Craning a 140 kg Double-Glazed Unit Over a Nine-Metre Garden
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A residential property in Geelong needed a damaged double-glazed unit replaced. The panel weighed 140 kilograms.
The weight was not really the problem. The access was.
Nine metres of garden in the way
Three things ruled out carrying it in by hand: a densely planted garden, a nine-metre setback from where a vehicle could stop, and an install point well above ground level.
Any one of those on its own is workable. Together they meant the panel had to travel over the garden rather than through it, and arrive at height, level, and under control.
Vacuum lifter and a mini crawler crane
We brought in ACL Cranes and worked the lift with their mini crawler crane and a vacuum lifter.
The crawler crane matters here. A conventional crane needs hard standing and room to set up; a mini crawler can track across ground that a truck cannot reach, which is what made a nine-metre setback over planted garden viable at all.
The vacuum lifter takes the panel on suction cups so the glass is held on its face rather than its edges, which is the difference between placing a 140 kg unit and hoping to.
The damaged DGU came out, the new panel went in, and the building got its thermal and acoustic performance back.
During
Lift in progress
After
The job in short
- Site: Residential property, Geelong
- Unit: 140 kg double-glazed unit (DGU)
- Access: Nine-metre setback, densely planted garden, elevated install point
- Equipment: ACL Cranes mini crawler crane, vacuum lifter
- Outcome: Thermal and acoustic performance restored
