Painters suspend 500 feet high to coat tower
Crews climb 500-feet high to paint a tower in Des Moines
By Todd Magel
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — This week, painters reported to their job－500 feet in the air.
A crew of brave workers spray-painted the 36-year-old KCCI Downtown TV Tower.
“There’s very few companies that do it, and it’s just a cool gig,” said Chris Mecklem, with Skyline Tower Painting.
Skyline Tower Painting is a Colorado-based company that travels across the country painting towers.
While heights are not a concern, weather is.
“Our biggest thing is fighting the weather,” Mecklem said. “When we have beautiful days, and the wind’s not blowing, it’s an awesome job. But when you’re fighting weather, just like anybody who works outside, those days are the days you’re not looking forward too much.”
The KCCI tower has not been painted since it was built in 1985. The painters are fixing it with a new coat of aviation orange and coast guard white paint.
It’s pumped up long lines from tanks on the ground and designed to keep the steel structure from rusting.
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