Handling a very heavy steel beam

[leenowell]

Hi,

We are having work done on our house and it involves a big and heavy steel beam to support most of the back of the house. It is probably about 1000kg and 7m long (300mm x 300mm).

The builder and I are trying to figure out the best/ easiest/ most cost effective way of getting the beam from the lorry at the front of the house to the back of the house then up onto the steel columns that will be supporting it. The beam will be at first floor level (i.e. approx 2.5m from the ground).

Any thoughts on how to resolve this would be gratefully appreciated.

thanks in advance for your help.

Lee.

[Lobster]

The 64,000 dollar question is what access there is at the back of the house - without that info nobody is going to be able to give you a sensible answer.

David

[leenowell]

Good question...

The access is pretty good. From the drive I have a pathway at the side of the house which is around 2.5/3m wide and then out onto lawn at the back. There is one hurdle (thinking about it now) that the back garden slopes down from right to left as you look at the house with an elevated patio in front (approx 2.5m deep - ie from house to end of patio). On the right the patio is about 10cm higher than the lawn rising to around 1.5m on the left with a couple of steps taking up the rise. The middle of the steel beam will be where the 10cm height different is.

Hope this is clear????

Thanks

Lee.

[Owain]

(a) big crane (b) rugby team and take it through the neighbours' gardens

Owain

[TheScullster]

wrote

I would have thought that this is something the builder would have come across before. If you can find enough "cylindrical" objects of the same diameter, you could use the old "roll it on a few logs" approach! Believe it or not, I moved an engine some distance on a dozen or so pool cues many years ago! A lot depends on the "smoothness" of the terrain. I have also installed a skid mounted process module using hired roller skates - industrial versions are available with capacities of many tonnes. You may be able to smooth out the pathway by "leapfrogging" plywood sheets.

For installing the beam I see three options:

Position the columns and lift the beam into place. Assemble the columns and beam on the ground and winch them upright into place. Position the columns, then raise the beam by jacking and packing alongside the final position then slide it across into place.

Outline suggestions only Plenty of detail to be filled in. No liability accepted etc etc

Phil

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd be a bit worried about employing a builder who hadn't come across this problem before.

Lots of man power to carry it to where it's needed. A crane to lift it into place. If you can't use a crane a couple of block and tackles. If it is very unwieldy get it spliced.

[dom]

A friend used a mobile crane hire earlier this year (to move his post&beam garage intact). The hire company quoted 2 prices, one to do the lift as you instruct (and you take responsibility), and a second rate they will take charge of the lift and ensure it's safe completion.

Getting the crane company to do any over-the-house blind lift (i.e. the crane operator depends on remote instruction during the positioning) may be the answer to having the whole problem sorted in one go.

[Dave Baker]

Firstly a quick calc shows it shouldn't weigh anything like that much. No more than half a ton even if it's made from 1cm thick metal. Maybe considerably less. It's simple enough to work out if you have the exact dimensions.

It should be easy enough to roll it round the back on skates or even bits of scaffold tube and then use a block and tackle (or two) to hoist it.

[leenowell]

Thanks all for your quick replies... To answer a few things raised.

1. From an access perspective, getting the beam around the back should be fine so shouldn't need neighbours garden or over the house type lifting - thankfully
2. From memory, the spec given by the engineer was around 120kg per M

- would that sound correct?

1. Builder has experience of this before by taking the "rugby team" approach and then sliding it into place on scaffold poles. Given the size of the beam and the "rugby team" required - thought there may be an easier option

A couple of follow-up questions

1. How much would a mini crane be for a day or 2? We have another few steels to fit so maybe renting one for the day would make these easier too - especially if it could be used to move the steels around the back to? I assume once lifted the steel can be rotated to be parallel to the direction of travel and the crane can move loaded?
2. What are skates? I did a google and got some things which look like they are parts of a steel beam making machine rather than something that could roll over grass/ plywood
3. Block and tackle sounds like an idea but assume we will also need to hire some support to attach the block and tackle to?

Thanks again for all your help

Lee.

[Tony Bryer]

300x300 UCs come in 7 rolling weights from 97 to 283kg/m so 1000kg is perfectly possible. If it's possible to lift each end in turn by degrees, then the lift weight is half this.

I hope the designer/engineer has satisfied himself as to the adequacy of what holds this beam up!

[leenowell]

columns.....

The problem is with the 300mm height as I am keen to hide it in the space between the floor and ceiling above. With this spec, it will be

150mm below the ceiling level which is not ideal.

[Cod Roe]

These guys seem to do 90% of this sort of work wherever I go:

[somebody]

In message , [e-mail] writes

For lateral movement along the ground, I'd use rollers - possibly a scaffold pole cut into 2 foot lengths or so. If there is any incline up or down, pull or lower it using a turfer and suitable ground anchor(s).

For the lift, a block and tackle on a frame of scaffolding - any decent high altitude tubular technician (scaffolder!) would probably be able to erect such a frame for the given weight.

Bear in mind that if you dropped a beam of that weight even 1cm onto a finger/toe etc it would probably crush it, safety needs to be forefront in your mind during this.

If you want to spend a bit of money, HSS have 'lift and shift' centres with specialist lifting gear, including demountable gantries, beam rollers, the various strops, ropes, block and tackle you might need etc.

Look under lifting and handling.

Hth Someone

[Tony Bryer]

If it has to be a 7m span, which is a lot in a domestic situation, then you probably don't have many alternatives.

[Andy Burns]

Sounds too high.

You say it's 30cm tall and wide, I assume it's an "I" shape and so is essentially 3 strips, 30cm width, assume 1cm thick, taking the density of steel at 7.8g/cm^3

3[sides of the I] x 30cm x 1cm x 100cm x 7.8g/cm^3 = about 70kg/m or 490kg for the lot (1cm thickness is probably overstated)

[Dave Baker]

Is this thing a complete box section then? I was assuming it was an I beam. More calcs then. A complete box section at 30x30 cm and 1cm thick comes to

11,600 cc/metre and at an SG of 7.85 approx 91kg/m.

To weigh 283kg/m the material has to be 3.4cm thick. I can't even contemplate a beam of that section in a domestic environment. You could build a tower block on something like that surely.

[Dave Baker]

That was essentially exactly my original calculation barring the slight adjustment to the height of the central section given the thickness of the base and top (28cm not 30 cm).

[Tony Bryer]

No, the lightest 305x305UC has a 9.9mm web and 15.4mm flanges. The heaviest 26.8 and 44.1mm! They are primarily intended for use as columns, though (as is probably the case here) are used as beams when headroom is a factor.

[Dave Baker]

The things that machinery movers shift lathes and mills on. Like a heavy duty roller skate with steel wheels. Your beam actually weighs about the same as my lathe if your figures are correct and a machinery mover would be an ideal person to ask how best to shift it.

I did a google and got some things which look

You can't use skates or scaffold tube on anything other than good flat concrete or tarmac. If you have to shift anything that heavy over soft or uneven ground you've got a whole new problem.

You rig up the scaffold using scaffold tube. Maybe not so easy to support something that heavy though. I guess nowadays you need a risk analysis and god knows what other formalities.

[Steve Firth]

The builder could move it using his telehandler and then lift it into position.