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hoisting pyramidal glass skylight 23 ft

12K views 277 replies 7 participants last post by  Jacey 
#1 · (Edited)
I am having trouble finding competent person to do this..so thinking to do it myself. I can rent a skytrak with 45' boom, but would like to drop the skylight down rather than push it off the sides of a forklift that high up.

This requires me to hang it. It is 5'x5' square and about 3 ft to apex. If I get double eyed lifting straps on each corner and draw them together at the top, I could secure to forks with another strap...seems that would be a pretty good idea. Especially if I can secure the base with another strap to keep them from sliding down when not taut.

Or maybe slide wooden square 1x's and brace and lift that with the window tied down to them. I said 1x's because that is the space allowed by the pallet they are resting on now...but may not be stout enough...not sure about that. Could probably get 2x's in that space if I jack up the corners. Skylight weighs 240 lbs.

Anyway, thought somebody might have experience out there.
 
#154 · (Edited)
They do lift big glass with suction cups, you might look at renting those.[/QUOTE]


Now that DOES sound scary!

Nah, The skylight will be well within reach of two sides. I think once it is nested over the top frame, it will be more or less stable. it has no where really to go It will be form fit to the frame afterall. I could even access it from the inside if necesary. I have a crows nest on the inside I could wrap a strap around the base and have someone inside hang on two sides if necessary if it seems like it will be wobbly.

My buddy Tim is coming over to plane the 1/4" that's off on the curb. He's bringing his straps. I'll lift the skylight/pallet with my tractor, and see if we can get the pallet free. Then maybe we can see how it fits on the curb. I'll probably wind up just engaging my friends to do this. I'm pretty underwhelmed by the local professionals.
 
#258 · (Edited)
I can't tell til I separate the skylite from the pallet what the channel system looks like. Today I drug in two 6x6 cedar beams, 4 concrete blocks 8x8x16" and had some 16" sq. concete pads to set this thing up off the ground so I can get to it to unbolt and see what's goin on. This should be fun....lots of thinking thru for sure...thought about bringin in a rubber raft for the whole thing to land on if things go awry...

That last video you sent uses 3 layers of underlayment...I think might be too bulky...??

Looks awesome for use on the windows though. I think that was the clearest one yet.

You're way ahead of me! Thanx!!
 
#2 ·
I have a sub-contractor who has a couple of boom trucks and anytime I need something lifted he makes it look easy. In addition to having the equipment and knowing how to use it he has years of experience. Find the companies that do that kind of work and talk to them.

Bud
 
#5 ·
I talked to the only rental place in the area. That's where most everybody goes for this sort of thing. They couldn't recommend even one contractor. Not encouraged by conversations I've had either. One guy had a 36' skytrak he just bought off somebody else. Not sure his level of expertise..but he thought tying to the bolts that attach the skylight to the curb was a good idea to hang the rigging...:surprise:

I still may use him, but want to make sure I have all the contingencies worked out first. The controls are not that much different from my tractor, but the height has me a bit wary.
 
#4 ·
I failed to mention it sits on a stand alone 5'x5' cupola..so not accessible from roof that way. Closest thing to level is the deck that wraps around the 9'x10' tower another 16ft or so below the top of the roof framing. Good part is once the skylight is centered over that, should just slide into place on to curb just above the eaves.

Mfg totally signs off on this part. I did talk to a couple of installers 5 hours away. They suggested skytrak with personel basket attached, and 2'x6's extending from that. They didnt' have diagram and I had trouble picturing how they attached those to the basket. They said just strap them down...still not picturing that. The forks go into those baskets and do not extend out...if they did seems you could add extensions to those. But they don't.
 
#12 ·
Don't have a picture of one right now...not sure what you mean by the rack above the forks...would they be angled back towards the boom?

Also, I think we need a personnel basket over the forks. The skylight installers from Houston attached the 2x6's to the basket somehow. I guess boards could be rachet strapped to that, but would like a diagram of how that works.
 
#10 ·
Most of the truss installations on larger buildings or prefab wall assemblies will use a boom. Is there room next to this building for a big truck to set up. They are heavy and like solid level ground.

And get some pictures as mentioned of both the house and that skylight.

Bud
 
#15 ·
Yes, haven't seen the 36' boom, but it is a skytrak as well. I still think dangling it from the forks if it could be secured and be rigid enough would be the best way. Then it could just be guided instead of manhandled into place. Pulling 240lbs off the forks that high up on ladders seems unweildy to me. And there's no place to tie off the men. btw..I'm one of them..and I'm not a man...and 121lbs soaking wet. But I can steer it into position with just a strap, as could guy on the other side. I like that idea best if I could be assured of the sling setup. Just a matter of not crashing into anything...just center and lower it down, right?
 
#16 ·
we've used nylon straps for pipe, granite, steel - anything,,, just tie 2 straps onto opposing corners & tie off the straps so they won't slip,,, easy does it - NO quik moves !
this is just like setting bridge 35T beams - the crane (skytrak) does the work - laborers just hang onto tag lines, guide, & watch their fingers
this thing isn't that heavy - set it on dry ice - remove the slings - & it'll settle right into place
post a pic of you @ 121lbs soaking wet too :surprise:
 
#19 ·
Only thing about nylon straps (like kayak straps with quick releases?) I have is they might cut into metal frame..if that's where you are talking about using them, or are you meaning to use them just as guides off the other hoist straps? That makes sense to me.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Can screws be attached to the side of the window frame? If possible it would be easy to attach four sacrificial straps to the sides. Possibly keep them attached while you maneuver it into place, and then cut them just below the sealing flange.
With 4 straps each one only carries a 62.5 lb load so need for large straps. I think one inch nylon ratchet strap mat'l is rated at 500 or 1000 lbs.
 
#27 ·
I think any strap I know of would carry that load...don't want to attach directly to frame as I want to not bend or mar it. Thanx for the weight breakdown. Seems like two friends on each side could lift the corners so I could slide the 2x under. That's a worry I have, as I don't want to affect the skylight's integrity.
 
#26 ·
I wouldn't think so, not sure it matters if the blocks are above or below.
But you have to be sure you are happy before you lift it. There is any amount of over building you can get into, but someone pointed out it is less than 70 pounds at each corner.
When you do lift it. Just above the ground I would give it a little shake and see how it reacts to that, things you want to know before you have it 20 ft in the air.



You could do a test lift away from the house with 4 or 5 sheets of plywood.
 
#61 ·
Sorry, I was on the phone here.

Lags too long should not hurt anything, I did not read all of the other post but yes you are not lifting much weight for what you are building you just need enough to hold it together.
 
#69 · (Edited)
Ok...starting from the bottom up..we'd have felt paper probably, under R panel over the eaves. So that flashing could go up the face of the curb 3/4 of the way. Under that would be the aluminum I'm thinking either under or over that tape. I think the blue tape if that's what we are calling the Zip tape could just go where caulk would normally be at the base of the curb and maybe over the top of the aluminum that might end at the horizontal plane just below the chamfer. The tape is thinner..but I dont' think the aluminum stuff is very thick. Do you agree the two could be used together?

Is your top line the drip edge from the skylight?
 
#70 ·
I should shut up and this should be in roofing so you get better advice.

Post a new question and add the ink to this thread. Really you are doing nothing more that the flashing at the top of a shed roof against the wall.
I looked for a video for that but did not find it.
 
#81 · (Edited)
Ok..that was just a panic attack..of course a ratchet's as easy as a cordless drill. Might take a tad longer..but won't be as likely to strip out.

Ok, so I got all but one side of the support system together. I can't see all sides when I'm pulling it together so thinking to get a buddy to hold it tight to make sure I get as snug a fit as possible on the 45's. BTW..can there be a slight gap on those corners...it looks right now like at least one side will gap a couple hairs. I thought being 45's it would have to come together tight..but what do I know. I put three lags like your diagram on opposing sides of the crosspiece. On two opposing sides I have washers under the heads. With the ratchet I could snug them all down, and feel washer is probably better than washerless. I dont' guess they are likely to pull thru, but would be easier to grab with socket.
 
#93 ·
Not sure what is going on with e-mail. I sent you one without the attachment. Did you get that? Looks like my roofer is now going to be a no show..

I'd like to show you the technical drawing of the curb. I can do this myself if I can get two warm bodies to help hoist the curb up prior to the skytrack rental. I want to see how it fits up there so I can make the proper flashing measurements. Looks pretty straight forward, except for the chamfer slope. I'm not sure if that needs apron flashing to go up all the way over that or not. I thought if you had the tech drawing you might be able to tell what the mfg is getting at. I've tried getting them to clarify, but no return calls ever. Huge downside to recommending them.
 
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