleaners is extending its reach after taking delivery of the UK’s tallest cherry-picker. Bosses at Blade Access, in Bowling Back Lane, West Bowling, Bradford, will use the £600,000, 230ft Wumag access platform for “extreme window cleaning”. It will scale tall buildings across West Yorkshire. And it will enable work to be carried out in the environmental technology sector. Jamie Bairstow, 29, who co-founded the company six years ago with Mark Bell, bought the cherry-picker from Sky King, a specialist company in Leicestershire. Mr Bairstow said: “When we originally formed the window-cleaning business, we had to hire out platforms. Then we got a fire engine platform and now we’ve got the biggest cherry-picker in the UK. It looks like we’re going up in the world!” Pictured: From the left, co-founder Mark Bell, area sales manager Martin Cowley and co-founder Jamie Bairstow.

Tired of hearing people passively ask what's being done about downtown's vacant storefronts, a small group of volunteers has taken it upon themselves to bring curb appeal to the area's commercial real estate. This summer, the dark and dusty store windows that dot Center Street and Merchants Row will be replaced with colorful cloth backdrops, furniture and theater prop displays, unconventional art and more than a few flocks of paper cranes. "We're a small group of volunteers who are just very interested in seeing the beauty of Rutland shine through," said Carol Tashie, of the group City SEEDs — formerly known as Farm to City — which promotes socially engaged economic development.
"We thought we could take advantage of the fact that those windows offer a frame for getting people to locate their businesses downtown," she said. With the permission of the property owners, all of whom have been receptive to the idea, City SEEDs has already spruced up three window fronts, including the former Army Navy store on Center Street and the old Book King on Merchants Row, and hopes to have all decorated by early August, said Steve Eddy, another member of the group. Eddy is the former owner of Book King, but doesn't own the now-vacant space he formerly occupied.

Wow is owned and operated by Andrew Kidd, whose slogan is: “Windows that make you say, ‘WOW!’” He makes the world say Wow! in Burien, Normandy Park and Seattle. We don’t know for sure, but our research reveals that back in school Andrew’s nickname was “Streak Free.”
Do you run a business? Well, if you do, Andrew is announcing a $30 “Special for Businesses” which includes two windows and a door, cleaned inside and outside, for just $30. Wow! And for homeowners, be prepared – it’ll be like your windows changing from analog to High Def. Throwing a party for the 4th? The last thing on your To Do list is always washing the windows. “Allow us to do it for you,” Andrew says. “And call me about Senior Discounts.” A new view courtesy Andrew and his crew, who like to say: “Give us a call. We’ll come see you so your customers can too!” Oh, we were just kidding about the “Streak Free” nickname, but Andrew really is a lifelong Burien resident. He loves it here. Wow window washing.

Racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart received a special 70th birthday present yesterday - the freedom of his childhood home. And when he visitied his former schools in Dumbarton, he opened his heart on his battle with dyslexia. At Dumbarton Academy, he told fellow dyslexia sufferer and Formula One fan Harry Watters, 14, he could "be the next Lewis Hamilton". "Einstein was dyslexic and if I hadn't won three world championships, I would be the world's best window cleaner - seriously.

Ecover, the world-leading pioneers of ecological cleaning are packing their most powerful punch yet with a brand new range of hard surface cleaning products that put their competitors to shame. While they’re even tougher than petrochemical products on household grime, they’re brilliantly gentle on both the environment and your skin.
Guaranteed to leave your home sparkling clean, this hard-working range harnesses the power of nature through pioneering ingredients called Eco-Surfactants1. Developed exclusively by Ecover’s ecological innovators, these new ingredients mean the new range is proven to clean as well as – or better than - the UK’s leading conventional brands2.
The range consists of two new products: Ecover Power Cleaner and Ecover Window & Glass Cleaner; as well as two new formulations of household favourites, Ecover All Purpose Cleaner (previously known as Ecover Multi-Surface Cleaner) and Ecover Multi Surface Spray Cleaner (previously known as SquirtEco).
Ecover Window & Glass Cleaner – RRP £2.69 (500ml) - this brand new product can be used on windows, mirrors, glass and chrome. Up against Mr Muscle Window Cleaner, it took victory on performance and finish, and was described as ‘efficient’, ‘very effective’ and ‘easy to use’ in consumer research.

Travellers leave dangerous rubbish in their wake: A Shefford Woodlands man has been left with skips full of rubbish, including piles of asbestos, after travellers set up home in his field. Charles Byam-Cook, who lives at Oakhanger Park, said that more than a dozen caravans and camper vans had converged on his property after cutting a hole in a fence. Mr Byam-Cook said that they spent more than a week on his land before finally moving on of their own accord, on Sunday, June 14. However, he has now been left with a huge clean-up operation after discovering that they had left heaps of debris. “I have had to get two skips to clear it all and one especially for all the asbestos,” said Mr Byam-Cook. “There were empty bottles, beer cans, household rubbish and old gas cylinders – but what was more tiresome was all the other rubbish they left.” Mr Byam-Cook said that this included old doors and window frames and wood with nails sticking out of it. He added that among the rubbish left he had also found two boxes of flyers, offering cleaning and roofing services.

Top 10 Michael Jackson moments: Number 3. Bubbles
Bubbles was Jackson's favourite pet chimpanzee whilst he lived at the Neverland ranch. In out-takes from Martin Bashir's documentary, Bubbles is said to have used Jackson's private toilet and completed basic household duties such as dusting and window cleaning aided by other chimpanzees. It was rumoured that Bubbles was banned from the Neverland premises having punched Jackson in the face. A statue of Bubbles and Jackson can be found at the Alstrup Fearney Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo Norway, having been purchased for $5.6 million by an ananymous buyer in New York in 1991.

Powerful software to make your cleaning business more efficient. Now you can easily record and view info on every cleaning job you have done: floor care, carpet care, self-employment, window washing, custodial training and many other areas related to the cleaning industry. You can use the scheduler to find the best fit by viewing dates, times and distance of other scheduled services to set an appointment for a customer. Each customer's history is stored and conveniently displayed on the customers main screen for ease of look up. This historical recount is complete and permanently stored with each customer for quick reference. It's perfect for workers to plan working hours so that the orders do not overlap with someone else and keep track of scheduled appointments. It'll store the information about clients, such as their address, telephone, email and comments. This modern and extremely handy program makes management a real pleasure. You can view the information about payments, daily income for any day at any moment when you need it. For those people, who work in Microsoft Outlook, it's possible to export data. Export of data is available to different formats: XLS, TXT, HTML, XML for its adaptation for other programs. In case of crashes or virus attacks, there is an auto backup function with a possibility to remove old archives automatically.

Newspapers tell window cleaners what to charge! If you hire a window washing service, the charge to wash 12 double-hung windows from the inside and exterior of a house will be $156. You can do the job for $16, the cost of the materials, and save a whopping 90 percent for your effort. Those materials include cleaning solution and a window squeegee and scrubber. You also need a stepladder, bucket and lint-free clean rags for washing and drying. Washing windows is a good two-person job that goes quickly when one worker cleans the exterior while the other cleans the inside.
Washing windows is a no-brainer if you have a single-story house. However, the job gets dicey if you have a two-story house. Unless you already have an extension ladder, consider washing the first-floor windows and hiring a service to wash the ones upstairs. You'll get the best results if you wash windows on a cloudy day because sunlight dries the glass quickly, which causes streaking. Pro cost: $156 - DIY cost: $16 - Pro time: 1.8 hrs, DIY time: 3.3 hrs, DIY savings: $140 - Percent saved: 90 Percent.

Couple celebrate 70 years of marriage: It's an anniversary which most people struggle to reach... 70 years of marriage. But for Bill Mitton, 99, and his wife Doris, 91, it was yet another extraordinary milestone in their extraordinary lives. The happy couple tied the knot three months before the outbreak of the Second World War, on June 24, 1939. And for the past 64 years, they have lived in the same house in Whitehall, where their family grew up. At the bungalow in Wineberry Close the pair celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary, surrounded by five generations of their family. Bill worked as a fireman during the war and then as a window cleaner for many years before going on to work for Crittall Windows in Brislington, until he retired at 65.

Angry leaseholders accuse Lambeth of "plucking figures out of the air" after service charges soar: Homeowners have accused Lambeth’s housing manager of giving them inflated bills for service contracts that do not exist in order to plug a financial black hole. Last week estimated service charge bills for 2009/10 dropped through the letterboxes of thousands of Lambeth Council properties leaseholders. In many cases, estimated charges for services such as heating and hot water more than doubled, adding hundreds of pounds to residents’ yearly bills. Other services - such as communal block cleaning costs and window-cleaning - have also rocketed. Leaseholder representatives say this is wrong as contracts for services on some estates have not been decided. One Herne Hill resident reported a jump in block cleaning costs from £35 in 2008/9 to an estimated £650 this year on his yearly bill.

The Burj Dubai, Worlds Tallest Building

Due to be completed in June 2009, the Burj Dubai overtook the highest building record last year on July 24th, 2007. Burj Dubai will become the world's tallest building, along with the world's tallest man-made structure when it is completed. Some more figures:
The triple-lobed footprint of the building is based on an abstracted desert flower native to the region. The highest residential floor will be level 109. An observation deck will occupy the 124th floor. The building was rotated 120 degrees to allow for less stress from the prevailing winds.
The building sits on a concrete and steel podium with 192 piles descending to a depth of more than 50 metres (164 feet). A total of 45,000 cubic metres of concrete are used in the foundations with a weight in excess of 110,000 tonnes. The exterior cladding is of reflective glazing with aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins of stainless steel. The cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's extreme summer temperatures. This is the first world's tallest building since prehistoric times to include residential space. The official height has not been released, and remains secret. The total height of 808 meters (2, 650 feet) is subject to change.

And now for the important bit: The towers primary window washing & facade and maintenance system consists of three permanently installed, track mounted, telescopic building maintenance machines located in internal garage postions on uppermost levels. The manned cleaning cradle for each machine is capable of serving the entire facade from its garage level downward to level seven. Each machines jib arm when extended will have a reach of over 36 meters with an overal length of 45 meters. Under normal conditions, with all three units in operation it will take 3 to 4 months to clean the entire building once. There is a seperate system for the tower spire including a mobile elevated work platform.

............take your sun-screen.