Several new technical solutions were implemented during the construction of the TV tower. The reinforced concrete tower itself was assembled using the sliding mold method. The concrete mold was installed at a height of 2.5 metres; then the armature was inserted and the concrete poured. After that the concrete form was shifted upwards, narrowed to the new diameter and the new section of reinforced concrete created. Today the rings resulting from this process can still be seen at 2.5-metre intervals on the tower. The concrete was poured continuously for 8 months, with the tower gradually rising above the landscape. The builders used M-400 concrete based on oil shale ash and Portland cement. This concrete had been developed by the scientists at the Tallinn Polytechnical Institute under the supervision of Verner Kikas. The concrete was designed to withstand 300 frost resistance cycles. Subsequent inspections have revealed that the strength of this concrete is even higher than stipulated.
