Lifting heavy timbers in Timber Frame

[Patrick Kane]

Not a workshop, per say, but this shed is meant to free up garage and shop space cluttered with lumber and 600 pounds of lump charcoal. An accessory to the wood shop. I have the frame vertical, and wanted to see if anyone has a clever idea on how to lift beams. Each bent was pretty easy to get into place. I built them on the floor, and tilted it into place with three people. My brother and i lifted them up and my wife guided the post stub tenons into the sill. That was the easy part. Lifting the plates into place was a real bear. They are green 6x6 12' hemlock timbers that were sucksville to lift 8-9' in the air. I clamped 2x4s to the posts to act as temporary resting spots as we worked our way up ladders. This has me thinking how to avoid the extra labor and work smarter, not harder, on the gable ends. The frame is very rigid now, and i plan on making a second story loft/platform out of 3x6 rafters. I can carry the king post assemblies up in pieces, build them horizontally, and tilt them into place on either end. The one thing im nervous about is lifting the ridge beam into place atop the kingpost. It is a 6x6 that is 14' long and still green. Getting it 15' in the air has me slightly anxious.

[Tom M King]

Find the "F.F. pavilion build" thread on the Forestryforum, I believe in the Timber Framing forum. Look through the pictures on that thread. Jeff used a couple of boat trailer winches in an interesting way.

Looks like you're making great progress!

[Malcolm McLeod]

Rent a shooting-boom forklift; rental co. will deliver it. You'll be done in 1 day, and you and the helpers all get to keep your personal parts, pieces, and appendages.

My son got to play middle school hooky for a day when he operated one to 'fly in' beams, while I hung from a ladder driving pegs. A good day.

[Ryan Yeaglin]

you could use some 2x8 and make a ramp and pull them up with either a come-a-long or ratchet strap. I would favor also renting the right equipment to do it. Even the Amish use equipment now days. Save your back! A small all terrain fork lift or even a skid loader with forks would be great.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Looking good Patrick!

I would echo Malcolm's suggestion and rent a small-ish telescoping forklift (telehandler) for the weekend and get it delivered. You'll need someone to operate the machine obviously (who cannot really help guide timbers into place as they're raised) but it will be well worth the effort of organizing a small crew of people. You could likely accomplish your goal with 1 forklift operator and 2 others guiding timbers into place. You may want some basic rigging (slings, straps, maybe a shackle or 2) to keep your options open. This can make the lift a lot more flexible than simply relying on the forks alone to lift timbers.

[Bill Dufour]

Gin pole with block and tackle attached. That is how you lift a fully assembled windmill to the top of the tower. You do need an anchor point which in modern times can be a truck bumper.
Bill D.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I assembled a 4 four post car lift, by myself, 3 times.

The ramp with hydraulic piston weighed close to 400lbs and was 16' long. It had to be installed on the end support pieces at 6' off the ground.

I rented a duct lift and lifted them up and installed them.

I could juggle the ramp onto the lift, raise it a little, roll it into place where I could lift it up diagonally to 6' 6", move it into place and align it and then lower it onto the end supports. That process took me about 3 minutes.

https://www.mad-ducati.com/Gallery/cedwards/G170/Picture110m.jpg

[Patrick Kane]

I checked, and it doesnt appear my local rental has a boom lift like you all mention. Has anyone used a lift like this? For $50 a day plus delivery, that seems like a no-brainer. Im a little concerned about positioning it correctly to put things in place. I have a hillside on the one side, a hillside in the rear, and then my neighbor's fence etc to the other side. I think i can position it inside the shed on a temp wood floor, which will let it wheel around somewhat.

[ChrisA Edwards]

That's the same as the one , I referenced, in installing my car lift.

[Patrick Kane]

Oh nice, I didnt see your reply at first. I think i might go that direction, thanks. Looking forward to finishing up the frame and getting on to the easy parts of the project!

[brent stanley]

I checked, and it doesnt appear my local rental has a boom lift like you all mention. Has anyone used a lift like this? For $50 a day plus delivery, that seems like a no-brainer. Im a little concerned about positioning it correctly to put things in place. I have a hillside on the one side, a hillside in the rear, and then my neighbor's fence etc to the other side. I think i can position it inside the shed on a temp wood floor, which will let it wheel around somewhat.

Hi Patrick, yes lots of timberframe companies use those. Especially handy if the deck is completed first or it's built on a slab.

B

[Paul F Franklin]

I checked, and it doesnt appear my local rental has a boom lift like you all mention. Has anyone used a lift like this? For $50 a day plus delivery, that seems like a no-brainer. Im a little concerned about positioning it correctly to put things in place. I have a hillside on the one side, a hillside in the rear, and then my neighbor's fence etc to the other side. I think i can position it inside the shed on a temp wood floor, which will let it wheel around somewhat.

Bit of a coincidence, I just rented one of these today to use to remove and replace a large sunsetter awning. Around here they are called Genie lifts (after the company that makes most of them) or cable lifts. With the outriggers, they are stable, but you do need a flat and level area for the machine. If you try to lift a heavy load when the lift way off level, the sliding rack will bind, and you could even tip the machine if the center of balance gets outside the outriggers. The load needs to be fairly well balanced at the lift point. For a beam, I'd probably hang it from the forks with a strap so you have freedom to position the ends as needed. Of course you would need some extra clearance overhead to do that.

[roger wiegand]

Western PA? Just hire some Amish guys to come do it. Mostly they raise them by hand, sometimes with a horse. Fun to watch.

The lifts are nice, I've used them several times. Weight limits are relatively low (400 lbs?) and they do get tippy if you go up very high. Solid footing and getting the support feet all the way extended is critical.

[Alan Lightstone]

OK. I've been on this forum for years. First time I've seen the words "use a horse." :cool:

Rent a lift. Stay safe.

[Jack Frederick]

If you took a couple pieces of say 3 or 4" sch 40 steel pipe or maybe some sq stock, i-beam, you could lash them to the outside walls in the center. Lift the gable ends and swing them around to sit on the sill. If the lifting posts are long enough you could then lift above the peak and set the ridge beam. I've done this a few times and it works well, but the devil is in the details.

[Jerome Stanek]

When we needed to lift a rolling pharmacy gate we would use a Genie lift.

[Tom Bender]

If you are working off dirt or gravel or anything but concrete, you need a crane or an articulated manlift. A truck crane might be easiest.

[Patrick Kane]

Well, i wish i could report back that the genie lift did the ticket and everyone needs to rent one. I will never know, because all the rental places were closed thursday afternoon to today. Not wanting to waste valuable time off over the weekend, I tried my hand at manhandling things into place. I took the 14' 3x6 rafters and made a temp platform on top of the already standing frame. From this, i had a somewhat stable platform to build the king post assembles horizontally and tilt into place. These were just about all i could handle on my own. I test fit the king posts separately before tilting into place, and it is a good thing that i did. Their tenons were about 1/4-1/2" too long. I think this was more a conflict with the rounded interior of the mortise left by the chain mortiser. I guess i forgot to chisel those mortises square. Next, the part i was most concerned with was the ridge beam. Its a 14' 6x6 that thankfully shed a fair amount of water the last 3-4 weeks. About a month ago these were standing trees, and its shocking how much lighter they became as time progressed. Still, its a big green beam and too much for one person. I managed to see-saw it up onto the platform. Too bad i didnt take photos at the time, but i never work with a thousand dollar bill in my pocket. I clamped 8' studs horizontally across the king posts. One side i did about 1/2 way up the post and the other i did about 1/4" below the tenon shoulder. From there, i picked on end of the ridge beam onto the lower stud and scooted it back so it started to counter-balance its own weight. From there, i was able to lift it up to full height and repeat for the other side. While this was still quite difficult, it is a great trick to keep in mind. I saw two guys on youtube do something somewhat similar when lifting up a beam. Only, it was a two man team lifting up one end, repositioning the clamps, going to the other end and doing the same.

It is almost there. I have two more rafters to lift up into position and then its on to more familiar woodworking. I bought 600 board feet of 6/4 from the same sawyer to make my own ceiling and flooring. In hindsight, i should have ponied up the $500-600 differential to have pre-milled material. Oh well, live and learn. I was being a typical cheap SOB and thinking i would fly through this project. Now that the unrelenting heat and challenge of solo-ing the build beat me down a bit, i wish i could finish this up quickly.