Hird has been called in to help architect George Clarke – better known as The Restoration Man on Channel 4’s hit home development show – with one of his latest TV projects.
He was helping turn a large disused water tower in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, into a luxury home, and reached a key moment where a large window had to be lifted into place.
The best way to get the job done effectively and safety was to use a spider crane, so mini crane, glass handling and powered access specialist Hird was called in to provide the expertise and lifting power.
After liaising with Express Bi-folding Doors, commissioned to fit the windows and doors in the renovation project, Hird dispatched spider crane operator Barry Roberts to Yorkshire with a UNIC URW-295 tracked spider crane.
The task involved lifting a double-glazed panel measuring 3.6 metres high by 1.6 metres wide and weighing 175kg into a frame, about 1.5 metres off the ground.
Barry said:
“George was a great guy, and got involved in the lift. Advised by the project manager from Express Bi-folding Doors, he helped guide the panel into place in the bottom of the frame as I operated the mini crane to lift it.”
The whole process was recorded by a Restoration Man film crew, as fitting the window was a key moment in the project to turn the redundant water tower into a striking four-bed home, spread over three storeys.
“We used an MRT4 glass vacuum lifter, which has a lift capacity of 320kg, to hold the panel during the lift,” said Barry.
“The UNIC URW-295 spider crane was also ideal for the job. It’s a tracked mini crane, so there was no difficulty crossing the uneven grass area to the lifting site. Then the stabiliser legs coped perfectly well with the uneven ground to create a firm lifting platform.
“What was important for this project was a right first time lift. George Clarke and the rest of the renovation team, plus the water tower owners, needed to be 100% confident the glass panel could be lifted into place safely, quickly and cost-effectively. Using a mini crane in this way ticked all those boxes.”
For more information about UNIC mini crane hire from Hird, available across the UK from three strategically placed operating hubs, contact one of our expert lifting teams:
Northern – 01482 227333
Central – 01302 341659
Southern – 0203 174 0658
Email: info@hird.co.uk
