crane guy says he can't do it..now what?

[Catfish]

Ok, so we finally figure out what tub to get (artesian onyx) and the crane guy says he can't get the tub to the spot where we want it. We live up on a hill with no alley access and we are  surrounded by other houses on 3 sides. They'd have to go up the hill then over the house then down to the back.

He said that people have moved hot tubs by putting them on pvc pipe and rolling from the spot the crane drops it. In our case this would mean rolling it about 30 yards up an incline. Has anyone done/heard of anything like this? He says to get it where we want it the crane would be $2000 at least. Any other ideas for moving a hot tub or any ideas at all?

Help!  Heather

[Backpains]

Doesn't your Dealer carry a cart..it looks like a cart with 4 wheels and they put it on it's side and roll it to your spot...I have no idea other than that

[Catfish]

they did say they had a cart, the problem is there is no access to the back yard (to the point that we are thinking of buying a house that abuts our back yard so that we can get street access that way) Our house was a farmhouse 100 years ago.. though it's 6 blocks from downtown saint paul. They sold off all the land til the house was  landlocked and we were left with a half acre.

The only other possibility would be to ask one of our neighbors to let us crane it over their yard into our back yard but there may be liability issues. ugh.

[Chas]

You may have thought of all of these, but here's a list. Might help you, might help others in this same boat:

Have the crane set it as far as it can go and then get lots of people. Use the spa dolly as BackPains mentioned, or get ten people and carry it the rest of the way - slowly.

Ask a neighbor if you could have a section of the fence removed and replaced and dolly it through their yard. I'm sure you could do a perfect job of putting the fence back for less than $2000. You may even want to leave a gate for future use if the neighbors are agreeable.

Helicopter: last one we did was just a thousand dollars, and was much more fun to watch than an old crane. Took about five minutes - ground crew shows up in advnce to connect the sling.

Ten people and lift it over a side fence.

Make some rails out of 2x6 and some posts, and get enough people to slide it up the hill. Have one person with  a block and some nails to act as a brake for short rests.

[J._McD]

Does your dealer have any recommendations.

Come on now, let's put our heads together, they didn't have a crane when they built the prymids.

What liability are you exposed to if the crane lifts it over the neighbors yard?  Only if he drops it?  That's not going to happen.

"He said that people have moved hot tubs by putting them on pvc pipe and rolling from the spot the crane drops it. In our case this would mean rolling it about 30 yards up an incline."

Well, we have done that before.  How steep is the incline? Imagine a right angle is 90° half of it is 45°, is the slope less than 22°? Dolly cart with big wheels, dealer should have one.

Your back yard is "locked" in on three sides with no access along side of the house?

[Gary1911]

I would agree with J. The only liability would be if it was dropped and hes right that is just not going to happen. There is always a way we just gotta use our noodles. Rolling on pipes /pvc does not seem to bad [unless its a mountain :-/]  You may want to try a different crane operator.  

Gary

[Vinny]

How about using a block and tackle.

If the ground is dirt/grass/sand then lay 3 - 2x6 (each side and center and using PVC pipe underneath have it roll up the hill. You might be able to do it with a spa dolly too.

If the crane drops it 90 feet away, the block and tackle might need to be moved a few times but it would be doing all the work!

Go to this link to see if it's feasable:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/pulley.htm

I do know a lot of industries use it for lifting heavy objects.

[Catfish]

Wow, thanks everyone. Hubby says the incline is about 22degrees.

Also the idea of having a helicopter fly over our house with the hot tub and lower it with all the neighbors watching... he found that idea,um, let's say.. stimulating, but probably not worth a grand. We do have a small airport nearby (the one the president lands at when he comes) so..? The other ideas sound great too and we probably will need to do a combination of things..

He (husband) also saw some large old wagonwheels for sale at the lumberyard and is contemplating building some sort of contraption(seriously)..The neighbor thing might work, I guess liability wise if it won't be dropped than maybe trees getting damaged is possible or something...thanks!

[Chas]

Price the helo - might be less in your area than out here.

[drewstar]

The only other possibility would be to ask one of our neighbors to let us crane it over their yard into our back yard but there may be liability issues. ugh.

No more liability than if they craned it over your own house. I would assume the crane company is fully insured.  

[Drewski]

Price the helo - might be less in your area than out here.

AGREED! Price the helo before you spend a lot of time and money doing stuff...  You may get a pleasant surprise!

Drewski

[Gary1911]

Price the helo - might be less in your area than out here.

Also think of the COOL!!! factor  


Gary