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Topping out in Southern Denmark

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 atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlayed into a media event for public relations purposes.^[1] It has since come to mean more generally finishing the structure of the building, whether there is a ceremony or not.

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.^[2] Long an important component of timber frame building,^[3] it migrated initially to England and Northern Europe, thence 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.

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.^[4]

The practice remains common in the United Kingdom and assorted Commonwealth countries such as Australia,^[5] and Canada^[6] as well as Germany, Austria, Iceland, Chile, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Baltic States, and the United States, where the last beam of a skyscraper is painted white and signed by all the workers involved.^[5] 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.^[7]

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.^[8] It is considered greedy if it remains flown for more than a few days.

Gallery

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  Topping out (wiecha) in Poland
  

  
  

  
  


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  The final section of the Warsaw radio mast (in foreground) is decorated and ready to raise
  

  
  

  
  


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  Topping out in Norway (1959)
  

  
  

  
  

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Topping out.

• Groundbreaking

Notes

References

• 
  John V. Robinson (2001). "The 'topping out' traditions of the high-steel ironworkers". Western Folklore, Fall 2001.


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  Topping Off! at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 June 2006). Carpenter Magazine, Sep/Oct 2001.


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  https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032321/http://www.stp.uh.edu/vol68/160/news/news4.html Tree symbolizes campus' growth (tree is still a part of the ceremony); The Daily Cougar; Volume 68, Issue 160, Monday, 28 July 2003; accessed 11 February 2007.^{[dead link]}


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  Topping Off at the Wayback Machine (archived September 28, 2008). National Review, December 23, 2003

External links

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  Richtfest.info A German language site about the topping out ceremonies.


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  Topping out Roberts Pavilion Topping out the new athletic building at Claremont McKenna College.