Tricks/Tips to safely lifting beams on a remote build?
Wunderbar
| Posted in Expert Exchange Q&A on
Hey all,
Im framing a post/beam roof in a remote area and was curious of any tricks to safely lifting the beams without a telehandler or mini crane?
Glulam ridge beam with 4×10″x20′ solid fir beams (rafters). Ive got a Genie lift that can help but doesn’t work so well with the 6/12 pitch. I thought maybe rigging up a hoist to the glulam but seemed a little sketchy….
Thanks!
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I always feel safest lifting from above with everyone positioned so that if something falls it can't fall on anyone. I own pipe scaffolding, so that would be my go-to here -- set it up tall enough so that you can hoist the beams and lower them into position. Scaffolding is a pain to transport and set up but it's quite cheap to rent.
I used gin poles and multiple sheave pulleys set up for block and tackle for my timberframe build. You can lift massive Timbers with two guys safely with redundancy in place. Moved the system to the second floor deck for lifting king posts and ridge beam. The nice thing about this system is that, because of the slower and manual aspect of it, you can keep a keener ear and eye to stresses and possible issues with the structures or objects you’re lifting. Takes a minute to set up, and you need plenty of rated rope, pulleys, slings, etc, but if you’re in remote area you can’t beat it.
good ideas! thanks, i dont mind slow and steady. ive done it the sketchy way more than once and don't feel like pushing my luck anymore...
There's this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVtubkmACGQ&t=17s
And this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5sJqKoLyik
A frames can help here, and are relatively easy to build in the field if you don't need to get too high. I would set some ropes as stops though, so that the A frames can be swung into place with a rope pre-set to stop the A frame when it's fully upright. In this way, you avoid the possibility of going too far and falling over on the other side.
Using a crane or other kind of purpose-built overhead lift system is going to be your safest option though.
Bill
Are you saying that you need to install a glulam ridge, or that you have the ridge installed and now have to set the rafters?
I'd consider pipe staging with a mason's hoist and/or a gin pole for larger loads. If the ridge is in place and well-braced, it's probably strong enough to anchor a hoist, but be careful--if you're not sure how to do this work you may not be aware of just how dangerous it can be.
I have to install the glulam ridge which i've done before with a Genie lift. The 4x10's are air dried old growth Fir and you're right, they weigh well over 200 lbs each. I'm thinking once that ridge is up and well secured, i should be fine to install a hoist to lift each beam into place at the ridge and have the genie lift on the wall side.
Those beams weigh ~150 pounds. Depending on how high you are at the peak, I don't see how 3 people couldn't manipulate them pretty easily. stage to make it shoulder height. 2 people on the high end to get it fastened in position, one person a the low end to keep it from sliding away.
glulam would be harder,depending how long it is
A full-dimension doug fir 4x10x20' would be about 175 lbs if completely dry, but more likely it will have around 20% moisture content by weight, or over 200 lbs. If it has been dimensioned to 3 1/2"x9 1/4" it would be closer to 150 lbs dry and 175lbs wet. If it's air-dried rather than kiln-dried it could be up to 220 lbs.
I agree that even at those weights, it should be manageable by a few experienced people. But if the OP is asking how to do this, they are probably not experienced and lifting a 200+ lb beam to a ridge that could be 35' above grade is a dangerous proposition.
And an S4S at 31 pounds per cubic foot would weigh 139 pounds.
I would probably trust inexperienced people carrying 60 pounds a piece over 180 swinging in the air over anyones head
Deleted
31 pounds per cubic foot 12 percent moisture per the doug fir council or somesuch
well over 200 lbs each and 16' up at the ridge so i'm after a safer option rather then lifting on scaffolds/ladders
Wunderbar,
No nearby trees to rig a slack-line to? It would only have to raise them to 12 ft if you got a hold of the middle. That's where I'd want to be lifting them from. Then tilting them into position could be done with one hand. The danger comes from working on one end and it getting away from you.
I moved these 16"x6"x 32ft beams with a slack line.
Was in a very similar position a few years ago...remote, a few big beams, not much budget.
You've probably heard the old addage "With a big enough lever you can lift anything."
What I did was get a big lever, put a case of cheap beer on the end of it, and the guys down the street came running over and lifted the beams in exchange for the beer. That worked great for the first couple beams, but later when it came time for the biggest one they weren't around.
I managed to use wall jacks and temporary vertical guide posts and blocks to keep the beam from going sideways or slipping out. Even with the bracing and guides it was fairly sketchy and I wouldn't suggest doing this, and especially not in a remote area where 911 response times are slower should you have a catastrophic failure.
If a big crane isn't available or is too expensive, give the truss companies a call. Some of them offer fairly reasonably priced crane service for smaller/lighter jobs like this.