The anticorrosion treatment will be applied for a year, allowing the tower to remain open and receive tourists. This historic edifice has 220 000 m2 of surfaces that must be maintained and repainted (7 300 tons of structural metal and 18 000 metal parts held together by 2 500 000 rivets). The elevator cages are also painted with color schemes related to the touristic attractions they reach.
The main elements that require maintenance work are: the iron frame, the glass panels, the copper sheathing on the exterior walls, the bronze fittings and the zinc coating on some of the windows. The tower is also equipped with fire alarms, sprinkler systems and carbon dioxide gas generators in case of emergency. The staff is trained to deal with possible emergencies and can tell visitors what measures to take in case of fire or other hazards.
The foundation consists of large concrete blocks sunk into the ground to prevent erosion and anchor the structure well. The area around the base is also filled with rocks to make it less prone to flooding.
The tower is built in an island shape to avoid having its weight focus on any one point of the ground. This means that there are several smaller areas rather than one large one that could cause problems in an earthquake.
The original Eiffel Tower was built for the World's Fair in 1889. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel and is made of steel and wrought iron.
The Tower's security The tower is made of puddle iron and is protected from oxidation by multiple layers of paint to preserve its longevity.
It was built between 1889 and 1891 by Gustave Eiffel for the World's Fair in Paris. The Tower is 364 feet tall and has been featured in many movies including the first Indiana Jones film where it served as Dr. Jones' office. It also appeared in the movie Batman Begins where it was used as a prison facility.
The Tower has been used in many other films too, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Babel, and The Artist. It continues to appear in popular culture today with people naming their children "Eiffel" after the Tower.
Have a look at some other interesting facts about the Eiffel Tower:
The Tower was supposed to be illuminated during the night but this feature was never implemented.
In 1989, the Statue of Liberty got her hair done for a day! A group of women did all their own hairdressing on that day at one location and the results were amazing! The Eiffel Tower could have used a makeover but no one would have known except those who were there.
What prevents the corrosion of the Eiffel Tower? Every seven years, the tower is repainted with 60 metric tons of paint to preserve it from rusting. It takes roughly 18 months for 25 painters to repaint the entire tower with 1,500 brushes.
The metal used in its construction is highly alloyed steel that is immune to corrosion because there are many different metals inside the body that prevent electricity from reaching the surface of the tower through oxidation or reduction reactions. Corrosion is also prevented by the fact that the wind always blows somewhere on the tower's surface, washing away any water that might otherwise find an area to pool and cause damage.
Furthermore, the interior of the tower is well-lit and humidity is controlled by a ventilation system so any moisture that does get in here will be driven off by the air conditioning. The floor is covered in rubber mats to reduce wear and tear on the carpeting upstairs. And last but not least, the whole thing is built to stand for over a hundred years so it'll still be looking great when you come to visit.
Actually, the Eiffel Tower is made of iron and concrete. But like I said, every seven years it gets a new coat of paint so only its exterior is really exposed to the elements.
In reality, the tower has been repainted every 7 years for almost 130 years. So, if repainted, the Eiffel Tower may last... ever. However, as it is now being treated with oil instead of paint, this practice will not be continued in the future.
The real lifespan of an object such as the Eiffel Tower depends on many factors such as how much stress it is subjected to, whether it is used regularly and so on. In general, though, modern buildings survive for about 100 years while monuments such as bridges or towers can last for hundreds of years.
The Eiffel Tower has had a significant impact on popular culture. It has appeared in many films from Around the World in 80 Days (2004) to Les Misérables (2012). It has also been used as a filming location. The tower has also been a popular destination for tourists. In 2017, over 50 million people visited the Eiffel Tower in France alone.
The original structure was built by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Exposition of 1889. It was designed to be dismantled after the exhibition ended but its popularity led to it being rebuilt in its current position near the Champ de Mars in Paris in 1893.
In a nutshell, the Tower was built with 18,038 metal pieces, 5,300 workshop drawings, 50 engineers and draughtsmen, 150 employees at the Levallois-Perret plant, 150 to 300 laborers on the building site, 2,500,000 rivets, 7,300 tonnes of iron, and 60 tonnes of paint. It took 1,296 hours to assemble the tower.
The Eiffel Tower is made up of three main sections: the pedestal, the basket, and the antennae. The base weighs nearly 20,000 pounds (9,090 kg). It consists of four layers: an inner core, an outer shell, a ground floor, and a basement.
The inner core is a hollow cylinder of steel 16 feet (4.8 m) in diameter and 33 feet (10.1 m) high. It provides support for the entire structure and serves as a reservoir for water that is pumped into it during rainstorms. The outer shell is also made of steel and covers the inner core. It is about 23 feet (7.3 m) tall and weighs about 7,200 lbs (3,250 kg). The top of the shell is flat, but the sides are curved outward so that the weight of the tower is evenly distributed.
Between the outer shell and the ground is the ground floor. It contains the entrance to the base of the tower and the cafe/restaurant called the Champ de Mars.
Since its initial erection, the Tower has been repainted 19 times, an average of once every seven years. Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is completely repainted. This means that no small part of it will ever be seen in its original state.
They actually paint the tower all the way up to the top. Well, almost. The Lifts are out of bounds until completion of the renovation work. The only parts not painted are the steel structure and some small decorative elements near the summit.
The Tower has been painted a total of 20 times since its initial construction. The next painting job will begin in 2020 and is expected to be completed in 2034. After this date, the Tower will be repainted for the 21st time.
In addition to being painted, the Eiffel Tower is also marked with graffiti. In fact, it is one of the most popular sites for graffiti artists to show their work. In the early days, when there was no legal system in place to punish those who damaged public property, people just added more graffiti to the Tower's walls. Today, there is a team of staff members who clean away graffiti as soon as it is reported. They use a high-pressure water hose to wash away paint.